Written by AZRIL
Close your eyes and imagine Drake’s OVO label smash signees’ Majid Jordan are coming of age. Now picture Shawn Mendes as he meanders amid more of a Charlie Puth phase of musical fusion with genres like Alternative Pop, R&B, a bit of Synth Pop and Wave.
Now, open your eyes!
What you proverbially see in front of you, is what you’re getting with Kadiri James’ new single “Closer To You.”
Kadiri was born and raised in “The 6” section of Canada. “The 6” was a term coined by Canadian rap champion and crooner Drake because of the 6 boroughs that make up Toronto. The “Closer To You” singer and songwriter seems to be on the doorstep of the next breakthrough Toronto musician. James went full speed into recording music in 2016, which landed him a featherlike-smooth feature on LA producer Mahalo’s Dance track “Here With Me.” The track has reached close to 2 million streams worldwide on both Apple Music and Spotify. Such was a heralding harbinger to the latest single from Kadiri, “Closer To You.”
Everyone at one point or another experiences issues with those responsible for their upbringing, be it parents, guardians or whomever. Kadiri James’ single “Closer To You” centers around growing pains and life’s learning curves in an attempt to understand the distance between him and his parents. Kadiri rudimentarily condemns those strains and pains that typically pull parents apart from their children. In an earlier verse, Kadiri says, “Nobody’ll love me like you do.” If you’re not careful, you’ll essentially mistake Kadiri for referring to a romantic interest on “Closer To You.” Throughout the track, he blatantly and vulnerably construes about these familial connections. Lyrics like, “I thank you for making me understand” coincide nicely along the song’s chorus, “I wish I could be closer to you,” making “Closer To You” a unique, yet towering testament of love of the familial kind.
“Closer To You” by Kadiri James is about as brilliant as it is a breakthrough. With so many aspiring musicians emerging from Toronto nowadays, it’s not as easy to stand out, but Kadiri James seems to have figured it out.
“Closer To You” cleverly and creatively catapults itself apart from any of other acts I’ve recently heard from of Toronto. Kadiri is doing something that I’d love to see more musicians do more of: bring people together. There are typically gaps between us as musicians from age, interests, outlooks, and understandings. Still, music mystically has a way of piercing through to places left from the spaces of broken down communication which can easily usher in broken hearts. On that connective conjecture alone Kadiri James “Closer To You” could help elevate some extra connectivity for both its creators and listeners creatively and consciously.
Follow Kadiri James