Since bursting on the scene in 2016 with his Back Seat Galaxy EP, Espacio Dios has earned a reputation as one of the most exciting genre-bending artists on the scene. The 21-year-old musician from Mafikeng in the North West Province – already has two highly-acclaimed EPs under his belt, his 2017 collab with Aussie DJ & producer Kilter on “Treasure” debuted on the Billboard charts, and you’ve probably heard him on Muzi’s Good Vibes Only as it reached the top of 5FM’s charts.
2020 is the year that he builds on all his previous success with the upcoming release of his debut album Son of Uri. You’ll be able to hear the full 13 tracks in May but you won’t have to wait that long to hear some of what Espacio Dios has been cooking up. In fact, he dropped the first single off the album, “Jabulani”, on Valentine’s Day and will be releasing the follow-up, “Love Yourself”, this Friday. With Son of Uri, Espacio Dios seeks to explore “how both darkness and light can be both positive and negative” according to Espacio’s life experiences, which I think explains the choice in singles.
“Jabulani” is a touching exploration of losing a sibling at a young age and the lifelong effects thereof. The opening lines hit hard with Espacio crying out “Jabu, Jabs, Jabulani // Saw my brother in a coffin // Died before he saw my profit.” Dios doesn’t lament for too long though as he switches it into a motivational war-cry of sorts where he’s living out the future his brother imagined for him. “Love Yourself”, is on the other end of the spectrum. It’s a bass-heavy club anthem that The Weeknd would be proud to feature on. It’s a love song in which Espacio Dios wishes for the object of his affections to love themselves so that he can love them too.
I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to give the whole album a handful of listens already and I’m genuinely excited to see how South Africa responds to it. I think Espacio Dios has the potential to be one of those artists that define a time period and Son of Uri could be an album that defines 2020 when it’s all said and done.
Look out for ‘Love Yourself’ dropping this Friday and give “Jabulani” a listen now if you haven’t already.
