If you didn’t believe that R&B music was still alive, then London’s songstress Romaine Dixon is here to remind us all that it never died.

Claiming the stage as her ‘second home’ Romaine returns to the music scene after a study break with her Crazy.Sexy.Cool new single ‘Like I Do’ and gives me the 411 on what we can expect from her in 2017…

Your latest single ‘Like I Do’ was released in February this year. What were reactions like?
The reactions so far have been great. I was a bit nervous about what people would think of it as it’s one of the most sensual tracks I have released so far. I wanted to tap more into one of the issues we have to go through as women and wanted to pay homage to influences such as Aaliyah and Ciara whilst putting my own spin on it.

How does it feel to relaunch your career in 2017 and what do you hope to achieve?
It feels amazing for me to just focus on music this year, after taking some time out to focus on graduating from university. I hope to achieve a whole lot but most importantly I want to connect more with my supporters and I want to focus on growing my fan base.

Tell us about your passion for making music.
It’s definitely been a journey. As a kid I was very shy so I would always sing in my bedroom and try to imitate songwriting the songs I’d listen to. I’ve been performing since the age of seven whether that be singing, dancing or acting, so I was exposed to performing from a very young age. Eventually I took the leap in writing my first official song and booking my first ever studio session. The rest is history! There’s no better feeling than hearing something you have created being played back to you, you think ‘wow did I do that?’

Why is it important for you to break barriers for other young black women coming up in the music industry?
I think it’s a responsibility I have and I always want to give back. It’s very hard for women to get into the industry especially black women. We are confined into this box where we are expected to do R&B but aren’t given the opportunity to do that on a big platform as do other artists that operate within that genre. I want to show young black women that it can be done and that it’s okay to not look like the girls on TV. I want to empower not only black women but women in general.

Your music has a nice R&B vibe. Some say this genre is ‘dead’, do you think it can be revived in the way we once knew it to be?
Haha! R&B is alive and drives most of the music we all listen to! People are sometimes under the illusion that just because a song has a commercial pop beat doesn’t cancel out the R&B influence or vocal style. I think that in 2017 there is no such thing as genre, although we can all tell the difference between good and bad music.

In three words, who is Romaine Dixon?
Crazy, Sexy, Cool

What are you currently working on and can we expect anything exciting from you in the near future? 
I’m working on a load of things right now including a New EP, Songwriting for other artists within the US and UK as well as some new singles in the pipeline! I’ve also got a few collaborations coming out so be sure to keep an eye out for them!

To stay up to date with Romaine and her music:
Soundcloud
Twitter
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