Dank Artist of the Week: Afeefa & The Boy
Prepare yourself for this one before you hit play. Afeefa & The Boy have so much raw talent that all of their music hits you right in the soul.
We count ourselves lucky to have been there from the start of this band, watching them flourish into the amazing collaborative effort that they have now become. Not only do we have the honor and pleasure of knowing them all first-hand, but we were also lucky enough to interview them and get our own private performance of some of our favorite songs of theirs.
The band is currently made up of four members: Afeefa, the lead singer, lyricist, and guitarist; Jay, lead guitarist and producer; Andrew on drums and piano; and Glen on cello, violin, and piano. The story behind each and every one of them is absolutely inspiring. However, band front woman Afeefa has a story unlike any other.
Born in Guyana from Guyanese-Muslim parents, Afeefa was not allowed to listen to music growing up. Before she was born, her parents suffered a tragedy that caused them to turn to religion for comfort. Although her mother would still sing to her and her siblings, her father forbid music in their household, among other things, as Islamic rule dictates and because he wanted to shelter his children from the cruel, outside world. Due to familial disagreements, she moved to New York when she was only 16 years old. A few years down the road, she was married and gave birth to two beautiful children, who she refers to as her "little chocolate people." However, her marriage did not have the happy ending she thought it would.
About a year and a half ago, when Afeefa was going through a difficult time in nearly every aspect of her life, she turned to writing music to cope. She had always enjoyed singing, but once she began singing her own music, her own words, and was able to tell her own story, she realized her natural talent. She decided to buy herself a guitar for her birthday and eventually, she gathered up enough courage to sing at an open mic night at Austin's Coffee in Winter Park, FL. With her guitar in hand, she prefaced her performance with, "I only know two chords. I just started playing this thing." Even without any professional training or any on-stage experience, Afeefa impressed enough people in the audience for someone very talented to approach her after the show.
Jay, a man of few words, comes from a very musical family and has been playing guitar since he was little. Once he saw Afeefa's talent on stage at Austin's Coffee, he walked up to her and said, "We should jam some time." Afeefa admits that she didn't even know what "jam" meant, but she knew that hanging around musicians would help her improve her newly found skills, so she agreed. It wasn't until after their first practice session together that she realized Jay's intentions were to keeping playing with her and to be a part of her musical journey. She said she thanked him for everything he had taught her that day and that's when he turned to her and said, "Don't you want to keep doing this?" From there, Afeefa & The Boy began to take shape.
Afeefa & Jay went on to perform at various shows around the Orlando-area and Afeefa even won a songwriting contest. At this point, Afeefa began writing our current favorite song of theirs, The Old Man. Her inspiration for this incredible ballad came from a summer fling. She said when she was getting to know this mystery man, she learned that he never knew his father. For some reason, that stuck with her and when she got home, she wrote down on a piece of paper, "He didn't know his father, not a day in his whole life." Later, she learned that he ran into his father by mistake once at a shopping mall, and that's when she added the following lyric, "Except that day, by mistake, when he ran into his face." Although the song is not about that particular man, his story sparked the creation of an entirely different story in Afeefa's mind. The song is about an old man who has endured a long, hard life and a part of that struggle was never knowing his father. This particular song has a sentiment of its own, but the sentiment of this song to the band goes even deeper than that. It was the song that brought in their following two bandmates: Andrew and Glen.
While Afeefa and Jay loved playing The Old Man on their own, Afeefa knew that other instruments were needed to convey the power of this song. She said she didn't even know what other specific instruments were needed because she was still very new to music, but that she could hear other sounds in her head whenever they'd play it. Then one day, at Afeefa's housewarming party, Andrew was amongst their mutual friends. He picked up a drum, started jamming with them, and lo and behold, a few weeks later they brought him to practice The Old Man with them. It was a perfect fit. Once they got their rhythm down, they decided to go back to Austin's Coffee and perform the song as a trio. It just so happened, by chance, that Glen was there with a friend, who convinced him to stay and watch Afeefa. Glen recalls looking at his friend and saying, "What's an Afeefa?"
Glen, who comes from a very musical background, recently took a leave of absence from graduate school to pursue his passion of being a musician. Seeing Afeefa perform couldn't have come at a better time. After her performance blew him away, he walked up to her and said, "What do you think about adding cello to your music?" Afeefa admits that she didn't even know what a cello was when he asked, but Jay convinced her that they should try it out. Needless to say, it was almost as if it was meant to be.
That moment when Afeefa gathered up the courage to sing alone at Austin's was such a powerful moment in all of their lives. If she had never taken the initiative and believed in herself enough to stand in front of a bunch of strange faces and sing her own words, there's a good chance none of them would have met and the world would be deprived of some of the most organic and harmonious music. Afeefa & The Boy have gone on to make even more astounding songs, such as The Sea, The Lonely City, and Blue Shades. When listening to each of these songs, you can tell they all come from a real place. The result is breath-taking. Take a listen below.
In conclusion, we can't get enough of Afeefa & The Boy. We truly believe, from the bottom of both of our hearts, that they will go on to do some amazing things together. While they have some exciting things planned for this year, Afeefa & The Boy have decided that they are going to surprise us with the details later. For now, they are working on their next string of shows, which will be in New York at the beginning of April. Details on those shows to come.
We hope you were as moved as we were by Afeefa's story and we hope you continue to support this band's amazing talent. Follow Afeefa & The Boy on SoundCloud and "Like" them on Facebook. Also, check out Afeefa's letter to fellow music blogger Mark from YVYNYL, published last week.
