Isaac Sakima (born 20 March 1991), known professionally as Sakima, is an English singer-songwriter and producer.

Early life

Isaac Sakima is originally from

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, but was raised in

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

. He later returned to Newcastle and identifies as a

Geordie Geordie ( ), sometimes known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English, is an English dialect and accent spoken in the Tyneside area of North East England. It developed as a variety of the old Northumbrian dialect and became espe ...

. At the age of 6, Sakima felt his first gay attraction towards another classmate. He started making music at 8 years old.

Career

Sakima is a London-based singer-songwriter. His debut single "Energy" was premiered by

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

in August 2014 and was described as a "moody pop ballad". He has worked with Cyril Hahn and

Ryan Hemsworth Ryan Hemsworth (born 23 April 1990) is a Canadian record producer and DJ. He specialises in electronic music and sampling. He has produced tracks for Tinashe, Tory Lanez, Mitski, and E-40. Biography Raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Hemsworth a ...

. Sakima was working with a Chicago-based manager Ardie Farhadieh and the company Wick Management. Farhadieh connected Sakima with

Jakwob James Edward Jacob (born 28 March 1989), better known by his stage name Jakwob, is a British music producer, songwriter, DJ and composer. Early life Jacob was born in Hereford and grew up in Lincoln. His parents are Anglo Indian and Scottish ...

and his label Boom Ting for his song "Energy". In 2014, Sakima was managed by the UK-based company, Empire. In May 2017 Sakima released his debut EP, ''Facsimile'', containing four-tracks. ''Out'' describes ''Facsimile'' as "an accidental gateway into queer eroticism". The opening track is titled "I Used to Have an En Suite". Other tracks include "He's Trippi" and "Happy Hr". "He's Trippi" was influenced by

Zayn Malik Zain Javadd "Zayn" Malik ( ; born 12 January 1993) is an English singer-songwriter. He auditioned as a solo contestant for the British music competition television series ''The X Factor'' in 2010, where he ended up being a part of five-piece b ...

's "

She She or S.H.E. may refer to: Language * She (pronoun), the third person singular, feminine, nominative case pronoun in modern English Places * She County, Anhui ** She Prefecture, 589-1121 * She County, Hebei * She River, or Sheshui, Hubei * ...

". Sakima liked the song but noticed the pronouns and highly sexualised nature of the song. He wanted to release a song using pronouns applicable to gay people. He released his EP ''Ricky'' on 13 October 2017. On the seven-track EP, Sakima sings about the rejection of

heteronormativity Heteronormativity is the definition of heterosexuality as the normative human sexuality. It assumes the gender binary (i.e., that there are only two distinct, opposite genders) and that sexual and marital relations are most fitting between peo ...

and explores

Polari Polari () is a form of slang or Cant (language), cant historically used primarily in the United Kingdom by some actors, circus and fairground performers, professional wrestlers, merchant navy sailors, criminals and prostitutes, and particula ...

. The track "Daddy", featuring YLXR, used Polari in a queer-themed song inspired by " Work from Home". Sakima released the single "Death Is in the Air" on 16 February 2018 after hearing

Justin Tranter Justin Drew Tranter (born June 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, singer, and activist. Tranter has written songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Sara Bareilles, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, DNCE, ...

's interview on the ''And the Writer Is...'' podcast. He released the LGBT-themed single "Show Me" in 2018, which explores

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

and

cruising for sex Cruising for sex or cruising is walking or driving about a locality, called a cruising ground, in search of a sex partner, usually of the anonymous, casual, one-time variety. Published: 11-14-2007 Published: 9-21-2005 Article from NYT about a ...

. In 2018, R3hab released the album ''The Wave'', including the track "Back to You" with Sakima. On 14 September 2018, Sakima released the single "Holy Water" from his debut album ''Project Peach'', which was released in 2019. Joshua Bote of ''Billboard'' describes "Holy Water" as "with a reverb-and-trap-heavy fog surrounding him, he treads through self-love as a spiritual exercise, in effect, turning

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...

's iconic mantra into a prayer of sorts". His single "Apps" was inspired by

hookup culture Hookup culture is one that accepts and encourages casual sex encounters, including one-night stands and other related activity, without necessarily including emotional intimacy, bonding or a committed relationship. It is generally associated with ...

and the relationship complications caused by

dating app An online dating application, commonly known as a dating app, is an online dating service presented through a mobile phone application. These apps often take advantage of a smartphone's GPS location capabilities, always on-hand presence, and acc ...

s. In 2021, Sakima released the single "Sleepy Head" and co-wrote several singles for other artists, such

Little Mix Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the eighth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor.'' They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pin ...

's " Love (Sweet Love)" and Regard,

Troye Sivan Troye Sivan Mellet ( ; born 5 June 1995) is an Australian singer-songwriter and actor. After gaining popularity as a singer on YouTube and in Australian talent competitions, Sivan signed with Universal Music Australia, EMI Australia in 2013 and ...

and

Tate McRae Tate Rosner McRae (born July 1, 2003) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and dancer. She first gained prominence as the first Canadian finalist on the American reality television series ''So You Think You Can Dance (American TV series), So You Th ...

's "

You In Modern English, the word "''you''" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from ...

Artistry

In the media, Sakima has been described as a " R&B artist", "

alternative pop Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

singer", " electro-R&B musician", and a "

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

artist". Sakima sings pop and R&B songs with queer themes. Sakima stated that he aims to add queer stories and a gay perspective to traditional pop and R&B music with the hope of normalising LGBT experiences.

Personal life

Sakima lives in London. He is a gay man. On his sexuality, Sakima reported that "I never 'realized' I was gay...I always knew. I've never known anything different. I've never known what it's like to be in the closet. I've never known what it's like to be separate from that part of yourself".

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

* "Energy" (2014) *"Death Is in the Air" (2018) * "Show Me" (2018) *"Back To You" (2018) with R3hab *"Holy Water" (2018) *"Apps" (2018) *"Virtus Domum" (2018) *"U Dnt Fk Me Up" (2020) *"Sleepy Head" (2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakima 21st-century English male singers English male singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters English pop singers English gay musicians English LGBTQ singers English LGBTQ songwriters Living people Musicians from Newcastle upon Tyne Entertainers from Milton Keynes Gay singers Gay songwriters English contemporary R&B singers 21st-century English LGBTQ people 1991 births