BELDINA
Last night, I took a deep dive through my archives and was reminded of the time I was invited to perform at Pianos upstairs bar and open for the gorgeous Kenyan goddess from Sweden ✨BELDINA✨. It’d been several years since I reached out to her personally though she’d been on my heart and crossed my mind many times. I noticed she’d been virtually inactive on social media since her mom passed, so I considered her needing time to heal & have space to grieve. But resurfacing these photos brought up fond memories and that led me to a quick Google search to see if there were any updates I wasn’t aware of. What I soon found was devastating. Beldina passed away in 2019 on Christmas Eve. 😭🕊🤍 A bright light in this world and an Earth angel gone too soon. I immediately took a drive to call my mom and sobbed as I sang praises of how she touched my life if only for the brief time I knew her.
I met Beldina through a few mutual Swedish friends who let me crash with them before heading to a music festival. Our connection was genuine, we became fast friends, and remained in touch. Not long after we met, she invited me to a gig in DC where she was singing at the Swedish Embassy. It was a fun night and she even introduced me to some of her bandmates. Soon after an invitation to watch her perform at Baby’s in NYC where I watched in awe and basked in her glow. Then in 2015 she asked me to open for her at Pianos upstairs bar in NYC. I lit up! I knew then that the Universe sent someone truly special into my life who not only valued my friendship but wanted me to shine too.
I continued to watch her rise and grind to new heights in LA, cheered her on from afar, and played her latest releases on repeat whenever they dropped. Beldina’s talent was out of this world, her voice was so ethereal, clear as a bell, so confident, and also emotive, often giving me chills.
Though we occasionally communicated through DMs since we last saw each other, I kept her close to my heart and there she will remain. I am extremely heartbroken and saddened by learning of this, however late. As I sit in reflection and write these words, I am reminded of what life is and has always been about for me. It’s about the people who show up with their undeniable presence of love and are there to remind you that you are made of the same ♥️. I hope her spirit is resting peacefully & free from any suffering. Sweet Beldina, thank you for being my friend 👼🏽
