Originally from Britain, Hannah William's main goal is to change the shape of popular music for the better. Her BandCamp page describes her as Soul's Funkiest New Diva who was immersed in soulful music from the day she was born. Over the past 4 years, she has demonstrated a raw, edgy and authentic vocal prowess to the world of music, and these days she’s backed by an outstanding crew of the finest musicians the UK has to offer: "The Affirmations".  

Hannah has been in the spotlight recently due to her song "Late Nights & Heartbreak", which is the stunning single that inspired Jay-Z to write "4:44"; a heart-wrenching and brutally honest response to Beyonce's Lemonade. "4:44" is the 5th track and main single on Mr. Carter's brand new album 4:44.  According to an interview Hannah did with Mass Appeal, Jay-Z's producer No-I.D. found "Late Nights & Heartbreak" and showed it to the rapper knowing it was the exact inspiration he had been needing, and Jay-Z instantly fell in love. William's explains how Jay-Z gave her a call and asked her to come record a few vocals and wanted to know if it would be okay to use her track as the main sample behind "4:44", to which she (obviously) agreed. Hannah managed to keep the whole ordeal a secret until 4:44 dropped on June 30, but is now proudly speaking out.

The music video for "Late Nights & Heartbreak" is a modest and simple production in which Hannah can be seen mouthing the words in various locations, while mostly focusing on a distraught blonde woman. The overall ambiance is ominous and dark, occasionally sporting black and white shots throughout. Hannah sings of being unfaithful to her lover and wanting so badly to treat them better, but knowing she never will. Her vocals are insanely powerful and the lyrics to the track are enough to make your heart hurt. We can see and hear her anguish in this video, and it's no wonder it spoke to Jay-Z so intensely that he decided to create an entire project around it. 

With the British soul sensation's recent success and insane talents, the world can expect to hear many more great things coming from Hannah Williams and the Affirmations. In the meantime, check out her newest music video "Late Nights & Heartbreaks" below.

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