I Need Some Commas Like A Run-On Sentence

Sophie Hunter “Cha Cha”

Last night I saw Sophie Hunter perform as an opening act for Madelline at the Sultan Room in Bushwick with zero awareness of who she was or what kind of music she’d be performing. I kinda figured it would be a singer-songwriter sort of thing, but no – she’s kinda like if Natasha Lyonne was an early 2000s rapper. There’s a lot of Eminem in her style, but also some Def Jux/Rawkus indie rap vibes, a dash of Missy Elliott, and some Blu Cantrell/Mary J Blige when she leans a little more R&B. She even dropped a Neptunes beat at one point. It wouldn’t say she’s going for a retro thing, but the early 00s-ness of the music was very noticeable to me, in a “the gum you like is coming back in style” sort of way.

“Cha Cha,” Hunter’s newest single, was an immediate ear-grabber and encapsulates her aesthetic and lyrical POV. She’s rapping about being fucked up, about being broke, about feeling like a total loser, and playing it for laughs. A lot of people can do self-deprecating humor, but not everyone can do that while making it sound sort of glamorous and cool. Maybe that’s just the charisma coming through, but the Lyonne comparison isn’t just about how she looks. It’s that “hey, I may be a fuck-up, but I’m way, way cooler than you” affect.

Buy it from Amazon.