Zaki Ibrahim looks for her spot on a shelf.

As music fans and writers have a tendency to put bands and musicians into categories to make it easy on ourselves. But when an artist doesn’t fit into any one genre we have difficulty understanding what they do. Zaki Ibrahim doesn’t fit into any one spot. She’s neo-soul but she’s also R&B. She’s hip hop but she’s also jazz. She’s Canadian but she’s also South African. All of those elements along with her voice are what make her music stand out and being put into categories rarely crosses her mind until someone brings it up.

“I get put into hip hop and R&B and jazz, neo-soul, all of these different kinds of genres. But there’s really nothing to call what I do. It’s interesting that everyone needs to put something in a category or compare you to someone else. I never thought about it going into music. I never thought about where I’d end up on a shelf in a music store, if I ended up on a shelf. But when it comes to someone pushing your CD or helping to sell your CD they need something to help describe it. I don’t know why I need to be compared. In life, not all art has to be compared. I was compared to Nelly Furtado and I didn’t understand that and then it went from Nelly Furtado to Sade to Lauryn Hill. It’s cool though, I’m not hating it, it’s just interesting.”

With comparisons like that it’s easy to see why she has a growing fanbase of between music lovers and other musicians. Enough of a fanbase that she had to keep getting more copies of her EP pressed, each time with something new or something changed.

“The EP that was done for the shows was a limited run and I had to print up more. I wanted to make it slightly exclusive with the smaller runs. But it makes it a little difficult when people can’t access it. I’m going to need some time to finish my album so in the meantime I’m completely revamping the EP, some of the songs are completely redone like “My Joy” is done live and more up-tempo and them I’m releasing it and the full album with come out shortly after. Dropping an album right now wouldn’t make much sense. “I think redoing the tracks has been more of an exercise. I haven’t put out my first album yet but to go in and experiment…It’s important to keep the sentiment in there, so I’ll keep the words and change other things, but there are some songs I just can’t touch.”

Now that she’s working on her full length once the songs are released, she won’t have as much of a chance to go back and play around with them like she does now. An experience that is something new for her.

“With this album it’s different because it’s going out. I can record it and leave it alone. It’s out there. But right now it’s learning the process with the writing and the recording, even performing. Because performing changes the way you feel about a song and inspires you to write more songs.”

In the past she’s collaborated with numerous musicians like the Pocket Dwellers, Tumi and the Volume, The Quartertones, Ladybug Mecca of Digable Planets among others too many to name. And it’s the collaboration process that keeps her interested in working with so many other musicians.

“I like to collaborate with certain people because I spend the entire session laughing and then I like working with other people because you get right down to work and have a chance to be creative and inspired.”

With some major shows coming her way, such as a spot at the legendary Apollo Theatre in Harlem, NY, as well as an upcoming opening spot with The Roots and recently opening for Bedouin Soundclash’s sold out Toronto show, Zaki feels each show has a different vibe depending on what the audience is there for.

“Bedouin Soundclash has been really supportive with helping me and pushing me out there. I did a frosh week tour with them and I was terrified to play and I feel like it was the greatest practise to get over my fear. And the crowds were very receptive, at the concerts the crowds were screaming and chanting but then I’ll play a neo-soul concert in Toronto and the audience has no energy. There was this show in Detroit for something called Quality Control, a different hip hop thing and the energy was completely different. They were listening to every word and cheering along with something they agreed with and it was easy to feed off that energy.”

With an already growing career worldwide, it probably wouldn’t surprise anyone that’s heard Zaki if she becomes a household name.

- Alyssa Caplin


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