Rising star Elsy Wameyo is taking on Australian music with her new single Outcast, a personal and emotional single that combines artistic strength with the racial vulnerability that comes with generations of cultural trauma. This latest offering from the Adelaide-based, Nairobi-born performer is the first single to be released from her forthcoming EP and marks the beginning of a new chapter in this young singer-songwriter’s career.
Wameyo’s soothing vocals and gripping poetry invites the listener to consider the issues which are still very much present in African communities in Australia and overseas. The single touches on activism, the fight for equality and explores the concept of otherness in Australia. Wameyo is exploring her range with Outcast, which uses space and minimalism to deliver a stripped back, but impactful sound. “I wrote this song because I see and feel the pain of being black. Just another outcast,” Wameyo said.
“I too struggle to fit in but I don’t want to, and will not, conform. This message is for my black kings and queens, so that you may understand the significance, beauty and richness of your blackness,” she said. “Don’t you ever forget who you are, where you come from. Your culture, your home.”
The last few years have been crucial to Wameyo’s development as an established artist with a unique sound, and she has risen quickly as one of Adelaide’s most exciting creative exports, courting the attention of big players in the industry, including that of Adelaide’s most famous musical import, the Hilltop Hoods. Outcast is available on Apple Music and Spotify today.
Readers also enjoyed our story on another rising star, Amela.
