“she calls me daddy” is the intoxicating new single from KiNG MALA. Divulging the difficult side of being in a queer relationship, she discusses the challenges of dealing with people ignorantly interfering in her relationship. Despite this, the song points to her ultimately feeling confident within her relationship, owning who she is and not letting men get in her way.
The Los Angeles-based artist aims to uplift and empower people who are queer and non-binary, encouraging them to live unapologetically themselves. Her lyrics cleverly paint a picture of her experiences but also how she snaps back with her strong heart and mind, taking no rubbish from no man. The industrial vibe of the artwork shows KiNG MALA in a styled suit, adding to her clever take on all the aspects and themes of the song, further emphasizing her desire to play around with gender norms.
With an intimacy in her vocals, you are able to hear every movement and inflect, emitting a velvet, lustrous tone before allowing her voice to grit a little when singing, “she’s mine, but I never tie her down, they always come around.” The brooding bassline gives a purposeful sass crawling over the track and leading the way. “she calls me daddy” has a collection of storytelling sounds and moments that add to the creativity of the song. There are lots of production surprises resulting in a song that is very engaging. The track hops into a swirling, moody outro that is highly intoxicating.
“she calls me daddy” is the first track to be released this year from singer Areli Castro, but follows her 2020 debut EP release GEMiNi. With a solid fanbase on TikTok for her viral videos on the lead up to the new single, we have a feeling we’ll be hearing a lot more from KiNG MALA.
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