The singer has created her own signature sound.

Photography by Ryan Shorosky&nbsp;

Fashion by Julia Ehrlich&nbsp;

"I was just super angsty and lonely, and it was hard for me to adjust and make friends, so I learned instruments. They were my friends.”

&ldquo;At the time, I was going through a lot,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;My father was very ill, and he was living in North Carolina, and I got to see him, and we all knew anything could happen. My last time getting to spend time with him, I was in the process of writing the song. And in the same way, it&rsquo;s super triumphant to me. I guess I was in a place in my life where I was like, &lsquo;Things are so hard that the only way it could go is up.&rsquo; And that&rsquo;s essentially what happened, so I guess it was an affirmation. Once I spoke those words into existence, my life actually started coming together.&rdquo;

The song&rsquo;s automotive theme, she says, is a sort of tribute to her father.

&ldquo;So I grew up, like with a lot of first generation kids, with the stories (their parents told) of, &lsquo;You don&rsquo;t know how hard I worked to be here.&rsquo; And my dad always wanted this specific Lexus. He wasn&rsquo;t a materialistic person, but that metaphor for him was like, &lsquo;I will have really been that person who came from Ethiopia, from nothing, and made it.&rsquo; So that&rsquo;s where I got the idea of the car. But also the matte black truck is something to me that&rsquo;s really militant, like, &lsquo;You can&rsquo;t fuck with me if I&rsquo;m in this car,&rsquo; and that&rsquo;s why that particular type spoke to me. It&rsquo;s like an ode to my ancestors, and the people who came before me who were strong enough to muscle through.&rdquo;

LAFINAL17.jpg

JACKET ALEXANDER WANG, NOSE RING MEREBA'S OWN

CREDITS

Hair:&nbsp;Vernon Francois

Makeup:&nbsp;Charlotte&nbsp;Prevel

Photo Assistant:&nbsp;Julian Berman

Stylist Assistant:&nbsp;Grace Lynch

Makeup Assistant:&nbsp;Keely Maroney

Production Coordinator:&nbsp;Tim Oliver

Mereba Is a Musician Who Thrives on Discomfort

L'OFFICIEL USA December 2024 - Julianne Moore Cover

Mereba Is a Musician Who Thrives on Discomfort

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