A Bold Fusion of Jazz, Soul and Rap
Roukaya B released her Debut EP titled “ContROUversy” on 3rd April. We like to be there at the start of things—especially when the start sounds this promising. And in this case we discovered an emerging artist who blends jazz, soul and melodic rap into something fluid and hard to pin down.
The following review covers a five track EP from an artist whose press release tells us ‘has a background in Audio Engineering (BA Hons). Roukaya B is, thus, hands-on in every layer of her music, using the human voice as an instrument and exploring identity, vulnerability, and rebellion through a bold, experimental lens.’
With Roukaya B saying that this was an EP “for the misunderstood” we reached out for a chat after having a listen! The resulting interview is below, with the review following.
Your sound moves pretty fluidly between jazz, rap, afrobeat and soul—but it never feels like genre-hopping for the sake of it. When you’re creating, are you consciously blending styles, or does it just come out naturally from how you hear music?
Roukaya B: I don’t think I’ve ever consciously done it. I don’t remember ever going into a writing or jam session with a genre or specific idea in mind. I take a very spiritual approach to writing and sort of let my instincts do what they want and how that comes across can sometimes be a little quirky because you’re losing attachment to the instant emotion and attempting to connect with something you don’t often connect with.
There’s a strong thread of vulnerability across the EP, especially in tracks like “Out of Sight” and “Anything But Blue.” How do you decide what parts of your own narrative story you’re ready to put into a song?
Roukaya B: Age has definitely been a big part of it, and actively understanding the thing I’m choosing to sing about. These two tracks hold very mature themes, especially in comparison to the rest of the EP, and the more playful or cheeky approach I’ve had to my lyrics in past songs. With these two, I wanted to try a different approach, where I’m not directly telling the story or giving it all away. I think it’s a story you feel before you really pick apart and to understand what I’m saying. I also wanted to show I’m not that young and naive girl making music anymore, the one that was only exploring her sound to find her voice. I’m now exploring my sound with a lot more clarity, wit and conviction.
“Humpty Dumpty” is such an interesting rework of something so familiar—taking a nursery rhyme and turning it into something emotional and grown. I always think that poor Humpty Dumpty lived such a precarious life! He also appears in Alice through the Looking Glass of course as an egg of many words! What drew you to flipping something so familiar—like a nursery rhyme—into something more complex and emotional?”
Roukaya B: I’ve always been fascinated by literature and poetry growing up – and even though I am all grown up from first hearing the nursery rhyme or reading Alice through the Looking Glass, the fantasy has always stayed with me. I think when I’m going through turbulent times, it feels like I’m the star in Humpty Dumpty, it can feel like you’re knocked down, the pieces are all over the floor and nobody can put you back together again. Okay, you’re on the floor. Nobody else can put you back together, but it doesn’t say anything about HUMPTY not being able to put himself back together again. This is a very “you have the answers within” type of track, meant to uplift and help you put yourself back together again.I think it came from finding new and creative ways to explore a story without directly telling the story. I wasn’t being that serious to start with when creating HUMPTY DUMPTY, it was sort of just a quirky joke lyric, a funny outlet if you will. Then it kind of just stuck with me, so I continued working on it.
You’re clearly very hands-on with your music, from writing to engineering. How does having that level of control shape the final sound—and do you think it changes the way you express yourself compared to artists who work more collaboratively?
Roukaya B: I come from an independent background, no musical family that I’m aware of or direct musical influence growing up, so understanding music and creating music came from a very authentic place – something I figured out how to do over time – I’m quite literally learning on the job. From that, I realised I wanted to learn more. I wanted to know the process that my producer and engineer go through to help bring my sound to life, I wanted to understand the technical lingo and what someone means when they’re telling me that what I think I’m hearing is in fact something else. I started recording in my bedroom to lay down demos, before bringing them to the studio to Gorza in Birmingham, so this sparked my interest in recording and engineering. I just never knew how to properly clean my stems or really mix so the demo was more balanced or pleasing to the ears when sending it over to my producer, Lila. I’ve been lucky enough to find such an incredible team that I’ve grown with over the years that have never made me feel small or inadequate in the working environment, but I have also worked with a fair few individuals over the years that do sort of play on your lack of knowledge. That has definitely fueled the fire of wanting to be more hands on and have more knowledge about this thing I do, because it’s not just about writing, producing or enjoying music, there’s a lot of people helping to bring it all together. With this knowledge I also have an extra level of respect for my team understanding what goes into their job, I hear music differently now. I also see the necessity of understanding everything that goes into what I do on a deeper level, as being exactly what I need to do if I call this my job.
