RIMON

Eritrea-born vocalist RIMON has built her name on emotive songwriting and a rich vocal style, blending elements of hip-hop, neo-soul, and dancehall. She debuted in 2018 with the EP BBYGIRL FOCU$, featuring the punchy R&B anthem "Grace." More EPs followed, including 2020's I Shine, U Shine and 2021's Digital Tears, both of which found her continuing to expand her sound. A series of collaborations including 2023's "I Choose U" with RINI followed. Born in 1997 in Eritrea and raised in Amsterdam, singer/songwriter RIMON kicked off her musical career as part of Amsterdam-based musical collective Alle$ Lifestyle. Dropping out of school to pursue her musical aspirations, the ambitious vocalist released her debut single, "Grace," in January 2018, produced by fellow Alle$ member Samuel Kareem. Further singles "Nighttime," "Realize," and "sugarcoated love" arrived in the following months, the last of these landing on the singer's debut EP, BBYGIRL FOCU$. Released in November that year, the set provided a portfolio of love-addled R&B delivered in RIMON's assured, lush vocals. After taking 2019 to focus on writing and live performance, the musician returned in May 2020 with her second EP, I Shine, U Shine, which took a more rap-adjacent approach with features from Darrell Cole and Denzel Curry. A third EP, Digital Tears, arrived in 2021, featuring the standouts "Feed Me" and "Mountain Views." After this, RIMON moved into a collaborative phase, pairing up with Tiggs Da Author on "Build Me a House" and RINI on 2023's "I Choose U." Another collaboration, "Can't Forget" with Brooklyn rapper Kelz2busy, appeared later that year. ~ David Crone