Ego Ella May on overcoming second album jitters with 'Good Intentions'

After the success of her breakthrough debut, Honey for Wounds, British-Nigerian singer-songwriter Ego Ella May is tackling the difficult second album with her new release, Good Intentions. Maybe it’s the self-deprecating Brit in her, but May is embracing for her flop era.

“The second-album jitters are real, and overcoming them is no easy feat,” confesses May from her home in South East London, a few weeks prior to the album’s release. “Writing a second album is tough; I felt a lot of pressure after the first album. I think that’s probably why it took me so long to start the next one – I just felt overwhelmed. I didn’t know where to begin. 

"I was wondering, do I have to make Honey for Wounds Part Two? Does it have to be exactly the same? Because that’s clearly what people connected with. But that didn’t feel right to me. I wanted to switch it up. That's where the title Good Intentions comes from. I made this album from a place of pure intention in music. I love music, I want to push myself, and the intentions are mine; the outcome I can’t control.”

Her first record earned her critical acclaim, including Best Jazz Act at the 2020 MOBO Awards and Best Vocalist at the 2021 Jazz FM Awards, as well as placements in major film and TV series like Insecure, Sex Education, Dear White People, Queen Sugar, The Jackal, and And Just Like That. 

With Good Intentions, May pushes her artistry further, blending vulnerability, growth, and fearless experimentation into a record that promises to be her most ambitious work to date, exploring community, liberation and vulnerability.

“This album may flop; who knows?” she shrugs. “But the point is, I made it from a very pure place, and I’m proud that I’ve managed to finish another body of work. I’m keeping my focus on that. It is what it is,” she says, thinking practically .“When I say it may flop, it might, but whatever happens after I finish it and release it into the world is beyond my control. So whether it flops or not is neither here nor there.”

May’s creative lens is shaped by the writers she loves: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Patti Smith, Chinua Achebe, Ayobami Adebayo, Joan Didion and Stevie Wonder – whose storytelling sharpens her sense of narrative and introspective detail. 

“Stevie Wonder is my ultimate icon and my unofficial singing teacher, because I feel he taught me everything I know,” she enthuses, recalling seeing him perform around 13 years ago. “Because I was in the front row, nothing’s been able to top that. I thought I was being really clever by arriving at the festival around 6 am, but there were already people there, which is crazy. I couldn’t do that today,” she laughs.

Drawing from both her musical and literary influences, May is known for creating songs that explore self-reflection, healing, identity, social consciousness, love, and the complexities of modern life. On Good Intentions, her voice, soft yet commanding, carries an intimacy that resonates with longtime listeners and newcomers alike. 

Guided by literature, introspection and deep chats with her loved ones, May turns vulnerability into connection through her songwriting, taking cues from artists who lay themselves bare, and channelling that same honesty and emotional depth into her own sonic world. At the same time, jazz greats such as Sarah Vaughan and Lambert, Hendricks & Ross grounded her enduring love for the genre.

The result is a swoony, neo-soul record that feels both intimate and expansive. May’s dreamy, blissed-out vocals drift effortlessly over tight musicianship and lo-fi beats, creating a sound that is as soothing as it is self-assured. There’s a quiet confidence running throughout, carried by rich harmonies and carefully layered vocals that echo the emotional depth of artists like Erykah Badu, Solange and Ari Lennox, while still feeling distinctly British and her own. 

At the same time, Good Intentions is grounded in live-sounding musicianship. Tracks like What You Waiting For lean into jazzy instrumentation, giving the album a dynamic, organic quality that feels almost defiant in an increasingly digital age.

“I was ready to grow my musicianship,” nods May. “I’m used to working with producers, and I played with a live band, so I wanted to reflect the live experience of my shows and push myself, because I’m quite introverted and usually only comfortable with one person in the room. 

"I wanted to start making music with a band and challenge myself on that level. I think I definitely achieved that with this album. I’ve pushed myself vocally and stylistically; it’s an album of growth. I've purposely avoided staying in my comfort zone this time.”

Flop era concerns aside, there is one thing worrying May about the new album: “It’s quite different from Honey for Wounds,” she warns. “That album was so well received, and that’s what made me freeze at first and hesitate to make a second album. But ultimately, that’s the point of life, isn’t it? To push yourself and try. I also wanted to let go of expectations, create freely, and see what happens when I make music in a different way."

