Greentea Peng appeared with exactly that – a peng – on the radar of the RnB and psychedelic music in 2019. Now, the South Londoner is about to release her long-awaited debut record Man Made. Ahead of the release this summer, we get Kali V2. Following in the steps of 2018’s Kali V1, this rendition digs deep into issues of racial justice and social oppression by questioning the systems of power that are deemed to be manifest.
“Can’t contribute to the lies”, she sings over a heavy drumbeat. Kali V2 claims a space amongst the greats of RnB tradition and catapults it into the 21st century. Echoing one of her idols, Lauryn Hill, the raw verses Greentea Peng spits hit the nerve of the political zeitgeist. Yet, the singer doesn’t refer to herself as a purely political singer using music and singing as self-discovery and a reflection of the environment that moves her. The single is political as it is personal because the two always intertwine and we cannot hinder our surroundings reflection onto us. That is one of the reasons why, like the song says, we need to examine the things we are being fed as truths. Kali V2 is about “the burning of the old and the rising of the new” and Greentea Peng is certainly a new voice, which will uproot the established systems in the most aurally pleasing way.
Interested in the best new music, handpicked by your favourite music blog? Awesome! Because every Monday we’re updating the 50-track-strong Listen AHEAD Playlist on Spotify, adding ten strong songs by sill relatively unknown artists at its beginning. This week’s new picks also include fresh songs from Friedberg, VARLEY, BSÍ, Charlotte Cardin, Social Haul and a few more. Follow the playlist right here on Spotify and give these new talents a chance.