The Breeze Grew A Fire

Southern-bred, alternative R&B singer-songwriter Mereba artistically embodies self-understanding on The Breeze Grew a Fire, her grandest work and first release on Secretly Canadian. To hone in on this latest album, it was necessary for Mereba to reconnect with her whole many-sided self, from her inner child to her inseparable relationships. While she peacefully transmutes her beginnings on the 13-track LP, Mereba looks upon her closest kinships and friendships with a keen understanding of their steadying, inspirational force. Surrounded by the gentle Breeze of these relationships and recollections, Mereba is empowered as both an artist and mother, while also being reminded to nurture her childlike wonder.

As a singer, rapper, songwriter and producer, Mereba gracefully shines on the follow-up to her bounteous 2019 debut, The Jungle Is the Only Way Out. In escaping the Jungle, Mereba faced the paradigm shift of birthing a son in 2021 and getting accustomed to a rapidly changing self-outlook. Mereba's creative output has always relied on her innermost reflections and ideas on whatever was happening around her; but in motherhood, the singer's perspective widened while her inspiration became more focused, and more individually powerful.

Her debut studio album The Jungle is the Only Way Out was a breakthrough by virtually any measure; Mereba found a hefty, devoted fanbase, a dizzying number of doors open to her, and a connection to the icon Stevie Wonder, who mentored Mereba around the same time. "We hit it off in a very pure way," says Mereba, "he was one of the early supporters of me serving as my own producer with my music, as it mirrored him taking control of his own sound in the late 60s/early 70s. His support and guidance helped me finish the album that changed things for me as an artist." Mereba also found her music soundtracking film and TV like Creed, Insecure, and Queen & Slim, all of which reaffirmed Mereba's ascendant place in culture.