Brooklyn jazz and R&B artist Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez drops her mesmerizing new single “Better For You.” Through her distinct, honeyed vocal tone, Raina speaks about the issues surrounding the male gaze and how we need to break society’s rules of molding ourselves to fit in with what is deemed as desirable.
Dripping in jazz-soaked pianos underpinned by a groovy beat which unconsciously coax hip-wiggling movements, Raina pays homage to her Latinx heritage. Haunting harmonies, jangly percussion and muted brass instruments will have you longing for those warm summer evenings in a fancy jazz bar. Transporting us to a place under the sun, the New York musician thaws every inch of your body and slowing, over the four minutes and 32 seconds our whole body becomes fluid, swaying to every sound and beat.
“Better For You” waves a flag for standing up for our rights, emphasizing the importance of living unapologetically as yourself. The song narrates how over the years women have been taught that we should adapt ourselves to the needs of a man. Raina shares, “It also depicts the flip side of this, where we become or can become hooked on being the desired one; the way we come to need it, the way our identity becomes tied to this positioning. This is the ambiguity, the grey.”
So listen up, because Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez is here to tell you that it doesn’t matter what’s better for them – it’s time to start putting ourselves first and thinking about what we want.
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