On navigating life as an introvert whose work centres on sharing her most personal thoughts and feelings with strangers, May reflects on how she finds that balance. “It’s definitely hard being more introverted in such an extroverted industry, but I’m kind of used to it now,” she reasons. 

“I know how to deal with it; I’ve reached a point where if something doesn't align with me or make me feel good, I don’t need to do it. I just want to focus on things that make me feel good. I have to trust that the music is enough; I don’t need to be gimmicky, feed the algorithm, or be a yes girl.”

Good Intentions marks a new beginning for May and sees the singer-songwriter creating and releasing from integrity rather than urgency. “It feels like everyone’s releasing stuff every day, and the music industry is so oversaturated,” she says of wanting to wait until she had a body of work that reflected what she wanted to say, when she was ready. 

“It can be hard to maintain momentum if you’re not constantly putting out music. I was really patient with this album. It took a long time to finish, and then once it was done, I had to get the marketing plan together, shoot all the visuals, and press the vinyl; there were a lot of steps before I could even announce it. It’s about accepting that. It’s not as instant as people make out online. You only see the finished product, but it’s usually years in the making.”

On Good Intentions, May leans fully into a world shaped by community, liberation and vulnerability, drawing inspiration from candid conversations with her inner circle and the writers who continue to inform her perspective. 

“I’m really big on one-to-one conversations,” she nods. “I get a lot from them, and they influence my songwriting. There are a couple of songs on the album inspired by conversations I’ve had – one in particular, which I won’t go into because it’s very personal,” she says, the introvert in her careful to hold some personal information back when speaking about the new record.

A recent single is Don’t Take My Lover Away. Produced with Alfa Mist and written by May, the song is about an irrational fear that something bad could happen to her husband. “Because I’m introverted, I put a lot of my feelings into my music,” she says. 

“Most of my vulnerability comes out in my songs. I don’t usually write many love songs, so that feels a little strange. But I’m happy to release it because it was an important song for me to share.”

The album features production from May herself, along with Alfa Mist, Melo Zed, Tom Excell, LVTHER, Beat Butcha, TAVE and more. May shares that she’s not new to producing: “I’m just not very good at it,” she laughs. “I’m good enough to get my ideas across, but I’ve never been confident enough to start as a producer. That’s another area where I really pushed myself; I was more involved with the instruments this time. I always produce all my own vocals, but I’ve pushed myself to sing harder melodies. I worked with musicians and producers to create a sound I wanted, rather than before, when the sound was already set, and I would write to what they’d done. I took more control in that area this time.”

May is an independent artist and is frank about the realities of trying to survive on music alone, especially when it comes to her upcoming UK mini-tour, which she’s already bracing to take a loss on. She’s currently training to be a therapist. “I’m doing that because I have other interests and I want to create a somewhat sustainable life, financially speaking,” she explains.

“The reason I haven’t done a full tour for four years is that I’d literally lose money. It’s not profitable to do shows unless you’re an A-list artist, especially without full support. With these shows, I’m doing it because I feel these songs deserve to be heard live, but it’s definitely not going to be profitable. 

"I’m just choosing to take the L because I can’t let the industry dictate what I can and can’t do. I’m doing it and hoping for the best: that people will show up, buy tickets, and support in other ways, because all of that is vital to an artist’s livelihood. It’s tough these days, but you just have to keep pushing. 

"The reason you go from being in the red to at least breaking even is if people buy merch,” she discloses, adding that she will have T-shirts and hoodies available to buy, as well as some bookmarks – a nod to her love of reading.

Although careful not to give away too much about Good Intentions before its release, May does share that the song she’s most proud of is called Sister. “Production-wise, it’s great, and the melodies are quite interesting,” she smiles, then adds a few more contenders: “The last song, Back to Sea, has a really beautiful ending. Also, the intro, called Hold On, features additional vocals by my friend Rosie Lowe, and she created the most beautiful outro for it. And the title track, Good Intentions, which sums up the reasoning behind the album.”

May’s gift lies not only in her musicianship, but in her ability to create songs that feel timeless, speaking to the tender, thoughtful and questioning parts of listeners across generations. With jazz at the root of it all, Good Intentions sees her subtly shift the lens, stretching beyond the world of her debut with a newfound sense of freedom and intent. In doing so, she continues to carve out her place as one of the most emotionally resonant and quietly innovative artists of her generation. And flop era be damned: Good Intentions debuted at no.2 on the 
Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart.

Image credits: Jelani Pomell