DonMonique shot by Liz Barclay.
We were hot on DonMonique's tail back in March when we premiered her video for "Pilates"—a tune that was cleverly twisted the names of pop culture's queen bees (Kendall, Kylie, Miley) into slang for whatever party favors were on deck. And the video? Shot from the hip by Hidji Films at a house party which numbered Richposlim and Father in its ranks. It was a tasty appetizer, but today we can serve up the main course: DonMonique's debut EP Thirst Trap, six tracks of pure fire (and two old school answerphone interludes). It's such a bold statement of intent that it struts straight in and leaves off the aforementioned "Pilates"—her biggest hit thus far.Alongside previously dropped tunes, "Jada" and "Tha Low" featuring Danny Brown and Slayter (not dissimilar in vibe to Wu Tang's collabortion with French crew IAM on "La Saga"), DonMonique and producer Stelios Phili (A$AP FERG's studio mainman) cruise through with tunes that combine effortless flow (think 90s Lil Kim), darkly booming beats, and a don't-fuck-with-me air. A stance compounded, of course, by the Thirst Trap cover art, which was inspired by a recent Diddy pic she copped on Tumblr. But as you can see, this tomboy flipped the script and placed her laquered nails in front of her bestie's crotch (shouts out to Chasity Samone!). She's the coolest kid on the block. And when we say kid, we mean this New York native is yet to celebrate her 21st birthday. That being said her rhymes belie her years and this is an assured, ice cold debut. Just don't forget the Don in DonMonique, OK? It's spelled that way for a reason.
Advertisement
Read i-D's interview with the Thirst Trap QueenKim Taylor Bennett will be listening to this and only this for the rest of the week. She's on Twitter.