Precious Pepala – ‘Voices’
‘Voices’ is Precious Pepala’s bold new single challenging the stigma around mental health through detailing the 17-year-old’s experience of grappling with inescapable dark thoughts.
Despite only making her musical debut earlier this year, Precious Pepala is a promising upcoming artist who has drawn inspiration from some of music’s biggest names, including Beyonce, Lady Gaga, and Billie Eilish. The Sheffield-born star began writing songs at an early age, largely based on issues affecting today’s generation, including social anxiety, insecurity, love, and heartbreak. Precious’ first single ‘My Eyes Only’ centred around the widespread fear of relationship vulnerability, whereas her recent track ‘Looking for Trouble’ concerned women’s night safety and rape culture. The young artist’s ability to navigate such highly significant topics within her music has resulted in her gaining praise from the likes of NYLON Magazine, Rolling Stone, and more.
New single ‘Voices’ explores yet another important societal issue: mental health. The track describes an immanent fear of losing control, as Precious’ thoughts become distressing and all-consuming. With mature lyricism far beyond her years, the singer-songwriter vulnerably articulates her sense of desperation, stating ‘Don’t leave me alone with my head, when I’m hanging on by a thread / The silence is heavy it might be the death of me so, don’t leave me on my own’. Combining echoing ethereal vocals with powerful high notes, the record not only showcases Precious’ impressive vocal range, but also manages to capture the mental turmoil she is enduring. Describing the meaning behind the track, Precious explains:
“‘Voices’ is a song about being afraid of your own mind and not wanting to be left alone with your thoughts. Recently, I’ve been relating to the lyrics in this song a little too much - especially during the last couple of years when a lot of us have had much more time alone than usual. Our minds can be very dark places at times, but despite the song's dark nature, I hope it brings comfort to people who feel the same way in knowing that they are not alone or unusual.”
With over 1 million collective streams to her name, and support from both fans and music platforms alike, it seems that Precious Pepala is quickly becoming a notable rising name within the pop scene.
Words by Emily Savage
