R&B artist Ebubé pays homage to slow jams on his debut EP, Slow Jam Szn

Rising R&B talent Ebubé  has released his debut EP Slow Jams Szn. Raised in South London, he is a classically trained pianist, violinist, and vocalist whose journey has taken him from being trained within an orchestra to unravel within the rich, emotive world of R&B. Blending technical mastery with soul-deep storytelling, his debut EP unravels the tradition of the genre to carve out a project that has his musical identity written all over it,

Slow Jams Szn  is a tender and textured exploration of romance, sacrifice, and emotional reckoning. Across six tracks—including the self-produced Foresight and What Can I Do—Ebubé pairs lush instrumentation with rich vocal layering, proving his pen and production are as much of a force as his voice is.

Bringing back the importance of slow jams with a fresh purpose, Ebubé demonstrates that the deepest cuts don’t need to be hidden, but  can stand as a strong representation of what it means to be an artist. In a world where hooks are repetitive and love songs don’t venture past surface-level, Ebubé’s artistry is a refreshing reminder that the genre of R&B is in safe hands.

We sat down with Ebubé to talk through his debut EP:

The title Slow Jam Szn feels almost like a quiet rebellion in a world where music is becoming faster, shorter, and more algorithm-driven. Slow jams really ground us — they give space to feel. Was there an element of slowing down that was important in making this project?

Definitely. Nowadays everybody wants to make hits – we’re seeing the tempo of songs being increased, and there’s an implication that artists need to do that in order for people to latch on and to get streams, but I’m trying to make timeless music. 

At the end of the day, artists want people to enjoy their music, and not just for the next three weeks. 

In terms of slow jams, we don’t hear them anymore. Sometimes they’ll be put on an album, in between lots of other faster songs, or artists feel like they need to change genres because slow R&B or slow soul and emotion isn’t fitting within their project.  I felt it was about time to bring them back. I feel like people want it nowadays- that 90’s R&B sound. You can see it in the music that people are going back to – Sade, Lauryn Hill, Aaliyah. It’s clear people have a desire for that kind of music – and so do I. So that’s why Slow Jam Szn made sense. 

We start the EP with Where I wanna be. It embraces all the facets of love, especially the difficulties. The song opens with you talking about how you’re tired of ‘feeling the same’, and no change, and how everyday is like ‘the day before,’ – was there any point in the EP creation process that felt slow or stagnant? 

I made that song towards the end of last summer. Last year there was a lot of change in my life, in terms of no longer being part of the group. I was getting back up onto my feet and finding my sound –  a process that in hindsight, didn’t take as long as maybe it should’ve, but regardless, felt like it took a long time.  

You identify yourself as being in a group, and when it’s gone – it’s like ‘Oh, wait, who’s Ebubé, what does he sound like, and what does he want to say?’ 

There was a period of me trying to find myself and what I wanted to say – because ultimately, that’s the most important aspect of the music – you can arrange melodies and production, but the message you’re portraying is so important to hone in on. 

That song, funnily enough, felt like a turning point. 

 In a period where I was doing sessions everyday, it was a turning point in the sense that I started writing about how I was literally feeling.

The day the song came, I was running for the train. I almost missed it but managed to get on, just about, and I remember feeling so angry – like nothing in life was moving forward, like I was coasting. I got to the session that day and was like, ‘I’m tired,’ – and then  that song came out.

After that point I feel like the EP process got a bit faster. 

 In this industry, there’s a certain image that people will attach to each artist depending on which genre they’re in.  

For example, a black man who is an R&B singer from London – there’s already an idea that they have in their minds about how he should act, what he should do, where he should be and what he should wear.

Similar to how it would be for a white female pop musician – though it would be different, they’d also place certain expectations on that kind of artist.

If the industry could create an artist within the specific genre that creates the least stress, that’s what they’ll do.

It’s been almost five years that I’ve been in this industry, and people are going to have to accept that I’m not going to sing about certain things, that  I’m going to do slow jams, and make music that  resonates with both  myself, rather than what I think needs to be done.  It’s the same as knowing I’m not going to work with somebody just because someone has told me to,  there has to be a connection or a reason there. At the end of the day, the value proposition of an artist is the artist and the art that they create, not the art they could create. 

‘For You, Love’ – you co-wrote this with Flores. How was it to co-write something that is your own story?  

It’s really important who you collaborate with, and it’s important to do it in the right way. 

Nowadays, there’s a session culture which is way too fast paced. A lot of the time you’ll meet a co-writer, you won’t know anything about their life and they don’t know anything about yours, and you’re immediately  diving into vulnerable topics –  it’s a hard place to be in because you can’t understand anything in depth about one another straight away. 

With co-writers Flores and Maths Time Joy – I love the environment they’ve created for me to work with them with.  They obviously know each other very well, and I was able to get to know them for hours. We didn’t really make music immediately, but our conversation naturally led to the topic of the song. 

I believe that once you feel more able to be vulnerable in the room, you’re able to be more comfortable in the song. 

A lot of times you hide things because you fear the people you’re collaborating with won’t understand. Feeling comfortable definitely enabled the session to flow. 

When I collaborate with songwriters, I like to adapt to where we have things in common. If we’re making a song about something and the co-writer has been in a similar situation or has a similar experience, I’d want to direct it towards that, so that both people collaborating have an investment in the song. 

We hear you sing a bit in French on ‘For You Love’. I know France played a key role in your journey, especially around the time you pivoted from medicine music. As a British artist, did  you ever feel like people perceived it as you trying to cross boundaries?

Not at all, I feel like people are sometimes receptive to it, and think it’s really cool. Some people are like ‘I don’t understand, and I won’t even try to understand it,’ 

It’s each to their own, and to those with whom it does connect, they can do their research and find out what the words mean. Music is a language in itself. I feel like I can sing a full song fully in French and people would just receive it in the same way that they would an English song. I don’t feel any real boundaries. You can’t necessarily straight off the bat make complete french songs unless you want to become a French artist, and I understand that, but I don’t think my use of the language restricts me. 

You self-produced ‘Foresight’ and ‘What Can I Do’, which feels special given your transition from being part of a group to now building a solo identity. Does self-producing feel like an act of self-trust or self-discovery?

I started music by playing the piano and the violin –  I was classically trained from a very young age. So the actual musical side of it has always been the main side for me. Self-producing music has always felt natural – the process of building up a song completely from zero, rather than just writing. It feels more like self trust – I know that I can do it, and it feels like I can just let myself go on a journey. When I’m in the room on my own, I’m way more free, which is natural and to be expected, because  it feels like more of a process –  whereas sometimes when you collaborate, it can feel mechanical because people are there for different reasons. When you’re completely on your own, making your own music, you’re just there for the art. 

On ‘Foresight’,  there’s a bit of a play on words – it sounds like you’re going to say ‘first sight’, but you say ‘foresight’ – this changes things, as we understand that you’re believing in the hope of love, even if you not can’t see it there and then. What else in your journey of artistry have you had to have that kind of hope or confidence for? 

Something I’ve been reading a lot about recently is the idea of identity. We often have an idea of who we want to become, and I’ve just been internalising the fact  that you can embody that person now – and those things you are trying to improve at  in your life will materialise themselves over time. 

That’s foresight in the sense that you have to know that you’ll get to that point. It was the same in the sense of making the EP. I knew it was going to get to a finished point, but I had to trust the process. It sounds cliché, but you have to trust the image of what you have for the future  – you can embody it now, it will come, and there’s no point stressing about it. 

​​I know you were classically trained, and even played in the orchestra at Eton.  What’s the significance, of having a musical influence that doesn’t rely on lyrics?  

A lot of the influence is within the  harmonies, and the fact that the musical sounds lie in textures and colours. To a lyricist, that might sound really deep, but for classical musicians, that’s literally all that you have. Especially when I was in the group, when it came to creating harmonies,  it was a blessing to have that background in music. The technical things are automatically in my brain from years of having to learn the technique side of things at school. Now that I’m in more of a free genre in terms of creativity, I’m able to join all the influences and put them together to create what comes out rather than having to learn things. 

You were also raised by the Gospel sounds – the Kirk Franklin’s, Cece Winans, – influences often impact us significantly when we’re young, but how do they musically inform you today?

They always call Brandy the vocal bible, and in terms of the EP, I feel like I reached for her influence.  The techniques she used for vocal production, and how she stacked her layers. These artists are still influencing me today. There was also a period of time, when making the EP, that I was listening to Confessions by Usher on repeat.  When you’re influenced in the right way you take little things you hear from influential artists, try to implement them in your own sound,  and then the influence creates something completely different that you weren’t even trying to do.  So I’m still referencing those artists all the time. Now, I’m a lot more in my Stevie Wonder , Donny Hathaway and Al Green bag – so we’ll see what that does to the future music. 

I’ll take a period of creating, and then a period where I want to study,  soak in everything from listening to music – before I create again. 

How does it feel to see so many artists come up without that structure or classical training ? So many tribute this spontaneity to being creative. But what would you say about how the structure you’re used to?

Initially, you have to untrain yourself. The whole basis of classical music is about how you play something that’s already been played, and how you express something that’s already been communicated.

You have to untrain certain parts of it. Sometimes I feel a little bit envious that some people haven’t been trained, and have been singing these  R&B songs  since birth, but at the end of the day, when I take a step back, I feel grateful that everyone has their own path. I wouldn’t have been able to make my own songs if it weren’t  for my background – each person has their own story, and I’m always grateful for my own because it’s unique in its own way.

We start with ‘Where I Wanna Be’, and end with ‘What Can I Do,’ – it’s a sonical journey and we hear a lot of vocal range from you. What’s one word you’d use to describe the journey of this EP?

Revealing. I’ve learnt a lot about myself. The process of making an EP was what it was, but having done it, I know it will influence my future music because I learnt a lot about myself from it. 

I learnt a lot about my identity – what I like, what I don’t like, and how to get the best out of myself.  Since being on my own as an artist , I’ve learnt a lot about that accountability that comes with having to put in the work, because no one else can do that for you. 

Favourite slow jam of all time ? 

Can You Handle  It’ by Usher – I’ve listened to it countless times.

For those joining you after Slow Jams Szn, what’s next?

There’s so much more music. I know I can only put out a certain amount for an EP, but more music is coming this year – and performances.