The last several months have seen a thematic resonance emerge in R&B: paternal reckoning.
While Daniel Caesar probes reconciliation on Son of Spergyand KIRBY honors her father’s resilience while indicting the American Dream on “The Man,” British-Sudanese crooner Elmiene now confronts the emotional burden of his late father in his new song, “Cry Against The Wind.”
On the cathartic track, the “Crystal Tears” singer pushes through grief and guilt in an effort to make peace with the complex relationship he had with his father. Co-written by Elmiene alongside producers Andrew Aged and Buddy Ross, “Cry Against The Wind” opens with a hushed, atmospheric backdrop before the sonics bloom in the song’s second half.
“By now, you’ll surely feel / And think it’s really real / That I hate you, my Jameel / But I’d watch the whole world drown to see you cry again,” he sings with sincerity.
Regarding the meaning behind “Cry Against The Wind,” Elmiene explains, “This song is about crippling guilt. It’s about a mistake that I know is too late to truly be forgiven for. We all sometimes have to live with things we can’t fix but acknowledging and accepting that is heavy, like a strong wind you can never turn away from.”
In a 2023 interview with Complex, Elmiene reflected on a childhood memory that later informed his artistic expression. “If I pinned it down to something, it would be when I first saw my dad do wrong because, as a kid, in your head, your parents are like a compass, and you believe what they’re doing is correct, but watching someone that you respect to do something wrong, you notice that not everything is black and white and it impacts your worldview,” he told the publication.
“Cry Against The Wind” arrives with a chilling video directed by Patrick Linehan. Set in a dimly lit, gusty hallway, the video begins with Elmiene portraying his father, using prosthetics created by special effects makeup artist Malina Stearns.
As he pours out his feelings, letting them drift away in the breeze, Elmiene then appears as himself to continue the emotional exhale.
“Cry Against The Wind,” which Elmiene debuted at his sold-out show in London (Dec. 4), follows hisHeat The Streets Some Mo’EP that dropped in mid-November.
The four-track set is an extension of hisHeat The Streetsmixtape, released in early September. The mini project features remixes of standouts from the mixtape — including “Useless (Without You) Begging Remix” with Muni Long, “Damage Control” with Jordan Ward and “Miss Hot July” with Ghostface Killah — and the new track “By Now.”
Stream Elmiene’s new song “Cry Against The Wind” below.