She Knows
With serenading ballads and the smoothest tones, Kaleem Taylor presents ‘She Knows’. On this 7-track EP, the vocalist and songwriter delicately folds emotions into his songwriting and tells stories of love that’s not quite within his grasp over electronic and trap beats. Building on the successful release of the singles ‘Questions’ and ‘Until’, Kaleem continues to demonstrate why British R&B deserves to be on the global stage with him at the centre.
In ‘Feel’, the longest track on the EP, Kaleem turns the very ideas of the feels inside out, exploring the idea of love languages. He sings about the physical sensation of love through touch and asks if his lover’s sentiment is identical to his own. With doubt on his mind, this man just wants to be told. Digging even deeper in the chorus, he questions whether those feels have remained – unchanged.
“Do I still make you feel the way
That you did on that day? (like you did on that day)
Does your heart know it was the same
Or has anything changed? (has anything changed)
Cause I just wanted to know that you feel what I feel
I just wanted to know that you feel what I feel”
On this EP, it’s not just Kaleem’s incredible vocal range, but also his ability to control the highest notes that make tracks like ‘Until’ impressive. When he sings, “Until my heart stops / ‘till my heart stops beating” in the pre-chorus, lyrics are left echoing in the listener’s ears. ‘She Knew’ also has this effect, but for other reasons. In this track, the R&B singer reflects on what happens when you try to hide your pain; how your loved ones can always tell when you’re “not okay”.
The production in the closing track, ‘I Understand’, switches things up with a funk-infused melody. The round and full-bodied tones of the bass perfectly complement Kaleem’s soulful sound. From the album ‘Surface’ released in 2019 to this latest EP, Kaleem has been consistent in shaping the sound of British R&B and setting the standards high for other artists wanting to break into the scene.