#sohlo

I have been wanting to complete the 3-post Toronto artist series and it definitely wasn’t hard to pick who I wanted to write about and it’s definitely safe to say: I saved the best for last. 

I have been waiting to write about this artist with a passion, because not only is his music worth talking about, but so is he. 

SOHLO is an independent Toronto artist with a fiery voice, passion for music and a story to tell an it really does come out in his music. 

Now before I continue, I had to get this off my chest. 

To others, he’s SOHLO. To me, he’s Josh. 

I wasn’t expecting to know every single person I’ve written about in this series personally, however I knew from the beginning that I wanted to write about Josh because I personally think he is probably the most underrated artist out there. 

As someone who’s been behind the curtain, and has witnessed the time, effort, blood, sweat and tears it takes to create music to his perfectionist extent, I am honestly nothing but honoured to get a chance to, not only write about him, but to call him one of my closest friends. 

So Josh, thank you, for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your amazing journey. I love you.

Okay, enough of the sappy stuff. 

Dirty Talk was released in 2021, and it was SOHLO’s independent introduction to the music world as a “sohlo” artist (haha) after going “sohlo” (I’ll stop) from his duo group, Machine Wulf. Not only was it an introduction to his independent music career, but also to what I like to call the “Funky Sohlo” phase, and holy was it catchy. 

I had the tendency to play that song whenever I was getting ready to put on that tight black dress and some eyeliner for a night out. It brought out a confident character, not only in the listener, but the artist. Music is projective, and Dirty Talk projected a man yearning for a woman’s attention who he knows is “trouble” who “everybody wants.” 

This is when I realized: SOHLO is an artist written by women. 

To be honest, I tried to compare this song to other songs by R&B artists, but it’s so difficult to put SOHLO into a single genre. It’s almost as if Stevie B, Machine Gun Kelly and The Weeknd had a gifted synth baby and just called him SOHLO. 

But in terms of male artists in this day and age, SOHLO’s lyricism takes a different term. Putting women on a positive, confident pedestal is so unique to todays day and age, especially when their bodies are being sexualized by men. But here’s the kicker: SOHLO allows women to sexualize themselves however they like, by praising their confidence and sexual freedom - and Dirty Talk expresses just that. 

The Race My Mind cover came shortly after (I just had to bring it up) and if you thought that cover was the end of SOHLO surprises, Lights Out came in early 2022 and left us all in shock. 

Literally what the hell.

This is something that was so different to “Dirty Talk” SOHLO, and what we were expecting him to create, and it was the best thing to happen in his career. Lights Out was so unapologetically real, and to tie back into sexual freedom, SOHLO talks about it like you were there.

No really, it’s really like you’re there. 

But only to change the entire tempo of the song halfway through, and just like the story of the super openly passionate relationship we were literally witnessing before our eyes, we watch it hit the fan. 

SOHLO’s take on relationships in society is so blunt, and the lyricism is so clever and here’s the kicker: he bloody raps. So not only does he have such a unique and strong voice, but we’re getting some spoken word to. 

Some of my favourite lines include: “cat’s always got your tongue unless you’ve been using it for some fun” and “play me like a playstation, late night’s turning me on.” 

As the queen of dad jokes, thank you. 

But this is an interesting take for SOHLO in terms of lyricism, where he tries an aspect of storytelling in his music. And not only does he use the lyrics to tell the story, but the elements within the music as well. 

But later in the year, is when SOHLO becomes SOHLO and everything that bloody makes him who he is. 

Before we get into Libertine, readers of the blog will remember a short story (later turned screenplay) that I had wrote called “Downtown.” It was a story of five friends who make their way into the city for a night of drinking, dancing and doing what most young people in the city do, when stumble across an underground speakeasy. That’s when everything goes horribly wrong and suddenly, someone’s dead, there’s blood everywhere and they don’t remember a thing. 

Guess what the bar was called. I’ll let you guess.

If you’re stuck, go listen to the first line of Libertine. 

Here’s a hint: it’s a literal bar on Dundas Street in Toronto. 

“Downtown, Libertine...” 

Still, no? It was the bloody Libertine. If you didn’t guess it right, I’ll give you another shot. 

Can you guess what the inspiration behind the story was? 

Not only did this song inspire me to write, what I think, is some of my best work but, it is also the emergence of SOHLO’s true style and everything that makes him the unique artist. The funky vibe, the sharp changes in tempo, the storytelling in lyricism, the sexual thematic freedom; it’ll stop you dead in your tracks. 

