Rimon Wants You to Live For Yourself
Rimon’s music evades definition.
The Eritrean-born musician soars beyond any labeled boundaries. She’s made music that moves fluidly between hip-hop, soul, R&B and reggae, reflecting her vast depth of inspiration that is even more vivid on Children of the Night, the artist’s debut album.In a recent conversation with OkayAfrica, she reveals the album has been two years in the making, but began developing far before that. Around five years ago, Rimon wrote a song titled “Children of the Night,” that she didn’t release and stayed as a demo.
“It’s a funny story,” she says, “but once I made that song and gave it the title, I just immediately knew — there was something about the title that really stuck with me. So I knew from that beginning, that whenever I’m gonna release an album, even if I didn’t have the music, I just knew that Children of the Night was gonna be the title.”
Duality and rebellion are key concepts in the album, choices that are informed by Rimon’s interpretation of how children are typically told what to do and when to do it — even for something as natural as sleeping. “[But] children of the night,” she infers, “are people who choose whatever they want to do, and I think that’s just someone that’s always been me, growing up as a child, as a teenager, even now, very much choosing and doing things that feel good for me — like a celebration of that authenticity, I would say.”The music is like an intricate carpet and Rimon artfully weaves colors and contours into the soft tapestry of the album. Its titular opener sounds like something between Beyonce and SZA, a soulful treatise whose ghostly background vocals give it a sense of foreboding. “I’m on a mission, haven’t slept in time,” begins Rimon before launching into a rap-inflected flow, and the production becomes even more dramatic and pronounced as her tone rises.
Across the 12 tracks on Children of the Night, we hear this interplay between the artist’s vocals and the beats, a fine chemistry that rewards multiple listens. Whether it’s the bouncy invitation of “Go Crazy” or the brooding enchantment of “Flowers,” Rimon creates a loosely organized world around her chosen theme, embodying the truth that individuality takes on several forms. Tellingly, the features on the album — BEAM, Dylan Sinclair and Mereba — are in-tune with these thematic considerations, amplifying the 27-year-old’s stirring vision.
“Mereba is someone that I’ve listened to for a long time, she’s an artist I really look up to,” says Rimon. “I just reached out to her when I was in Los Angeles, this year actually, and I just hung out with her; she listened to the album, and I listened to some of her songs from her forthcoming album. There’s just a natural relationship already there because we share the same heritage.”
Photo by Louisa Meng.
"What stories am I gonna tell if most of my life is just gonna be consumed by working? That’s not what I want and that’s also not what the people want to hear from me." - Rimon
She had initially considered a rapper for their collaboration, “Make Money,” but since the record is written from the perspective of an immigrant’s child, it made sense to “keep it at home,” says Rimon, “and have someone on the song that actually relates to the feeling and share the same background.” She continues: “For me, what’s important is, ‘does it make sense?’ If a feature doesn’t make sense, it just doesn’t make sense. All of the features make sense sonically or story-wise.”
A standout quality of Rimon is her attention to cohesive storytelling. Just like her choice of features, the visual identity behind each musical offering has been stellar, informed by her love for photography and its cinematic potential. Her trio of EPs — BBYGIRL FOCU$ (2018), I Shine, U Shine (2020) and Digital Tears (2021) — have been accompanied by arresting visuals that espouse Rimon’s flair for color and coordination. What imagery does Children of the Night reveal?
Personally, I would say it’s a cross between Barry Jenkins’ intense poetics of the body in Moonlight and the enchanting pull of the sea in Mati Diop’s Atlantics. Asked which director she thought could visually translate COTN, she mentions Dave Free, whose videos for Kendrick Lamar, she says, “extend the music into the visual” and not just cinematography, as most directors do. She also mentions High5Collective, a directing crew that’s made an art of the “unofficial video.”Rimon has spoken about the possibility of moving to the United States. She’s been on the road throughout her life, settling with her family in the Netherlands and thereafter living in Germany. Even now, she says, she’s still finding the balance between her individuality and the demands of creating art for a dedicated audience.
“Mentally, I don’t think that there’s a balance ‘cause I’m always thinking about a lot of things music-wise,” she says, “but I’ve definitely tried to create more of a physical balance, if that makes sense, and try to take care of myself better and not let this music or lifestyle take a toll on my body or myself. I have healthier habits.”
Rimon concludes that she’s now “more inclined to say, ‘you know what? I’ve reached the point where I can’t anymore’,” she mentions. “I’m way more open and vocal about those things, which I think you kinda have to in this industry, otherwise you’re gonna overwork yourself, and that’s not the point of life in my opinion. For me, it’s like‘what am I gonna write about? What am I gonna feel? What stories am I gonna tell if most of my life is just gonna be consumed by working?’ That’s not what I want and that’s also not what the people want to hear from me. So I always try to, you know, just live a little bit.”