Sarafina Belafonte releases debut EP

Raised in New York City in a family where music, activism and artistic expression moved through everyday life, Sarafina Belafonte comes from a background that could easily feel overwhelming in less capable hands. The granddaughter of Harry Belafonte and Julie Belafonte and the daughter of producer Malena Belafonte and Grammy-nominated, Emmy-winning David Belafonte, her world has long existed at the crossroads of performance, intellect and cultural history.

Her upbringing appears shaped equally by artistic immersion and academic discipline, a balance that now defines her output as an artist in her own right. On her mother’s side, her grandparents founded the Concentus Musicus Orchestra of Denmark and taught at The Royal Danish Conservatory.

Her mother later built an international career as both performer and model before founding The Speyer School for academically gifted children, where Sarafina became its very first student. Meanwhile, on her father’s side, history arrived through another lens entirely; to the wider world, Harry Belafonte represented an iconic cultural figure whose influence stretched across music, film and civil rights activism.

To Sarafina, though, he was simply “Farfar,” the Danish word for grandfather and that legacy was not abstract mythology but something lived daily through family conversations, listening sessions and movement between New York City and Denmark. Now, those parallel worlds finally converge through her debut EP titled Like A Man. Released alongside her first full New York performance at MMAC Theatre at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, the project lands like a fully formed statement of artistic intent.

Blending pop, R&B, blues and touches of funk, the EP draws inspiration from artists including Prince and RAYE, while blues music acts as the emotional pillar holding everything up. Having studied the evolution of Black vernacular traditions from spirituals through blues into modern music, she hears those threads running through her own songwriting.

Opening track “Two People Who Kissed Last Night” focuses on brief intimacy and unresolved moments, resisting the urge to force neat conclusions onto emotional complexity. Formed with the intricate bounce of guitar, the track shifts with buzzy bass synth tones and Sarafina’s soulful voice, developing with the punch of percussion to craft an epic mash up of blues and synth pop. “Eye Tag” flows with expressive vocal leads and zappy synth shots, rolling with the bubble of deep low end textures and restrained beats to deliver a smokey jam that’s unique and highly original.

“Fallen Angel” arrives as the emotional centrepiece of the EP, examining the pressure of idealisation within a long-term relationship, reflecting a desire not to be mythologised, but simply understood as human. Wrapped up in elegant piano notes and soft string tones, Sarafina’s graceful voice floats above to serve up a dazzling moment that strips her sound back to an intimate setting.

Closing the EP with “Pleading,” the pulse of bass and rustle of drums ushers in Sarafina’s smooth vocals as she thematically explores desire with unusual bluntness, refusing to soften itself for comfort. With Like a Man, Sarafina Belafonte lays down an incredible run through of her fiercely unique sound while confirming her status as a must watch artist on the rise.

Listen to Like a Man below