2. St Barthe drops self-titled EP symbolising reinvention
Singer, Stacy Barthe, recently re-emerged with a new monicker, St Barthe, and now she’s released a new EP to go with it. FKA St Barthe is Barthe’s latest body of work that speaks to her personal growth. St Barthe is open about her mental health battles and wanting urban communities to speak more openly about mental illness. She says “It’s something we don’t talk about in the urban community, but it’s important to talk about what you’re going through on the inside.”
She channels these feelings into her music. On Neutral, she sings, “If you ask me how I’m doing / I’ll tell you if you really wanna know / You see I’m somewhere in between amazing and suicidal / That’s if you really wanna know”. Similarly in Burnt Out, she sings of “running out of Gas” and being tired. But the EP is great, not just for its lyrical depth, but for the breadth of its musicality. The opener, Virgin, is a trippy, slightly dark contemporary version of Madonna’s Like a Virgin. The EP progresses into a smoother R&B sound, picking up tempo in Neutral and the closer Live to Tell which features a nod to Fela Kuti’s afrobeat jazz-infused sound, perhaps the EP’s high point. Enjoy below and watch out for more music from St Barthe promised soon.
