Photo Credit: Jorde Diomande
Twenty-one-year-old singer/guitarist Ryahn grew up listening to her parents records of Al Green, Minnnie Riperton, Deniece Williams, and The Delfonics, records that would inform her own soulful music. “I call it soulful music cause it comes from my soul,” Ryahn says. In middle school, Ryahn taught herself how to play the ukulele from watching videos on YouTube and from there she picked up the guitar and started writing songs in her bedroom. It was her father’s passing that would be the impetus for Ryahn to start sharing her music publicly and in 2015 she put her first single “Babyboy” up on Soundcloud garnering half a million streams to date.
Hailing from Broward County, Florida, Ryahn comes from a family of rulebreakers. Her great-grandfather was the first black doctor in the city of Ft. Lauderdale and instilled in Ryahn a strong sense of self and resilience to overcome any obstacle. For Ryahn, family is at the crux of what informs her as an artist. Her upcoming debut EP “Light Blue” takes inspiration from her father. “The color blue holds a lot of symbolism for me, it was my father’s favorite color,” Ryahn says. “The EP is about starting at zero in a very dark space and overcoming great obstacles to reach a point of harmony within yourself.”
Today Ryahn shares “Sad Boy,” the second single from the forthcoming EP “Light Blue.” “Sad Boy” tugs hard on all the emotions, backed by languid drums, melancholy guitar, and Ryahn’s luminous vocals.
Of the song Ryahn says:”‘Sad Boy’ is about the delicate nature of life and people we cherish. There’s an intense pain you under go in the realization that your love, along with everything else you have ever known won’t last no matter what you do. Still I rather live with the pain of knowing my impermanence than to have never experienced the beauty of love.”
“Sad Boy” appears on Ryahn’s upcoming debut EP “Light Blue,” due September 13.