Song to be featured on Canadian Soul artist’s debut EP out in July
After making a powerful statement with her 2022 debut singles “Colour Of Her Skin” and “Evolution Of Queen M,” Canadian Soul artist Queen M is back today with “High Road,” another intoxicating slice of vintage R&B that offers some hard-earned life lessons, as well as a preview of her first EP due out in the summer of 2024.
When asked what inspired “High Road,” Queen M says,
“We all know the particular disappointment the end of a relationship can bring. When life unexpectedly goes south, you can choose to live in regret or you can pull up your boots and take a ride on the high road.”
Produced and co-written by longtime collaborator Craig Smith, who also plays guitar on the track, “High Road” is another showcase for Queen M’s highly emotive vocals, honed through her previous experience of performing Motown and Bob Marley covers.
However, that changed during the summer of 2020 when, like so many others, Marcia Hubbs was shaken to her core by George Floyd’s murder and the chaos that ensued. It brought out suppressed memories of the racism her mother faced while trying to make a new life in Canada after emigrating from Jamaica in the 1950s. Her struggle eventually led her to the man she would marry – a white man – who put his entire livelihood in jeopardy in order to help her get the life she always wanted.
It also prompted Hubbs to create a new persona, Queen M, and write “Colour Of Her Skin” as a tribute to her mother. The song opened up her creative floodgates, and through her partnership with Smith, she formed a new band that now carries on in the spirit of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings with a determination to keep vintage Soul alive, offering songs with both timely and timeless messages.
While there may still be a misconception that the only authentic Soul music came from Detroit, Memphis, and Muscle Shoals, it’s been proven repeatedly since the 1960s that great Soul sounds can come from anywhere, and at any time, so long as the artist is able to lay themselves bare and tell their story.
That’s precisely what Queen M does on “High Road,” and expect to hear a lot more of what she has to say in the near future.