I also want to take it a step deeper. Libertine is defined as: “a person, especially a man, who behaves without moral principles or a sense of responsibility, especially in sexual matters.” 

This was one of things that inspired me to write Downtown the way I did, and it’s because of the way SOHLO represents his relationship with his “woman.” 

As he’s describing his feelings for his woman, he explains how he needs the “liquor to distract him” from thinking about her, or how he’s a “different person on the streets reminded of her.” 

By the end, he’s “bleeding” for her and how he’s “all alone.”

Perhaps, he’s the libertine, and his lack of moral principles got him to where he is now: alone. 

When it comes to modern day music, we never get the other side of the reckless story. Normally, male artists of this generation love to bloat about how if one woman leaves, there’s always another or there’s money to fill her place. But SOHLO shows a different aspect; the repercussions of his actions are negative and he’s accepting them. 

Maturity in music is so unheard of. But leave it to SOHLO to tell the truth: breakups suck, and there’s consequences to our actions. And that’s what Libertine is all about: you can’t fill the emptiness of a person with alcohol and money. 

Listening to SOHLO find his style, and his independence in his music was so rewarding and it inspired me to elevate myself and my art. His journey has been so inspirational, and I don’t think he truly knows how it effects his listeners.

And finally, in May of 2022, we get the bloody EP.

After Love was somewhat familiar for me for the first three songs, because I had already heard them a bunch of times as I screamed them on the way to work in the morning however, there’s two songs on that EP that made me furrow my brows. 

After Love is a track on the EP that was not the SOHLO I was used to. Although it was powerful and passionate, as most SOHLO creations are, it was extremely vulnerable which was definitely not something I was used to. It was emotional, raw and real and it almost made me feel uncomfortable - in a good way. Our generation is not used to being exposed to true emotion in music, and I’ve said the same thing about BøNES (quick shoutout to him) - it’s almost unheard of. SOHLO, who is known for his sexual thematic freedom, is suddenly talking about a very raw, emotional connection rather than a passionate, heated one. 

“Is this love, in this time,” questions the values of modern day relationships and how they’re not really relationships. “Are you still mine...” questions whether or not loyalty is even a value in modern day relationships. This song confirms that it’s okay to be confused and hurt, because “in this time,” these relationships are not normal. It’s bloody genius. 

And right when you’re getting into your feels, he hits you with Blindfold. And what a way to end an EP.

This I have to say is my favourite track on this EP because it introduces, what I like to call, SOHLO phase two: Hard SOHLO. 

This song is so overstimulating. The beat, his voice, the ad-libs, the rapping, the buildup to the heavy symbols and guitar “sohlo” (lol I wasn’t done)...it’s heavy, raw, raspy and crazy powerful. 

And what I think, is an introduction to a new phase for SOHLO, and I am crazy excited for it. 

For an artist, it is extremely difficult to get your voice heard and as soon as they get signed to a label, they’re no longer an artist, they’re a product to sell.

And that’s the beauty of SOHLO - he is so unapologetically himself, that he refuses to give the people what they want. That’s what makes him unique. 

I have a soft spot for this artist because of the way his originality inspires other people, the way it has inspired me and here’s a little story about how my connection to SOHLO started in the first place.

In December, I had gotten COVID and was quarantining at home. And as someone who is used to company always (normal for the Middle Eastern households), I used to scroll through TikTok to eliminate the crazy loneliness I was feeling. 

This is when SOHLO used to do these amazing lives where you would watch his music come to life in the studio, which is also why I have such a soft spot for Blindfold - it’s secretly because I heard “you have no substance” played on a loop for 3 hours before it was released. 

And that was it: he refused to let go of something that didn’t feel right to him. No matter how many times the viewers had told him it sounded great, he was not budging. It had to be perfect for SOHLO before it was good enough for everyone else. 

And that’s when it hit me: why am I writing for a publisher? I should be writing for me - whatever I do in my life needs to perfect for me, before it can be good enough for someone else. I will never be perfect for someone else, but I need to be perfect for me, before I can be good enough for someone else. 

This lesson was what inspired me to write stories like Downtown and give Jane’s Expose a completely different twist ending, regardless of what the publisher thought. 

So, to make it sappy again, thank you SOHLO for making me unapologetically myself through you. 

SOHLO’s music is available to stream on Spotify and Soundcloud, and you can find him on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok under the @sohloofficial handle. 

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4iKu3UecNv2eNO2peRRHt0?si=2k4zGZU5TYKN4BacxMwB4g