Amid the lingering scents of freshly baked Potbelly sandwiches, R&B artist Zae France slides into a weathered booth to discuss his contributions to R&B through his music.
France is in the DMV for “Zae France Homecoming,” a series of meet and greets at 11 Historically Black Colleges and Universities from Oct. 12-24.
France’s “Homecoming” comes after the release of his latest EP “Rhythm n Blackwoods Szn II,” and his new single, “What it Do,” his first release under Compound Entertainment (the label founded by Grammy-award winning artist Ne-yo), and the Def Jams label which features fellow Def Jams artist Fridayy.
With this release, and with his music in general, France said he wants to stay true to the spirit of R&B.
“I’m trying to bring back the elements of authentic R&B, and the melodies, and certain things that authentic R&B has,” France said. “It has to have harmonies, it has to have backgrounds, you have to have ad-libs – real R&B is structured a certain way. I feel like now it’s definitely come back but I’m trying to be a part of that for sure.”
France’s commitment to authentic R&B presents itself in the layered harmonies and atmospheric, echoing sound of his music.
“I like how his music has an old school R&B sound mixed with some Cali vibes,” Gabriel Bryant, a junior at Howard University said.
Other Howard students had similar thoughts about France’s music.
“It’s definitely catchy, they did a good job on the chorus,” Quincy Baker, a Howard University junior said of France’s new single “What it Do.” “It has that Ne-yo, Usher vibe with the electronic/hip-hop type beat and the lyrics.”
Drawing influence from Marvin Gaye, Usher, Ne-yo and more, France is inspired by the R&B greats, but still makes his sound his own.
“I have my hand in every single song,” France said. “But I have guys that are helping me build the sound that I’m trying to create right now off all the songs [by] me that they have as reference.”
France, who has loved music ever since he grew up singing gospels at church, has said he realized having his own sound can attract “nay-sayers”— and he’s okay with that.
“My slogan is ‘this vibe ain’t for everybody,’” France said. “Everybody’s not going to like it, everybody’s not going to understand what you’re doing, but the people that do, you just got to appreciate them extra hard.”
This “extra-hard appreciation” is what drives France to get connected with his supporters, named the Francechise, who France said motivated him to make music.
“[My supporters] inspire me in a big way, it keeps me motivated because now I have relationships with a lot of [supporters],” France said, mentioning that he connects with supporters via social media. “I don’t even call people fans, I hate that word. It’s support, but now it’s like it’s bigger than that, it’s like we real family for real.”
France also talked about how this motivates him to create uplifting music.
“Most of my support is black women, so definitely at all times I’m trying to uplift black women, but women period, because I just feel like uplifting them in an R&B space is not really popular [anymore],” France said. “My mother is a black woman, and the music that she had me listening to and the context of the songs she had me listening to, that was the mold.
“I have a black sister, so I’ve always been surrounded by black women and I always want to make songs that they could just feel happy to sing.”
Making music his family and supporters love is just one of the many things France likes about music.
“I wake up every day and I make music that I love, so just in case nobody loves it, I do,” France said. “That’s what’s important to me.
“I’m actually working on my first studio album with Def Jam right now, it’s called ‘Perspective,’ and I’m just working to make it the best R&B album of 2024 and I feel like it’s going to be.”
As he continues to put out music, France said he’s trying to inspire his listeners with his slogan and his music as well.
“Whatever you do in life, just be the best at it and focus on what you want to do, and what matters to you, and then you’re going to get where you need to be in life,” France said.