A lot of your music sits in that late-night, introspective space—but there’s also rebellion in it. What does rebellion look like for you as an artist right now—is it in the sound, the lyrics, the way you move in the industry, or all of the above?
Roukaya B: Rebellion looks like anything non-conforming to me. So it could be saying what’s deemed as the inappropriate thing or like saying the obvious thing that everybody else is too scared to say. It can look like standing in your authenticity, or saying no to something you may have let be in the past, it can look like putting up boundaries and no longer being a people-pleaser. That outspoken nature has always been a part of the way I move, and has in-turn come out more and more in the music the more I’ve found myself, my voice and my sound.
I do love the late night jazz club feel, a nostalgia for the 1920s clubs where the late night jazz singer stands at the mic and the illicit hooch is served at the bar. Like hip-hop, Jazz has a certain image and style in dress. As someone crossing genres how do you approach the aspect of dressing for performance – or does it not bother you?
Roukaya B: I do like to blend my style aesthetics similar to how I blend musical styles and genres. I think style is so important to catch the vibe, to help feel confident during the performance, and for the audience I think it sets the tone -the visual image that you have for the performance or music can be translated through style.
What plans for 2026 can you share with us?
Roukaya B: Lots and lots more music on the way. I’ve just dropped this EP which has been an incredible yet tumultuous journey. I am also working on a Youth Music NexGen funded project which I will be able to speak about more in the future. All I can say right now is stay tuned, take in the new EP; ContROUversy and catch me on a stage near you soon.
Fun Question -It is a hard winter’s night. The tour van/bus has broken down and a harsh wind blows through the night. Nearby you see a small house, it seems abandoned, yet there is a fire burning, food on the table and working electricity. While you wait for morning – what book and what film will get you through the night?
Roukaya B: It’s lowkey Hansel and Gretel – so I think I would stay in the van with the doors locked! I’ve also watched too many horror movies to not second guess that it could potentially be a trap. Safe to say that if there’s no wicked witch waiting to push me into an oven, then I’d get comfy in front of the fire to watch ‘She’s The Man,’ and then read my to-do list for the following day to remind myself of what’s to-do the second I get out of this suspicious small house!
And now on to the review:
The EP runs just over 17 minutes, but it packs a surprising amount into that time-
“Out of Sight” opens the album with a smooth and shimmering little number. It interplays nursery rhyme imagery and some late-night vibes. It leans into a mood that wouldn’t feel out of place alongside Aaliyah. “We want what we cannot have” sings Roukaya B in this song of morality, you can sway to this one.
“HEAT” was the one I actually heard first, a kind of jazzy rap fusion. It is a song with a melodic chorus hook and it’s a celebration of independence and resilience. One for (very) late-night radio.
“Anything But Blue” introduces a slow tempo jazz number heavy on the bass. I have a picture of the Harding era White House, a card table and some illicit whisky flowing, (an image we were looking for in some of our merchandise range actually, see below!). The jazz singer after midnight would be suitably glamorous and sultry and the speakeasy atmosphere would be clouded in cigar smoke! If you love the sound of that, and feel like some warm horns, then this track (the longest on the EP running to 4.25) is for you.
“Humpty Dumpty.” This one was explored by us in our conversation with Roukaya. You know Humpty Dumpty,Roukaya B tells us he is an analogy for our time. The thing is, Humpty had a great fall, (but if you were an egg would you really choose a high wall to sit on?) – Yet in life we all take a hit and getting broken is not the end. It is to be hoped someone will be there for us, but sometimes we have to get up ourselves and fight on. Remember, in ‘Through the Looking-Glass,’ Humpty Dumpty isn’t just some unfortunate egg—he’s basically a smug intellectual sitting very high up, confidently explaining how language works while being one wobble away from disaster. It’s almost a satire. And that’s why Roukaya B using him works so well—because he’s not just fragile, he’s confidently fragile. Of course, one could argue Humpty Dumpty had it coming—there are easier places to sit than the top of a wall when you’re essentially breakfast.
“RIDE” is “a soulful Afrobeat-Amapiano groove celebrating freedom, friendship and stepping back into the light.” It is an upbeat ending to a contemplative EP. It has a bit of club about it with a jazzy vocal.
Thus… Seventeen minutes. Five tracks. More personality than most albums manage in twice the time.
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