A true-blue musical chameleon, Mapei brings palpable soul and sonic versatility to a world where genre matters less and less. The Stockholm native soaks influences, from hip-hop to dance-pop and Swedish club to gospel. The results feel organic, timeless and positively exuberant. it’s music of experience, well-traveled and alive. Born in Rhode Island, Mapei spent her early years in Providence in a hippie household where music was constant. “I did my own thing as I could, she says. “I was already performing in grade school and recording tapes of my own music. Let’s just say I was too soulful for music class.”
With a natural flair for both R&B and rapping, Mapei ended up in Sweden, a far difference musical climate with a penchant for club music, skewed pop and European folk. And just like her early years, she embraced these new styles, learning their structures, emotions and how to elicit a genuine reaction from listeners with new sounds. Mapei’s new single, “Don’t Wait,” is a product of exposure to these divergent worlds. The track, co-written and produced with pop impresario Magnus Lidehall, is a musical culmination of her travels and life to this point. “It’s a dedication to friends and lovers that have been there for me through thick and thin,” Mapei explains. “No one should be taken for granted through up-and-downs of a relationship. I wanted it to feel like a 21st-century gospel or doo-wop song, something for my beautiful friends that stuck around.”
