She’s difficult to classify, and she likes it that way.
Lozen is releasing her new single “Something Bout Chu” on June 10, after a period of creative incubation during the pandemic, and the result is a reggae-infused summer anthem about a lusty long-distance relationship. Foul-mouthed and boastful, the Squamish singer-songwriter channels Jessie Reyez in the opening moments before switching into a more playful mode reminiscent of Bruno Mars or Jason Mraz. The entire beach vibe of the track screams freedom.
“I know that I’m perfect, I ain’t got nothin’ to prove,” she raps. “I’ll never be your side b..., but I could be your lover.”
Working alongside award-winning beatmaker DJ Kemo, Lozen (real name: Meaghan Mullaly) has been hunkered in the Vanguards Music Studio for months working on her next album. This track is just a glimpse of what’s in store. For the music video, Kemo got behind the camera for the Vancouver shoot. They wanted to showcase the track, but also the many sides of the woman behind the music: the long-haired, bra-free hippie, the barefoot sundress-wearing empress, the fierce femcee rocking Odanga buns, and the inner weirdo in the rainbow romper. Image-wise, she’s like the Canadian version of Lil’ Kim, or maybe Gwen Stefani.
In the dirty edit of the song, Lozen drops numerous F-bombs while bragging about her sexual prowess. The song is thick with sexual innuendo, with lyrical allusions to rap heavyweights like Wu-Tang Clan and Busta Rhymes, but also has a raw vulnerability as she sings “four chords and truth, yeah I’m falling for you.” In just under four minutes, she takes listeners through an emotional journey while showing off her lyrical antics — creating a defiant rap persona that could remind some of M.I.A. But according to the artist herself, it had to start from a place of authentic truth.
“Before I even got down with rap, I’d write songs on my guitar,” she said in a written statement. “I went back to my roots with this one. In a sense, it was kind of like coming home.”
