British singer Mahalia switches up her style on her new single “Jealous” with Rico Nasty, taking a step away from the more organic, rootsy soul fans have come to expect toward a more pop-oriented trap-R&B-accented sound. To accompany the more futuristic sound, the video that comes with the song finds Mahalia and Rico fiddling with the sophisticated security system of their male target’s wirelessly-connected luxury home.
Likewise, Rico adopts a less abrasive flow than her usual, brash scream-rap to match the smoother, bass-heavy production. The video as a whole is half TLC’s “No Scrubs” and half cyber-thriller, a la Ex Machina, with the two women teaming up to terrorize their target, using his WiFi-compatible luxuries to drive him up the brushed-steel walls.
Mahalia is about a year and a half removed from her debut album Love and Compromise, which peaked at No. 28 on the UK Albums Chart and received glowing reviews from Clash, NME, and The Observer. Meanwhile, Rico Nasty is fresh off the release of her own debut, Nightmare Vacation, which arrived after a lengthy buildup and included the assertive singles “OH FR?” and “Own It,” as well as a girls-only posse cut remix of her breakout hit “Smack A Bitch.”
Watch the “Jealous” video above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.