Emanuel’s ‘Alt Therapy’ Is Toronto's Newest R&B Classic
I’ll be honest; a lot of what I do and say is exaggerated for the purpose of capturing attention. When I say an artist or project is incredible, I’m not lying to anyone, but I am fully aware that “better music” exists. However, I feel differently about Emanuel and his debut album Alt Therapy. This isn’t just “fire”, this is an artist, capturing and creating, at the highest level.
Emanuel is an Ethiopian-Canadian R&B artist who was raised in London, Ontario. My first introduction to him was toward the end of 2020, when he released his second EP, Alt Therapy Session 2: Transformation.
The EP’s beautiful artwork had been shared all across my social media feeds, from some of my favourite Toronto media personalities.
What I found on my very first listen, was a soulful expression that I haven’t heard out of Toronto – maybe ever. The EP started off with “Magazines” and “Black Woman”, two beautifully-written songs that are flooded with intention and purpose. You could tell right away, that these songs weren't meant to be “just another song” – they were meant to be impactful.
The song that followed, “PTH”, although less urgent, still carried similar emotional intensity. “PTH” quickly became one of my favourite songs of 2020. I couldn’t help but appreciate that Emanuel would sing, “that p*ssy tastes like heaven”, just seconds after making it clear that he knows how important his music and content can be.
It was clear that Emanuel didn’t choose to be a “deep songwriter”, he’s just who he is: an artist who’s comfortable doing whatever he wants. Sometimes that means being compelled to create powerful music.
On June 15th, hours before Emanuel would release his debut album, we were lucky enough to hear him speak during a press conference hosted by 1824. He answered questions with a level of patience and poise that I hadn’t heard from anyone before in my life. He speaks with the same level of awareness and respect that he sings with in his music.
For him, being intentional isn’t just something he saves for the music, it’s how he carries himself through life.
Emanuel expressed to us that Alt Therapy was the most honest he could be with himself. Instead of pretending that this project is anything else, Alt Therapy is Emanuel admitting to us and himself, that he’s doing this to heal. These are conversations, sounds, and images that he needed to create, so that he could get better.
It’s amazing to hear how fondly Emanuel speaks about life now, and it’s because he understands that everything he’s ever felt is his superpower. When he looks back now, on those years working late at the hospital, which were fun but unfulfilling, and those years of feeling out of place as a Black child in London, he speaks with admiration. He knows that those times were necessary for him to be as good as he is now – but as we said, Alt Therapy is him getting better.
Do yourself a favour and check out the album below and let us know what you think. Is there anyone else in Toronto that is creating art that is this intricate and atypical? We don’t think so.