Badmómzjay summarizes her skills, LIZ talks about the dark sides and Loredana is in love.
The rap scene is grateful this week. And this time less turgid than down-to-earth. Even if the emphasis is on “less”. But it’s also okay to celebrate yourself and your success. As long as it doesn’t become repetitive, you don’t always have to go to the basement to laugh or to show off in the underground car park with the sports car. Badmómzjay shows what a healthy mix can look like in her new single “Blessed”. Loredana’s “blessing”, on the other hand, is her current boyfriend and soccer player Karim Adeyemi, to whom she dedicates a love song “27”. LIZ, on the other hand, serves up a whole range of emotions with her second album AMY WINEHOUZE.
Badmómzjay – “Blessed”
Badmómzjay released her second record SURVIVAL MODE in November 2023 and just a few weeks later announced her new mixtape DON’T TRUST BITCHES for March 8, 2024. With “Blessings” comes a foretaste of the new work, in which she emphasizes that great success also comes with a lot of work: “I used to be so into it, yeah, hustle all day long/This rap thing is no fun , Man”. But the effort ultimately pays off because “no one is that clean on the tracks” and the 21-year-old is right. On a bouncy beat from Rych and her regular producer Jumpa, Badmómzjay distributes a few swipes in densely timed raplines. Nevertheless, you understand every single statement: “Your rap is playing on the bumper cars, nobody wants to hear the lyrics.” The rapper only seems to take a breath when she starts the hook and is therefore not only “blessed” with material things. The more interesting it becomes It would be great if Badmómzjay raps this track live one day – especially because she is known for foregoing small Playblack props during performances.
Loredana – “27”
After Loredana released a “love song” at the end of January, there is now a second homage to her current partner in crime. The number in the song title refers to the jersey number that Karim Adeyemi wears for Borussia Dortmund. In contrast to “Lovesong”, “27” is less poppy than gentle. Almost ballady. Chekaa’s instrumental starts out shallow with guitar plucks that set the pace before the song becomes more clubby in the middle. The rapper’s voice adapts to this as she initially sings before unpacking her rap skills again. She talks about the security and appreciation she gets from Adeyemi: “I paint life in colors/And that’s only since you’ve been there/You heal me and my scars”.
If you were more in hiding on Valentine’s Day and weren’t in the mood for the rosy, mostly material tokens of love, well, the song might not come at a suitable time for you. But with “27,” Loredana shows a new musical side of herself and proves that soft ballads suit her just as well as hard street rap.
LIZ-AMY WINEHOUZE
LIZ postponed the release of her second LP several times, thereby increasing curiosity about her new work. Now the record is out with a total of 15 tracks. And although it is only 36 minutes long, the Frankfurt native reveals a lot about her life, growing up and her thoughts. Already in terms of sound, AMY WINEHOUZE is a rollercoaster ride, but she knows exactly when the next curve is appropriate. With “Main Grau”, an ode to her hometown, the wagon drives up the tracks with a shallow melody, thereby giving the depth of the love-hate relationship between the rapper and the city on the Main a space to develop freely. It seems to give a small insight into the person and not the artist LIZ. When you get to the top of the hill, the club song “Billie Jean” throws you down the slope with its fast beats.
While aggressive rap follows with “Eins Zwei”, “Gangster don’t dance” offers an electronic note that even encourages gangsters to dance. From then on, street rap, romantic flows with deep lyrics and rave-like tracks seem to follow one another until LIZ prepares for the end of the album with probably the most touching song “Hör Auf”. As if in one last, unexpected, slight curve before reaching the final peak of the roller coaster ride. In the song, LIZ talks about growing up in an abusive household. A toxic marriage between parents that never ends because of fear of how it might appear to the outside world. The 25-year-old gives incredibly intimate insights into her relationship with her parents and her mother’s strength. Speaking of strong mothers: Of course, with a really good looping track, you have to fall into the void before you chug towards the exit and can free yourself from the seat belts. This is ensured by the final song “My Mother’s Daughter”, in which LIZ once again tears away everything rap-wise on a mosh pit track and explains that you can’t get her down so quickly.