La Joia

Bad Gyal earned indie acclaim with 2016’s mesmeric <i>Slow Wine Mixtape</i> and its 2018 follow-up <i>Worldwide Angel</i>. The ethereal, almost otherworldly sound that dominated those early projects of hers seeps subtly into this, her second major-label venture. Yet as 2021’s <i>Warm Up</i> and her recent features with KAROL G and NICKI NICOLE made clear, her artistic evolution remains very much underway. Indeed, after the soothing drift of <i>La Joia</i>’s intro, the progression from the Myke Towers team-up “Mi Lova” through “Give Me” and “Bota Niña” with Anitta offers a more expansive application of her augmented approach, one now fused with commercial reggaetón and polyrhythmic pop forms. With a voice as digitally dreamlike as ever, her shimmer now comes with more swag, evident on “Perdió Este Culo” and the femme-forward “Chulo Pt. 2” with Tokischa and Young Miko.