Ebubé is getting vulnerable

Ahead of his second EP, A Mile in my Mind, the British R&B singer is back in the Big Smoke and trusting his instincts.

March 19, 2026

Ebubé is apologetic when he joins our call slightly late, after accidentally joining the wrong link. He laughs at himself as he whizzes through his mum’s Bromley house until he finds somewhere to sit. From there, he settles into his natural demeanour: calm and confident. His eyes wander to the ceiling as he talks as though he’s visualising his thoughts, and considering which one to pluck out of the ether and present.

We first discuss the artist’s return to London. Already, he’s been stopped by the police and ID’d on the street. He gives a humourless chuckle as he tells me this. Despite these incidents, and the extortionate prices of everything here, he is glad to be back. If nothing else, it’s where Ebubé’s football team resides. As an Arsenal supporter, hearing Brentford is my local team, the artist starts chatting about our one-all draw from the night before. Far from the world of football fanfare, Ebubé comes from a classical music background. He’s played the violin from a young age.

But now, with his buttery voice and silky runs, he is claiming his space within the British R&B scene. His journey began when he joined the group No Guidnce, before leaving to release his first EP. That was last year. In 2026, he is gearing up for his new release, A Mile in my Mind, kicking things off with a sold- out show in London — as if the city had been anticipating his return.

Ebubé wears jacket by DAILY PAPER, shirt by ASOS and tie by FOLKESPEARE.

Scarlett Clarke: Congratulations on the new single and your sold- out London show. How are you feeling?

Ebubé: We’ve been in rehearsals — it’s a full band, so it’ll be a proper live experience. I always want to give people a reason to come to a show, not just hear the record again. Sometimes you feel detached from the people listening to your music, so seeing them in real life will be special. I’m excited.

SC: In your recent Substack post, you spoke about following your gut with more conviction — what does that mean to you?

E: There’s a lot of noise in the industry — people telling you what you need to be like. Sometimes the noise is internal too, especially with comparison. I want to get to a point where I’m as convinced in my taste as my listeners are. Short-form media often makes people fans of a song, not an artist. If you move away from that sound, they don’t always connect. So conviction means trusting
my instincts even when the tangible evidence suggests otherwise. Looking back, the decisions that didn’t make sense to others, but felt right to me, are the ones that got me this far.

“Short-form media often makes people fans of a song, not an artist.”

SC: When has that paid off?

E: ‘Lay With Me’ — my biggest song now — wasn’t initially one my internal team were keen on. But it was a feeling I had. There’s just something that it did to the people I played it to, that meant it was going to connect. It’s also life choices. There’s this idea that to succeed as an R&B male artist you need to live a certain way. Always [be] out. For example, I don’t drink or smoke, and going out constantly isn’t for me. Staying home and working on my music is what’s right for me. That consistency has paid off.

Ebubé wears blazer, shirt and trousers by AMIRI.

SC: Is it a challenge to be vulnerable in your music?

E: I think so, especially because you don’t know if people will connect with
it. Everybody’s experience is unique. But I’ve had to remind myself, if something is super relatable to me, it probably is super relatable to somebody else. ‘Where I Want to be’ was literally based on me being sick of the situation that I was in. I was still in London, staying at my mum’s, running for the train to a session and thinking, ‘I can’t keep doing this’. That sparked a conversation in the studio about the city not feeling like home anymore — about wanting to level up in life and relationships. Those vulnerable moments are what people need to hear.

SC: You’re based in Brussels now. What does that environment give you creatively?

E: I always wanted to live in Paris. Being from a classical music background, I grew up loving French impressionist piano — that always inspired me. When I moved to Brussels with my girlfriend, initially it was a disappointment. I was like, ‘Oh, it’s not Paris’. But it’s actually a calmer version of Paris. There’s space to breathe. Being somewhere you don’t know anybody is refreshing. You see life differently, and I take inspiration from that, too.

SC: How has your sound evolved since your debut?

E: My early work leaned into slow jams and ’90s R&B. Recently, there’s been more soul influence — more Stevie Wonder. The new EP, A Mile in My Mind, explores how disjointed my brain is, but the sound and my voice tie it together to live in one world. It’s still warm. It’s still about love — the challenges but also the positives. It’s just raw emotion and not trying to fake what it’s supposed to feel like.

SC: You’ve said “R&B is back”. How do you see British R&B right now?

E: British R&B is amazing right now. Artists like kwn and Elmiene are pushing it into the mainstream. I’m just trying to bring my own version, shaped by my upbringing and taste. Even though R&B didn’t originate necessarily in the UK, we’ve got the soul and we’ve got the emotion that it takes for us to be taken seriously globally as R&B powerhouses.

Ebubé wears jacket by ANCIELA and jumper by PAUL SMITH.

SC: How are you preparing for your London show, and which moment are you most excited for?

E: I like to do press-ups to get the blood flowing. Mentally, I’m just trying to enjoy it. The goal is to let the audience feel that joy and hopefully take whatever message they want from the show. I’m excited to perform ‘A Mile in My Mind’ and ‘Pressures’. ‘Pressures’ pushes me sonically, and when I played ‘A Mile in My Mind’ in Paris last year, people loved it.

“I want to get to a point where I’m as convinced in my taste as my listeners are.”

SC: What would you have done differently in your journey so far?

E: I would’ve been more confident in my decisions. I’ve made scary choices, but sometimes doubted myself when things felt slow. Now there’s songs out, there’s people listening — it’s time to be bold.

SC: What do you miss about London?

E: The people. I was on the train and there were a load of guys that didn’t know each other and we just started chatting about football. That kind of stuff is nice. I like speaking English, my brain doesn’t have to be constantly translating
all the time. London is such an amazing city. Obviously it has its flaws, but I feel like a kid again. I never thought, having grown up in London, I could come here and still have this small city syndrome.