"For the past year, whenever someone has asked what music I'm most excited about right now, I've asked whether they've tuned into Martinican shatta. French West Indian dancehall rap is bold, loud, outrageously sexy, and impossible to pin down, channeling a unique constellation of rhythmic heritage (dancehall, trap, zouk, soca) into beats that demand you shake and hustle. The production on MOLIY's 2025 smash "Shake It to the Max" was inspired in part by shatta,"
"Her new album, La Dame, unites slower and more sentimental shatta ballads with the thumping dancefloor heaters that first drew me to her music. Meryl's approach is broad enough to capture shatta's party spirit and rich sensuality, deep enough to touch on subjects like family, heartache, and homesickness (or, in any case, to wish "goodbye to the side chicks and hoes")."
"Like much dancehall, shatta is primarily a singles genre and some of my all-time favorite Meryl songs feel too high-octane for an album, or at least the albums she's released so far: They're singles like the goes-crazy " Patate" with St. Lucia's BlackBoy, the super horny bouyon track " La Boue" with Guadeloupe's Lestef KJF Boyz, or (two reliable names in this scene) DJ Tutuss and Mikado's East Indian-accented beat for " BADMIND." Most of La Dame is not quite that intense, but when the"
Martinican shatta fuses dancehall, trap, zouk, and soca into bold, loud, sensual beats that demand movement. MOLIY's 2025 single "Shake It to the Max" drew inspiration from shatta and the Martinican remix featuring Kalash and Maureen proved especially popular. Meryl emerges as a standout voice, combining vocal dexterity and understated intensity across tracks. La Dame pairs slower, sentimental shatta ballads with thumping dancefloor heaters, balancing party spirit with themes of family, heartache, and homesickness. The album follows a debut tape and 2024's Caviar 1, featuring a wider guest list, recurring producers, and harder-hitting sounds influenced by contemporary drill. Some of Meryl's most explosive songs remain singles tailored for dancehall's singles-oriented culture.
Read at Pitchfork
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