Darkoo and Asake together? Yes.
On August 6, British-Nigerian known for her blend of Afrobeats, Afroswing and British hip-hop Darkoo released her latest single, THAT GIRL!, featuring sensational Afro-fusion artist Asake.
The song opens with the familiar Darkoo sound her deep, husky and androgynous vocals. Yet there is something slightly different about her delivery here. Beneath the recognisable sound is a noticeable sense of depth giving her performance a more expressive quality.
Lyrically, THAT GIRL! is centred on attraction and admiration for a woman who lllstands out from everyone else. Darkoo presents her as “one in a million” someone whose beauty, energy and presence makes her stand out. The attraction isn’t presented as purely physical with Darkoo describing her as “more than a one-nighter” suggests an interest that could extend beyond a fleeting encounter.
Darkoo and Asake on THAT GIRL
Asake carries that same idea into his verse, but with a more playful energy. He is drawn to her beauty, her movement and the effect she has on him, eventually moving from simply admiring her to wanting a genuine connection: “For you, I’m singing this song” and “Early morning, na you I dey call.” Together, their verses paint the picture of a woman who is not only attractive, but has an energy that keeps drawing them back to her.
Asake’s verse is arguably the standout moment of the song. Asake brings his own identity to the record. The contrast between their individual sounds creates a whole unique fusion. Interestingly, the two artists never really sing together. There is no section where their vocals overlap or where they trade lines back and forth. Instead, Asake gets his own verse, completely separate from Darkoo’s parts. Both artists are given room to exist in their own sounds, while the production provides the common ground between them.
With over 1.1 million Spotify streams at the time of writing, THAT GIRL! is already off to a strong start. And if the numbers are anything to go by, Darkoo and Asake may have found a combination worth listening to again and again.
