There is so much music to choose from these days, it can be hard for a listener to really pledge allegiance to one specific sound. Thankfully, Elaine Mukheli is unlike anyone else you’ll come across. A native of Pretoria, South Africa, Elaine has made a fan of me from the first listen. “Slip Away” was the song that did it for me. The 20-year-old taps into a vibe that was warm and mellow, with hints of self-actualization that comes out in the writing. Her incisive lyricism is one of the reasons why I quickly subscribed to her album, Elements, a 7-song, 22-minute, self-distributed effort that marks an “artistic and personal coming of age of Pretoria’s latest talent,” according to Apple Music.

“I’ve always loved music from a very young age,” she shared with HYPE Magazine last October. “I had my first solo at a school concert [and] that moment changed my life forever. From that day [on], that’s all I wanted to do.” With inspirations such as Lauryn Hill and Beyoncé, Elaine would learn the different colors and moods that come with music through practice and execution. “I joined choirs from primary up until high school,” she said in that same interview. “I learned a whole lot of different types of music, styles, and genres which I enjoyed a lot.” It is with that level of awareness that makes her a breath of fresh air in a music scene that looks and sounds like copy, paste, and repeat.

On songs like “I/You” and “I Just Wanna Know”, she flexes her songwriting skills, the latter over Clxrity and Elizée’s production choices. Her girl-next-door aesthetic showcases young-and-in-love feelings such as doubt (“Say It”) and zeal (“When We’re Alone”), which belies her budding star status as the first independent woman to reach the number one spot on the South African Apple Music album charts. Add to that that while she’s an independent artist, Elaine is also in her second year at the University of the Witwatersrand, where she is studying towards a masters’ degree in law.

With an agenda of not trying to make South African R&B and trap-soul sound “a certain way” in order to feel authentic, I love Elaine’s sonic aesthetic. By blending various genres including Baroque pop and New Age hip-hop, Elaine’s sound is equal parts experimentally flowy and alternative in a Lana del Ray sort of vibe. I’ve already lived through my twenties, but subjects about love, loss, and risk-taking are things anyone can still relate to regardless of age. Despite only having an EP to her name, the path to greatness is a journey that Elaine seems ready to explore on her own terms.

Follow Elaine on IG and Twitter to learn more.