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ESSENCE.com’s “New and Next” column spotlights the brightest new talents we think you should know.
Detroit native Ife Sanchez Mora just might have one of the most interesting backgrounds we’ve come across in our “New & Next” column. The daughter of an African-American mother and Mexican father who are both jazz musicians, Ife’s youth was spent meeting and jamming with some beloved jazz figures like Sun Ra and Miles Davis. Her grandmother is the celebrated sculptor Elizabeth Catlett and sister is American’s Next Top Model season 4 winner Naimah Mora.
Now a budding singer/ songwriter in her own right, Ife’s music weaves both her African-American and Mexican influences for a gritty mix of guitar-driven blues, rock and soul. She recently released her second album Fire Inside of Me, which she says charts the journey of a woman finding herself through painful times. “It’s a very cathartic way of releasing pain and frustration,” she said.
Watch Ife perform his single “Emptiness” from her newly released album Fire Inside of Me and let us know what you think.