Bilingual Pop Maven Aiza Drops Her Debut Album “Sovereignty”
Montreal-raised, Toronto-based certified Afro-Bop Queen, Aiza, is claiming her own Sovereignty on her full-length debut album. Featuring 11 tracks which showcase her unique blend of soulful afro-pop and R&B, Sovereignty is, in the words of Aiza herself, "an ode to the many lessons I've learned to become the empowered and unapologetic woman I am today."
The music video for "Sovereignty," the lead single off the album, was shot in Ghana in January 2023. Featuring a slew of Ghanaian talent and amazing natural views, the video was directed by "Majimbo" director Will Niava (Billie Eilish, H.E.R., Joey Bada$$) and produced by Aiza's new production company, Chraiza Productions Inc., with support from FACTOR, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Toronto Arts Council and the Ontario Arts Council.
Alongside her longtime collaborator and producer C the Reason, Sovereignty started to take shape. Aiza's explorative and fearless sonic approach sits at the album’s forefront as she seamlessly blends sounds from across the continent and diaspora, from Afro-pop and Afrobeat to Coupé Décalé and reggaeton, with soulful R&B. "I want to make uplifting music that makes you move," she explains. "My producer and I, we're both obsessed with everything from Brazilian Samba to classic Afrobeat—Fela Kuti style."
Oscillating between diasporic soundscapes and timeless R&B, Aiza's velvety vocals serve as the project's grounded core. Confident and braggadocious, it plays to the album's pop sensibilities. Tracking the life lessons along a young Black woman's path to who she is today, moods volley from cathartic introspection to self-assured empowerment.
The project plays like a cosmic journey that Aiza hopes listeners will go on with her, their own steps guided by its loving nudges towards their purest truth. "I want you to listen to this album and be inspired to look within and stand in your truth, unapologetically. Whether it's that little spot in you that still needs healing or the part of you that is screaming for an epic celebration."