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Artist
Iyamah
12+ albums
female vocalistsoulrnbUKsofar
about
The story of Sophie Bond - better known by the moniker of Iyamah - begins in the bustling seaside city of Brighton. Born to interracial parents: a British Mother and her late Father who was a Nigerian-English man. Like most bi-racial children she found the task of pin pointing her individual identity quite burdening; which was perpetuated by being the anomaly within her predominantly white surroundings, during her formative years. Leaning on the creativity, the cultural-appreciation and the festival traditions woven into her hometown’s vibrant spirit. She started to pick up trinkets of her musical identity through the sounds of; African drumming, the reggae nights her mother would take her to and the vibrations emitting from the emergence of dub and d’n’b. Speaking more in-depth about her childhood, she told us: “My mum was an artist; a lover of music and of culture, so I was certainly a more creative kid. She encouraged me to do whatever I wanted to do. We travelled a lot and went to a lot of music festivals so there was always music playing in the house from all around the world. Also my auntie was a west African dancer, she inspired me massively but I think Brighton is a pretty creative place. Music has always been there for me, being an only child, as well as being the only mixed-race kid around. Music was like an outlet, to sing and dance, a safe place to channel all the emotions of a highly sensitive girl into something more meaningful.” Leaving the sand, sea and gul
