British-Ghanaian singer/songwriter Nectar Woode presents a captivating and alluring exploration of identity, anxiety, and self-acceptance in her track “Only Happen” — a sultry, soulful, slow-building triumph that celebrates rhythm, resilience, and reconnecting with one’s roots.
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Stream: “Only Happen” – Nectar Woode
The culture you cultivate within yourself will carry you through... accept yourself first and recognize that your heritage is a continuous thread in your life that can be revealed positively as you move forward.
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There’s an intense ache underpinning Nectar Woode’s “Only Happen” — a struggle between stillness and movement, vulnerability and strength.
It’s a slow-burning, soul-awakening revelation: Gentle yet powerful. Smooth yet intense. The song builds subtly around a deep, steady groove, featuring haunting melodies and mesmerizing lyrics that delve into identity, anxiety, and the quest for belonging. It’s a showcase of restraint and release—the kind of track that envelops you, even as it threatens to break apart.
Only Happen – Nectar Woode
At just 25 years old, Nectar Woode is already establishing herself as one of the UK’s most significant voices in soul and R&B. This British-Ghanaian artist has shared the stage with Leon Bridges and NAO, sold out performances at London’s Omeara, and made regular appearances on BBC Radio. As a thoughtful and emotionally charged songwriter and soulful performer, she draws comparisons to legends like Lauryn Hill, Nina Simone, and Lianne La Havas, while maintaining a sound that is uniquely her own: Grounded in heritage, shaped by honesty, and elevated by remarkable talent. Additionally, as a host on Soho Radio’s Women in Jazz and a passionate advocate for access to the arts, she infuses warmth and purpose into every endeavor.
“Only Happen,” the latest single from her upcoming EP *it’s like I never left* (releasing July 18th via Since 93 / Sony Music UK), stands out as one of Woode’s most striking and emotionally raw tracks to date. Co-written with producer Jordan Rakei, the song originated from a conversation about navigating mixed heritage and the complex emotions that accompany balancing multiple cultures. “We discussed the experience of being of mixed heritage and sometimes feeling like you’re not fully accepted by either side,” Woode tells Atwood Magazine. “We wanted to express that feeling of anxiety and overthinking, while finding your rhythm to accept yourself and calm your worries.”
Bitterness in time
Don’t know where I’m going
Can’t quite read the signs
Scattered across the sidewalk
All I wanted
Was to carry some self-belief
But I’m haunted in a world
That won’t set me free
“All I wanted was to carry some self-belief, but I’m haunted in a world that won’t set me free,” Woode expresses in the pre-chorus, where the pain is palpable – along with the raw, unembellished hope interwoven into every line of the chorus: “Feeling the rhythm / Heading for the light.” These lyrics aren’t merely beautiful; they serve as affirmations. They embody the struggle to emerge from darkness – to carry oneself forward.
“It represents rebirth,” Woode reflects on the song. “It allows me to properly introduce myself with a distinct vibe. It’s dark, gritty, and evokes discomfort. It’s about living in a world where people judge you based on your appearance or fail to notice you at all. It addresses the challenges of being of mixed heritage and how that can influence your experiences in society, leading you to feel invisible to the world.”
Nectar Woode © Grace Pickering
It’s about attuning to your inner rhythm and connecting with yourself in order to transition from darkness into light.
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The struggle with displacement lies at the heart of the song, especially in Woode’s reflections on her Ghanaian heritage – her motherland, and a part of her identity she has long yearned to understand.
“I haven’t visited Ghana, and that’s a significant 50% of my identity. For 25 years, I’ve wondered what Ghana would be like and grappled with questions about my identity. Thoughts like, will I be accepted? I am a foreigner in the country that is a part of my DNA.”
When it gets so hard to fight
When you see right through the dark
Feeling the rhythm in
Heading for the light (Oh)
Trying to make me disappear
I swear I’ve heard it all before
Feeling the rhythm
Heading for the light (Oh)
Only happen… only happen…
“Only Happen” encapsulates that discomfort and transforms it into a form of catharsis. “The chorus leads us to a joyful
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Nectar Woode ofrece una meditación ardiente y seductora sobre la identidad, la ansiedad y la autoaceptación en “Only Happen”, un triunfo sensual, apasionado y palpitante de ritmo, resiliencia y reivindicación de las propias raíces.
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Nectar Woode offers a fiery and captivating exploration of identity, anxiety, and self-acceptance in “Only Happen” — a passionate, soulful, and gradually building success that highlights rhythm, resilience, and the reclamation of one’s origins.