Ife Lessons

posted in: Artist Features • Pop

Sometimes respect is won not by showing others what you can do, but rather what you won’t do. Like demonstrating your vocal chops with self-indulgent acrobatics, or showcasing your production skills by overloading a song with bells and whistles. If restraint breeds admiration, Ifé (pronounced ee-fay) Thomas deserves a round of applause. Under the moniker Ifé Soul Music, the LA-based chanteuse melds jazz, R&B and pop into simmering slow-tempo numbers that say a lot about who she is without overstating anything. Mocha Mellow features only two instruments: Thomas’ expressive voice and an acoustic guitar. On Aim to Please, a steamy groove about the art of seduction, multi-tracked Ifés sing backup and soft synths set the mood without eating up any space. Thomas’ delivery is always cool, belying the heat of her words. And yes, sometimes those words are a little inelegant (When I talk in your ear / Nasty words that you’ll hear). But hey, Sade once sang, When you require streetcar desire for higher heights and no one stopped making out to question her lyrical choices. Groove is in the heart, not the pen.