Alemeda Knows That She Doesn’t Know

The rising new voice lets growing pains guide her forward on her new EP But What The Hell Do I Know?

By Izzy Petraglia

Published on November 21, 2025

One of the greatest feats in turning 25 is discovering how little you really know–especially when you once thought you knew it all. Alemeda, like any 25 year old, had to stumble a few times before that truth finally sank in. After exploring her once assured self in her 2024 debut project FK IT, the rising artist transitions into a perceptive yet humbled version of herself on her latest EP, But What The Hell Do I Know?

The EP is a confident and vulnerable testament to self-reckoning in your mid-twenties, Alameda executing brutal honesty in her lyricism, allowing it to unleash empowerment from within and transfer it to her listeners. While she continues to navigate becoming the star she dreamt of seeing in her idols as a child, Alemeda’s superpower comes from being grounded in her upbringing and willingness to learn acceptance of life for what it is.

RANGE caught up with Alemeda, sharing our personal reflections on what we learned from turning 25, and how that journey inspired But What The Hell Do I Know?

Seeing Paramore and Arctic Monkeys listed as some of your influences really stuck out to me. I’m also 25 and a fan of both bands, so when I read this I immediately knew “I have to get into this girl!”

Yup, yup!

Can you tell me about the moments that admiration shifted to inspiration for your sound and creative voice?

It was very intentional. I was kind of scared to take influence from people because it would come off as me copying them or whatever the case may be, but I realize everyone does that. I started to dissect all the songs that I loved growing up. My biggest thing was I wanted to make music that I could actually listen to and not cringe at every time it’s played. That’s when I started to go back and listen to the songs I loved. We’re the same age, so you know, during that time in high school. I mean, Paramore was even younger than high school!

I think I was around nine years old when I saw them open for No Doubt. I started listening to them and Arctic Monkeys when I was around 14 on Tumblr. It was serious, I know you get it.

That’s crazy yeah, the song that got me into Arctic Monkeys was “Arabella.” The AM album in general–that’s an album I took up.

When you’re 14 and discovering that sort of music on your own for the first time, it’s life changing. What would you listen to before you got into that music? It’s interesting hearing how we got into the same bands at the same age.

I started listening to music very late, I grew up listening strictly to radio hits. When people ask [about listening to those bands], I tell them “If you were alive and you had good taste at that time, it came so naturally.” The 1975 was also around high school–I don’t know about Matty Healy, but even people whose favourite genre wasn’t alternative liked their music. It was just good.

Growing up in that era, it was The 1975, Arctic Monkeys, 5 Seconds of Summer, One Direction, and Twenty-One Pilots.

It’s crazy–I wasn’t a One Direction fan, but 5 Seconds of Summer, yes. I feel like they don’t get talked about a lot.

They’re having a little comeback right now! Beyond your influences, let’s talk about But What The Hell Do I Know? What you’ve discovered throughout 25 and as you’ve made the EP was something I wanted to get into with you. How has working on this project helped you find comfort within your past as you continue to step into your true self? What parts of it are you letting go while holding compassion for it throughout your growth journey?

Honestly, I don’t think I’ve found comfort in the past yet. I’m in the beginning of figuring it out, but not there yet. The EP has a lot of nostalgia to it. The stories I’m telling in it happened in the past two/three years, or a couple of things happened before that that I’m barely processing now. In a way, it’s healing me. Talking about anything you’ve gone through is like a therapy session, especially around people I trust and fuck with. If you avoid confronting the things that’ve happened to you or are currently happening in your life, it adds up and you end up going crazy. [The EP] helped me face it in a way. It’s helped but also been very hard in many different ways.

Would you say it’s almost like when you journal to get all your thoughts out? Where you’re releasing thoughts and you don’t fully know if you found comfort in it, but it just feels good to get it out?

For sure, a lot of my songs started through journaling. I bring my diary to the studio and then just be like ‘Okay, this is what I went through October 18th. Let’s write about it.’ It’s easier to write about something after it happens. While it’s happening, I’m probably crashing out.

