Growing up in Calgary, Alberta, songwriter, producer, rapper and singer Emmett Lucius Pharaoh found himself gravitating towards music at a young age, driven by a deep passion and teenage rebellion.

“My love for music has always been very natural; I don’t remember a time I wasn’t completely obsessed with a song or studying a melody or baseline,” he said. “It always affected me differently.”

He remembers the R&B and soul artists his dad used to play around the house - Brian McKnight, Luther Vandross, Boyz II Men and Marvin Gaye, to name a few. He also found artists from his own generation, namely Lil’ Bow Wow, who he really identified with as a child. He said he would absorb every word, every cadence, every flow - and that the music he creates today is still influenced by those same artists.

When he turned 17, Pharaoh moved out into the winter streets - homeless, but motivated. Finding solace in his obsession with the art of music and sound, he knew that this was something that he wanted to dedicate his life to mastering. He has since spent over 10,000 hours in the studio, learning every process of music creation.

“I honestly love each process almost equally,” he said. “There’s something about bringing a rough melody in your head and seeing it through to even a visual aspect. That is true art to me.”

He just released his latest single, “Sleepless Nights”, which gives listeners the chance to appreciate the unique sound cultivated by producing, writing and recording all of his own tracks.

“‘Sleepless Nights’ is a song with rooted emotion and tells the tale of a broken love,” he said. “The pain that was once hard to cope with, that eventually transformed into beauty. I know we all go through the trials of love, the turbulence that may seem endless at times. I want this song to at least decorate that pain. That’s what it did for me.”

Emmett Lucius Pharaoh has already put in so much effort to perfect his sound, and continues to find opportunities to master these techniques. As the music industry continues to evolve with the times, it’s clear that his dedication to the craft will continue to showcase his talent.