Hua Li õ ripe fruit falls but not in your mouth (FRUIT JUICE PINK VINYL)

Hua Li õ has often worked the fruitful tension between opposing forces, whether being mixed-race, bisexual, or overtly political and softly vulnerable. Now the half-Chinese, half-militant, half-rapper of your heart is back with "ripe fruit falls but not in your mouth", her most ambitious and personal record to date. Playing between hazy R&B, hip-hop, jazz and electronic, Hua Lis sophomore LP takes the imaginary garden as a proxy for cultivating home. With complex vocal arrangements, lush production by Alex Thibault (aka Gloze), and big, vibrant mixing by TNGHTs Lunice, ripe fruit is a private confessional on a loud-ass record. Following 2019s Dynasty and 2020s critically acclaimed Yellow Crane EP, "ripe fruit" is characteristically libertine. Textured and sensual, the Montreal multi-hyphenate balances her rich, waveforming tone with danceable, electronic signatures. The rapper is fierce and frequently funny, erupting from gauzy runs to deliver a quick uppercut that stings. With hoo