With a teasing prelude that feels more like foreplay than an intro, Tame defies its title as Emdee fuses fetish with soul, sonic seduction with salaciously sharp aphrodisiacal elements. With pop and contemporary RnB serving as his playroom, Emdee is in his element in Tame, which utilises playful teasing staccato rhythms until the momentum of the single starts to flow around guitar lines amplified to leave the listener hot under the collar.
With his mix of light and dark, it’s clear that Emdee knows how to bring the rough with the smooth while never being vanilla; his butter wouldn’t melt vocal lines and the tension built in the guitars is enough to leave the airwaves on its knees in submission.
After carving out his name in rap and drill, the Birmingham-born, Coventry-based artist strips it all back to lean fully into melody and desire. There’s nothing tentative about this transition—it’s a controlled burn into sultry new territory, driven by his taste for the provocative and his instinct for sonic balance. Influenced by the likes of The Weeknd and Ginuwine, he’s taken the slow jam blueprint and scratched his initials into it with slick rhythmic restraint and a vocal delivery steeped in self-possession.
Now or Never is set to push this evolution further, but Tame already signals the leash has snapped—and Emdee’s instincts are on full display.
Tame is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.
Review by Amelia Vandergast.
