The British are coming is a fallacy when it pertains to R&B. Since as far back as the 1960s, a constant wave of the US’ soulful blues acts have crashed onto the shores of England. Now, the tides of that generational import are shifting.
Many of the genre’s most revered R&B artists call the UK home, including rising talent Cairo. Just as musicians Jorja Smith, RAYE, Saint Harison, Sekou, Cleo Sol, Mahalia, Nippa, FLO, Elmiene, and Victor Ray have snatched the listening ear of US fans, so will Cairo starting with his debut EP, Double Love (out via Cascine). In fact, the North London representative was primed for this undertaking.
Born to a singer-songwriter mother, who he credits with his “base training,” then nurturing that passion further at East London Arts and Music, Cairo’s path was long since set. However, Cairo wouldn’t discover his musical mission until he was forced to address a reoccurring emotional dilemma–queer love. Since entering the dating field, Cairo has been confronted by the suffocating pervasiveness of heteronormativity. Like his existence in the gray area between two binaries, Cairo’s romantic encounters were difficult to define. Throughout the four-track project, Cairo locked his sights on the root cause for his intimate woes–double love more harshly known as “down low” men and their closely related sibling, the “trade.”
“Down low” men aren’t a new phenomenon, especially in Black media. But usually, their stories are stigmatized, and they end up as the boogieman single-handedly responsible for the destruction of cis-gendered relationships; look no further than Janet Jackson and Omari Hardwick’s infamous scene in 2010’s For Colored Girls (which is now a viral dialogue thanks to TikTok users). Although Cairo is well aware of the decades of attacks on double lovers, he insists they’ve been the most receptive to the project. “They’re the ones that proper messed with it,” he says. “Because I’m talking their truth. It’s like they can relate to it because sometimes you don’t want to hear certain things, but you have to hear certain things.”
Still, Cairo couldn’t help but imagine a world of blowback before its release, saying: “I thought there was going to be some backlash. I was a bit timid at first. But then I was like, ‘Nah, it is what it is.’ And the trade, they love the songs.’”
Although Cairo is starkly against “coming out,” the songwriter admits he’s never had to. “My immediate family, especially my mom, always kind of knew,” he said. “But it was a, ‘Aw, he’s just feminine,’ type of thing.” But as he aged, Cairo learned that sexuality is a spectrum, and as he learned his “category,” he gained empathy for those struggling to commit to the same self-discovery. Hence, Cairo’s debut EP’s title track.
“It’s quite open in London, but that’s in your central parts,” he said. “I’m not from there. So it’s very hard. It’s like you have a community but usually your friends and romantic interests. And your love life is just DL folks. So yeah, I wanted to tell that story because in order for you to understand my point of view and where I’m coming from. If you’re going to listen to any more of my music, you need to understand the basics, babe. For you to understand why I might say some things, why I might feel a certain way, or why I might be like a ‘simp,’ ‘pick me,’ or whatever the case may be when you listen to more of my music, you kind of will have an understanding.”
Despite Cairo’s unyielding crusade to dismantle “double love” underneath it all, his mission is far more vulnerable. Being a marginalized community doesn’t make LGBTQIA+ exempt from falling into the social discrimination traps. “I just want to be loved out loud,” declared Cairo.
As a feminine, deep-toned Black man, Cairo’s boundary of entry into publicly facing romance is steep, and others haven’t afforded him enough social currency to enjoy its spoils. For a musical introduction, this is a heavy cross to bear, but Cairo is ready to make the sacrifice. “[Double Love] gives debut vibes because I don’t know how else I’m going to tell you guys about myself,” he said. “I want to get to the nitty-gritty.”
In Cairo’s love, practically for queer folk, has lost its meaning. But he’s on the hunt to discover it, even if it takes shoving a few people out of the closet to define it.
Cairo’s debut EP Double Love is out now via Cascine. To stream or purchase, visit Tidal, Spotify, and Apple Music.
Do you want more of Cairo? Be sure to connect with him on Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter).