100%. The vulnerability in the last three songs, “I’M OVER IT,” “Losing Myself,” and “Stupid Little Bitch,” capture your growth journey towards reclaiming your identity while you actively find comfort in your past. How did embracing honest lyricism become a source of empowerment to you?

You know, you’re 25, you’re realizing so many things. My theme of the past five years has been that nothing is what you think it is.

It’s true. Everything you think you know, you don’t.

There might be two things you were right about and other than that, it feels like somebody fucking ripped a curtain off of everything, like “This is what it really is.” I’m trying to process and acknowledge all those things. Once you realize nothing’s perfect, nothing’s what it seems, you have to start accepting what it actually is. That’s been the biggest thing.

At 25, a lot of lessons come back to acceptance in one form or another. What has practicing acceptance looked like for you, even if it’s not fully linear?

Damn, that could go into so many different lanes. I’m lowkey a little delusional sometimes. I want to believe everything’s going to go the way it’s going to go. Acceptance is the worst shit. It’s so hard for me–I’ll do everything but accept. Being thrown so many things at the same time and forced to accept it, I’m like “Damn.” I’m in a little depression era right now because I’m just accepting. 90% of it is sad. It’s not happy, but there’s also a level of comfort that comes from accepting things. You no longer have to force things to happen. You sit back and let life do its thing. It’s definitely been helping develop maturity. It’s just hard to balance, because you want to be optimistic. I’m in my negative era right now.

I’ve also been in a bit of a depression era. Maybe because we’re both close to turning 26. It gets to a point when you’re trying to accept so much that you wonder “Can’t I get a break to just be a bit delusional?” Deep down, you know you can’t.

It was so fun being delusional. I know this depressive era is temporary but I hope I don’t have another one of these when I’m 30 or 40. This shit is…I don’t want to look back and think I spent the whole time being depressed or something.

Do you find acceptance has given you a better sense of self and understanding within yourself?

Yeah, more confidence in general.

At 24 to 25, your definition of confidence kind of changes. I don’t know about you, I was very big on the “fake it till you make it” way of developing confidence. At this age, that does not work anymore.

Same. Literally. I was on my fake it till I make it. Now I can’t fake it. I have to actually do it.

Going off all of that, with all these continuous lessons, have you felt your personal idea or definition of success has changed in any way? Whether that applies to your career or personal life?

It’s so weird, I wasn’t putting any pressure on myself until recently. Before I was, again, delusional. Now that I’m lowkey descending my mid twenties, which is crazy, I’m like “Hold on, this is getting real. I’m an adult for real now.” I don’t have many excuses to be childish and fuck up. I’m being harder on myself because I’m probably going to be a child at heart forever, so I’m being my own parent in a way. My definition of success now is just whatever comes to me. I don’t think I’ve ever had a refined definition of success though. It’s also hard for me to know what’s a successful moment versus a milestone. I’ve already done 90% of the shit I would define as successful. I’m just kind of floating at this point.

I feel like no one fully knows how to answer that question. When you get to the point where you’ve achieved what you’ve dreamt of, yet you don’t really feel any different, you start to wonder “What is it that actually makes me feel uplifted?” Our twenties seem to be about finding what that actually is.

Exactly. Perfectly worded.

Going off the topic of success, specifically as you’re achieving goals you set when you were younger. What do you find that helps you stay present and grounded through it all—especially in becoming the artist you’ve always looked up to?

My background more than anything. I come from a refugee family. My family in Ethiopia doesn’t really know anything. If I were to break down what I’ve accomplished, they’d say “You’re trolling us.” Coming to America, period, and going to school is a dream to them. Even having a home. It’s a humbling type of pride. When my mom was in the village as a kid, she would talk about going to America and everybody would be like “Bro, you’re delusional.” Doing this makes me think about her journey. I connect it all to this weird triangle of people just going after what they want. Even though my mom doesn’t really support what I do, and her mom didn’t support her moving to America, the background of it helps me stay grounded, to know why I did this and how far I’ve come.