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Photo Credit:  Caleb Griffin

She may only be 20 years old, but Ayoni is here to preach the truth about our underappreciated divinity. Ayoni channels the musical brains of Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, and Etta James into her moody pop with flawless melodies. Influenced by her experiences as a young black woman and an immigrant, Ayoni's highly anticipated debut single, "Divine," revolves around self-appreciation and inner beauty.

On "Divine," Ayoni shared,

"Growing up in the church, and having an appreciation for language, I wanted to use a word like 'Divine' that I had mostly experienced in a biblical context to reiterate the beauty and grace that is existence. Being Bajan has also definitely influenced 'Divine,' as the Caribbean flirtation of this song genre-wise is owed to the influence and pride I've taken from my beautiful culture."

Within seconds of the breathtaking song, it's pretty clear that Ayoni's youthful vocals are just too good to pass up. The poignant way Ayoni leads the song with just her soulful voice is otherworldly and the island-influenced instrumentals make for a fantastic tune. The bouncy "Divine" hears Ayoni advocating for self-appreciation in a world that seems to constantly tear people apart, and Ayoni clears a path to self-righteousness just for us.

Ayoni elaborated,

"I was really fortunate to be performing this song while I worked on the production. It helped to see where it lived in people's bodies and to see it empower others outside of myself. It's become the people's song to me, in the sense that the Black community, the queer community, femmes, the larger community of color, and every other single soul society has 'othered' can celebrate our divinity daily, and hopefully celebrate it even more when it plays. Our divinity is within and that can never be taken from us! The bravest thing we can do is to simply be, so I hope this song aids our revolution. We are definitely noble enough."

Recognize yourself as the divine queen you are with Ayoni's "Divine" below:

+ Revisit the time Ayoni made an appearance at our Baà±o Flaco showcase earlier this year!