“I live by the Einstein-ian philosophy that ‘Common sense is just a collection of prejudices.’ No one really has it figured out, and it’s time to break some rules,” says alternative R&B artist sobhhï, who counts Dubai, San Francisco, and Los Angeles as his home bases.

The vocalist, songwriter, and producer welcomes us to his world via a series of color-themed EPs, brimming with songs that envelop the listener in a nocturnal playground of romance, mystery, intimacy, and self-revelation. It’s an aesthetic that is intriguingly layered. Vocal melodies captivate with dark beauty. Lyrics are both brainy and unabashedly emotional, and the tracks’ subtly lush production vision and compositional sense reveal a sophisticated, music theory-informed artistic perspective.

sobhhï has earned favorable comparisons to such diverse artists as Frank Ocean, The Weeknd, and Drake. He writes every lyric; thoughtfully composes each track; and engineers and mixes each recording. This well-defined artistry extends to his album covers which he also creates, calling upon his gifted visual sensibility as a fashion and street photographer for design inspiration.

Smoldering in the silken grooves of this distinct R&B is a fiery artistic drive. “Music was not a choice I made later in life, it was always the grand objective,” sobhhï says. It’s a destiny that he was born into. Fifty years ago, his immigrant father first set foot in the US with only a few dollars in his pocket and a full-bright scholarship to earn a PhD in accounting. Marginalized by racial profiling and glass-ceiling economics, sobhhï’s father was conditioned not to take risks. This fierce notion of self-preservation was handed down. “His risk aversion became so deeply ingrained in who he is that, growing up, I was discouraged from any type of entrepreneurship, any risky attire or accessories, any form of self-expression, including music,” sobhhï reveals.

However, as early as age 7, sobhhï began to show promise as a creative when he began composing his first pieces. By age 13, he picked up the art of mixing and mastering, and, two years later, taught himself music theory fundamentals.

sobhhï announced his arrival as an artist in November, 2017 with the 5-track RED I EP, a collection of wildly imaginative nighttime R&B, featuring cleverly impactful arrangements interwoven with subtle transitions and asides. The release’s spellbinding allure captivated listeners, putting it into the iTunes top 200 for the R&B genre—a remarkable feat for an indie artist. sobhhï will follow this EP up with a series of carefully crafted and themed EPs, expanding on the color-palette motif, and exploring dreamy R&B, rugged hip-hop, and bedroom soul. These EPs will be titled RED II, PURPLE I, and WHITE I, and issued throughout 2018.

We now have sobhhï’s latest self-produced single, “roll thru” which serves as a single from PURPLE I. Featuring California artist/producer, Nivo, Sobhhï effortlessly juggles rapping and singing on this soothing offering. Stream the track below and support on iTunes here.

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