Toronto R&B singer-songwriter, Savannah Ré, recently released her highly anticipated debut EP Opia. Three years in the making, the project celebrates “the strength found in vulnerability”.
“In order for me to get the body of work that I wanted to get, I had to dig deep. I had to do the work,” Ré explains. “I want to let people see me and connect with my music but for that to happen, I have to be my authentic self and that comes from introspection – it takes a lot of time and maturity to do that.”
Named Amazon Music’s Breakthrough Artist of the Month on the same day of the release, Ré enlisted the help of some star studded collaborators for the nine-song project, including her mentor and Grammy Award winning producer Boi-1da who executive produced the EP alondside YogiTheProducer(Kehlani, Jessie Reyez, Joyner Lucas).
Aside from previously released singles “Where You Are”, “Homies”, “Solid” and “Best Is Yet To Come” (named one of the 100 Best Songs of the Year by Apple Music last year), Opia features five newly released songs that further theme of vulnerability and intimacy, skillfully striking a balance between hope, insecurity, and loving and accepting oneself.
The project opens with “Highly Favoured” where Ré explores her faith. With lyrics like “Put up with all my shit”, “Know I’m blessed and highly favoured / Asking God to lеt me see another day”, and “Know I’m not worthy, but I got a purpose”, it’s clear that this isn’t a faith based on adhering to a sense perfection. She knows she’s fallen short, but she knows she’s here for something bigger than herself. This sets the tone for the rest of the EP.
With Ré, what you get is that classic R&B sound mixed with the raw hip-hop influences in her content, delivery, and introspection.
What also stands out is the quality of the songwriting. Reading the lyrics while listening to the music, you get a look at the depth of the poetic songwriting and storytelling on this project, especially on songs like “Where You Are”, “Solid” and “Opia”.
“I’m so proud of this project,” says Savannah Ré. “I feel like I’ve been carrying this baby for a long time and it’s finally going to come out into the universe. It’s an amazing feeling. This is the space, this is the time.”
And with high praise from the likes of Babyface, Boi-1da, Jessie Reyez and Wondagurl, Savannah Ré may very well go where very few Canadian R&B singer-songwriters have gone before.
Opia is available on all major streaming platforms.
Click the header image to check out the short documentary Opia Experience.
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