South London’s Sabiyha today shares new single ‘Do I Matter’, co-written with & produced by close friend Drew Jodi. Stream ‘Do I Matter’ across all platforms from here: https://ditto.fm/do_i_matter
Between its unhurried, offbeat groove and Sabiyha’s sandy vocals, ‘Do I Matter’ seems to belie little of the hurt which played into its beginnings. Sabiyha originally started to write the track in the midst of the fall-out from a short-lived but deleterious relationship, before temporarily putting the song on ice. Later completed down the line with the considerable benefit of both hindsight and a reclaimed sense of self-worth, Sabiyha flips her take-down of a f*ckboy to summon both saltiness and real playfulness. As the track’s chorus weaves in & out of a roll-call of gaslighting and coercive behaviours, its question pivots from ‘Do I matter?’ to ‘Do I care?’ – the emphatic negative reply – tellingly left unsaid by Sabiyha – is unmistakeable.
The track arrives alongside a live video filmed in Peckham; watch the session here:
HERE
Speaking about the new release, which follows close on the tail of recent singles ‘Love Me Alone’ and ‘Choorile’, Sabiyha notes; “This song is essentially calling this guy out on his wasteman behaviour. He gassed me to kingdom come at the beginning, then towards the end, would make me feel so small. By the end of the track, I literally exclaim “DO I CARE??” AND THE ANSWER IS… nah. I’m 100% over it fam! I couldn’t be more over it if I was sitting on the moon, so…boy bye.”
Sabiyha was born and raised in Croydon, South London amongst a large, extended family – headed up by matriarch ‘Nanny’ – formerly relocated from Guyana. Growing up in Sabiyha’s house was never silent, her teenage world sound-tracked by the latest tracks from Choice FM and Channel U, with grime and soca playing at day-to-night parties round BBQs. It’s a balance which reflects the broader interplay between her cultural heritage – brought into sharper focus by an affecting recent trip to her parents’ former home of Georgetown – and the ease of Croydon’s multicultural dynamic.
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