Southend’s own Heidi Boualili is about to drop her debut album, What I Didn’t Know Then, on May 27th, and if the early singles are anything to go by, it’s going to be required listening. Heidi's just dropped the latest single "City U Took from me" – an emotive and powerful piece of RnB which plays like a criticism of gentrification and the change across London..
The self-taught, working-class LGBTQ+ artist has already caught the attention of everyone from BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders—who called her voice "the most powerful, breathtaking" he’s "heard in a minute"—to Love Island. She's already proven her chart mettle, too, hitting #6 on the R&B charts and actually clocking a higher iTunes ranking than Ed Sheeran at one point. Respect is due..
But the story runs deeper than the streaming numbers. Born in London in 2002 to a British mum and Arabic dad, Heidi moved to Essex and was raised on a steady diet of sharp-witted hip-hop like Biggie Smalls and Lauryn Hill. That early love for lyricism became her lifeline. Growing up openly LGBTQ+ and working-class, she struggled severely with bullying in high school—an experience she’s been brutally honest about. In her own words, "songwriting was my escape. It really saved my life". It was a school music teacher who noticed her talent during a low point, setting her on the path that saw her pivot from studying Law to music college
