The Return of Una Rams
Una Rams is back. The South African artist has opted out of releasing a project over the last two years, but as he sits down with me for this interview, it becomes clear that he is always in a state of creating.
“It’s not that I wasn’t making music, I just wasn’t in a head space to share it with everyone else” he clarifies. When I ask what changed, he says it’s been mastering the delicate relationship between the business and the art. “As an artist, I’m always going to push for the art. In the last few months, I’ve been learning how to merge that with music as a business, in a way that not only makes sense but also accurately represents who I am and what I want to put out into the world”.
Titled Crush, his forthcoming project has been in the works since 2017, and is a culmination of “a bunch of different sounds that really work well together” Una explained. Today saw the release of “Shy” the first single off the project, a taste of what’s to come from a body of work that he describes as an “African Utopia”.
He believes that Crush is a relatable record for “anyone who’s ever wanted to get some things off their chest and didn’t have the courage to do so. Crush is as much about love as it is about communicating exactly what that feels like-good and bad” He continues to break down that although it speaks to his personal experiences, for the most part, the project was written from a reflective point of view. “Everything I talk about on crush is definitely tied to my real experiences, but it’s about things that I have already put behind me, and now I can look back and talk about it because it is my story to share” he shares candidly.
In a listening session a few nights prior, Una previewed some tracks off Crush- including a Shekinah feature, a Colbert Mukwevho sample, and some instrumentals that hint at his love for jazz that he would later divulge to me. “I grew up in the church, and my love for music first started with instruments” he recalls. “Jazz will always have a special place in my heart, and you don’t have to look far to see that I definitely made room for it on this project”.
Una has adopted a very measured approach to everything he does, and this extends to who he decides to collaborate with. “For me, a feature has to make sense at every level. Not only sonically, but like-do I vibe with this person as a human being?”.
“For me, this project is about self-discovery, evolution and always coming back to the source-love.”
He admits that he thoroughly enjoyed putting this project together and that more than anything he has learned a lot about himself in the process. “I loved every bit of making Crush. It’s been a long time coming, For me, this project is about self-discovery, evolution and always coming back to the source-love”.
Rams closes out our interview without committing to a release date (he only says that it will be out soon) and says we should add “Shy” to our rotation while we wait.
“I hope to create a brand that meaningfully contributes to the music industry by showcasing tomorrow's music today.”