"I need the sun to live" she said, with this indefinable and irresistible accent, which is uniquely hers. The accent of a world citizen - born to a German mother from Cologne and an African father from Chad - her thirst for self-discovery is full of soul and freshness. "Having grown up in a family of multiple origins allows me to be very open to the world", assets Noraa. "My intermingling makes me indifferent to genre or religion with those I meet and, above all, inspires my songs," she delights.
It all started on the west-German banks of the Rhine. Surrounded by three sisters, Noraa grew up in a home filled with the sounds of gospel, soul and traditional African music. While her mother cooked delicious vegan food, her father jammed out on guitar. But after the classical guitar lessons that she shared with her big sister, Noraa decided that this would not be for her. That is – until the day she discovered a Lauryn Hill song book in a library. Fascinated by her flow and her sensibility, Noraa spent hours singing and playing Lauryn's songs.
Hardly perfect, Noraa wrote her first song when heartbroken. "I was not well at the time, and after having too much wine -- I grabbed my guitar and somehow wrote a song - in like thirty minutes!," she explained. The next day her cousin begged her to play her first original song at his birthday party. Noraa eventually gives in – and in a moment that changed her life – she literally hypnotized everyone. "That's when I realized that even though my music was my personal therapy, it could actually touch other people too," she recalls.
Still, Noraa decided to pursue her college degree in journalism and literature at the University of Bonn, which ultimately landed her a job as a school teacher in France. But music would find its way back into her life. By chance, Noraa became a background vocalist for several German artists. Then she became the opening act for popular German artist, Patrice. Continuing to juggle her teacher duties and after two European tours with Patrice; Noraa finds her tone, her strength, and a songwriting point-of-view that gets her signed as an artist to Elektra, as a songwriter to Universal Music Publishing Group, and as a performer to Live Nation in France.
But the desire to travel, inseparable from how she creates, strikes back. She's leaving again. This time to Dallas, Texas where she meets Carlos "Los Da Mystro" McKinney. Los, a music producer crowned with Grammy Awards, has worked with Rihanna, Beyoncé, Usher, Mariah Carey, Jamie Foxx and closest with The-Dream. The creative connection between Noraa and Los was instant. This led John Jaxon Huffman, Los' business partner, to come on board to co-manage Noraa with Mikaël Dulieu in France.
These days, Noraa's in Los Angeles where she just shot two music videos and continues to write songs for her debut album. "I wrote six songs in a week. It is beautiful, I am encouraged mentally... everything seems possible here," Noraa muses. Smooth as a Sade song, Noraa's debut single 'Lie To Me', to which Los brought his sound dexterity, speaks of the time she told a boyfriend, "If you gonna lie to me - lie to me / right in my face / you don't gotta cry to me - cry to me / like I'm to blame / If you gonna lie to me - lie then I'm sorry to say / you ain't gonna lie lie lie next to me / you ain't gotta lie to me".
"I love subtlety and sweetness. I would like people who listen to my music to be transported into my vibe – that is emotional and very groovy." Mission accomplished. Noraa, moreover, is a female artist firmly rooted for her time. She got to know herself and wishes to share her sense of female empowerment. "I have three sisters, and with my mother, we were the female majority at home. We're all feminists, and so is my dad! When women work together, they can accomplish everything. We need to stop the competition, and take our rightful place at the throne. With my female musician friends, we refuse to be a cliché. We support each other to spread our wings," Noraa declares.
With the single release of 'Lie To Me', out on Elektra Records France on April 26th, 2019, Noraa takes off toward her spot in global music history.
Photos by Nastasia Dusapin