Listen to First Single From Pop Singer Mariame, called the Cree "Rihanna"

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Published on Friday, 08 May 2015 12:30

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Among Quebec's Cree communities, singer Mariame Hasni is well known as a rising star. She's been called the "Cree Rihanna." And she's now the first official artist to release music on the N'we Jinan label, a project that was realized by Montreal rapper David Hodges in cooperation with the Cree Nation Youth Council and the Cree Native Arts and Crafts Association.

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N'we Jinan, the label, follows a compilation CD called N'we Jinan that Hodges made with the abundant talent he found in numerous Cree communities. Mariame, a 24-year-old mother of two who has been performing for over a decade, is a logical choice to lead the way.Hodges told CBC News that his protégée, who is Cree and Algerian, has a quality of "giftedness." "You are born with something that separates you from the rest," he said. "When I first heard Mariame, she had that."

Mariame's EP,Bloom, is set to be released on May 26, and is currently available for pre-order on iTunes. The first single, "As Long as You Are Here," is already playing on YouTube: