Ebhoni’s entré into the music business is the stuff of digital fairytales: precocious teen YouTuber generates views and interest with cover songs. Internet traction becomes industry traction and a star is born! But the thing is: Ebhoni is the real thing. She continues to push her music and her artistry with each subsequent release. And with the recent drop of her newest mixtape, Good Dick & Weed, Ebhoni turns introspective, delivering the best, and most honest, music of her career. Whether she’s modeling for Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty or dropping multiple albums in a calendar year, Ebhoni is ready to take over.
What were some of the influences behind Good Dick & Weed?
To be honest with you, a big thing for me was emotion. It’s so crazy, I didn’t really study anyone else’s project or anything like that. It was based on how I was feeling, which is really crazy because that’s never really been how I’ve created before. Usually, I just write. But at that time I was writing the album, I was going through a breakup, my grandma – who I was really, really close to – passed away, and COVID, so I was just not happy. I was in a really dark place. So I turned to people that I felt understood me or could understand where I was coming from and understand that I had to get stuff off my chest. So it really came from pain. The influence was pain. And it sounds so cliché, but it was a really dark time for me.
Did the album prove to be just what you needed? Did its creation provide catharsis?
100%. It was almost therapy for me because I wrote every single song in my bathroom. I found that because I was in a comfortable place dealing with so much pain, I started talking about things that I didn’t even know I had to get off my chest. When I re-listen to some of the songs now, especially If You Know You Know, I was like, “Whoa, I actually talked about that? That’s so crazy.”
What is the most overrated right now?
I was literally just talking to my mom about this: I’m getting so tired of guys trying to buy you nowadays. The mentality drives me insane. Guys will be like, “Oh, I’ll fly you here and I’ll do this.” But I don’t want to be flown out somewhere when I know I’m not liking a person or I’m not interested in you as a person. If that’s all you have to offer, then no. So I just feel like that is so overrated. I’m so over that. It drives me insane. Where’s some romance? Do something that isn’t just a bank statement or some shit like that.
What is the most underrated right now?
I’m only saying this because my sister and me were talking about it: Dunks. I feel like they were so underrated, but now people are into Dunks and it’s driving me insane because I love Dunks. Now that everyone’s into them, I’m not really knowing how I feel about it.
Do you have a favorite pair?
I wear the OFF-WHITE ones almost everyday – I need to chill out. But right now I want to get the Brazil pair. I don’t have them, but those are the ones that I’m looking at. And I’m like, “Those are so fire.”
Bonus Question: How do Toronto and Atlanta compare to each other?
I’m not saying it because I’m from Toronto, but Toronto’s different. In Toronto, you walk outside and you will hear soca music, you will hear literally any type of music. In Atlanta, you only hear trap and R&B. Even as far as restaurants, there are no West Indian restaurants [in Atlanta] – there’s probably only one that I’ve found that’s actually good. The two cities are just completely different from a cultural standpoint.
The way people dress in Toronto is very similar to New York: it’s street fashion or bummy looks, no one really cares. Everyone has their own look and they just go with it. Whereas in Atlanta, I bleach my eyebrows and I feel like everyone’s looking at me like I’m crazy. So in Atlanta, I don’t want to say it’s safe, but it’s very safe and people only wear designer stuff. Style-wise, nothing in Atlanta compares to Toronto. But then again, I’m from Toronto.
