Elmiene

British-Sudanese singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Elmiene makes poetic R&B with a contemporary tone and organic neo-soul feel in the vein of Sampha or Brent Faiyaz. After gaining notice with the nimble 2021 single "Golden," he released his debut EP, EL-MEAN, in early 2023. Additional singles like "Someday" and the psychedelic-leaning "Marking My Time" followed later in the year. The EP Marking My Time was expanded into 2024's Marking My Time (Again), which was followed by another EP, Anyway I Can. His debut mixtape, Heat the Streets, arrived in 2025, along with a Brit Award nomination for Rising Star. He made his official full-length debut with 2026's sounds for someone.

Born Abdala Elamin in 2001 in Frankfurt, Germany to Sudanese parents, Elmiene grew up in Oxford, England where he began writing at a young age, gravitating to poetry and lyrics. His influences developed from 2Pac to Prince and Stevie Wonder as he nurtured his own lyrical and vocal style, which is a smooth, airy tenor that often dips into falsetto. Elmiene released his debut single, "Golden," in December 2021, a week after premiering it live at the late Virgil Abloh's final show in Miami. The catchy, percussive track earned Elmiene plenty of buzz over the coming year as he began teasing his first EP with eclectic follow-up singles like the breezy "Why (Spare Me Tears)" and the acoustic ballad "Endless No Mores." Both appeared on the five-song EL-MEAN EP, released in March 2023, and led to Elmiene signing with Def Jam a few months later. The silky "Mad at Fire" arrived in June, followed by a succession of interesting singles like the Sampha-produced "Mama" and the trippy "Marking My Time."

An EP titled Marking My Time appeared, and additional tracks, such as the Jeff Buckley cover "Lover, You Should've Come Over" and a BadBadNotGood edit of the title track were appended to the 2024 deluxe edition, Marking My Time (Again). Elmiene remained busy throughout the year with singles like "Crystal Tears" and "Sweetness," a live set titled Live from 525, and his next EP, Anyway I Can, which was released in October. For the Deported rounded out the year.

In 2025, Elmiene received a Brit Award nomination for Rising Star and issued his debut mixtape album, Heat the Streets. He returned in March 2026 with his official debut studio album, sounds for someone, featuring production contributions from Raphael Saadiq, No I.D., and Sampha. Included were the singles "Reclusive," "Honour," and "Saviour." ~ Timothy Monger