Eshe of Arrested Development explains why she’s happy on her own

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Eshe has the joyous demeanor of a woman coming into her own. The former vocalist and dancer with Grammy-winning hip-hop collective Arrested Development, Eshe has been forging ahead as a solo artist in the past year, releasing heartfelt and rich songs that reflect her perspective on life and love. And she explained to rolling out why she’s in a great place creatively now that she’s able to present herself to the world—unfiltered.


“I started off in this industry when I was 13-years-old with Arrested Development and now I am totally a full-grown woman,” she shares. “In that aspect, the voice that was heard by the public was with Arrested Development. Now as a woman, I’m able to express where I am in my life and … moving forth on my journey and doing something fresh and new for myself. People get to see ‘Eshe’ not ‘Eshe from Arrested Development.'”


Soulful songs like “Love Sick,” “You Make Me Wanna” and “So Gone” showcase Eshe’s distinctively sultry voice and her lyrics are inspired by real-life experience.

“I love to live life a little bit—then write,” explains Eshe. “I was totally love sick about someone so [the song ‘Love Sick’] is a real account. I really like to talk about where I’m at and the things that I’m going through so that people get to see ‘Wow this is really personal.’ I feel it’s relatable for a lot of people because who hasn’t been in love or had their heart broken? Whatever’s in my heart, that’s how I like to approach my music. If it resonates with me, I know it’ll resonate with someone else.”


She found a somewhat unlikely music partner in Babanua, a Japanese producer that she found via MySpace years ago. “At first I thought it was like a joke,” she says with a laugh. “He sent me the track ‘Love Sick’ and ever since then he’s produced all of my singles. It’s something about him—he gets me. He creates tracks that complement my vocal style. He’s just a funky, soulful Japanese guy and I’m a funky, soul sista! So he’s like my soul mate musically. Ironically, we’ve never been in the studio at the same time. But he gets me and it’s a divine vibe. I feel like it was preordained.”

For Eshe, mentorship is equally as important as artistry. She mentors young people throughout Atlanta, and she doesn’t take her influence lightly.

“It’s beautiful when I talk to a lot of young girls and they say ‘You give me an option and make me feel like I can be classy and still sexy and get a message across without being too provocative,'” Eshe says. “It feels good because this is just me being me. This is not an act; it’s just who I am.”

Check out the video for Eshe’s “So Gone:”

[jwplayer mediaid=”611026″]

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