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Coconuts

Anna Wise

2017

Coconuts

Release Date:  2017

By Pitchfork

Reviewed February 6, 2017

From Wise’s upcoming album The Feminine: Act II

Although Anna Wise is still best known as a frequent collaborator of Kendrick Lamar’s, having loaned her otherworldly vocals to multiple tracks on the rapper's last three albums (“Wesley’s Theory,” “Real,” “untitled 03,” among others), she’s becoming a mainstage attraction in her own right. “Coconuts,” the first single from her upcoming album The Feminine: Act II, retains the pop/R&B elements of her previous album, The Feminine: Act I**, it also builds upon them with laid-back jazz undertones. “Everything is beautiful and ugly at the same time/It's all how you see,” she croons as breezy saxophones and a stuttering trap beat envelop her. The production speaks to R&B’s continued embrace of outré elements, and the production’s languid flow complements her effortless vocals. For Wise, the pleasant mishmash of styles on “Coconuts” is a welcome change-up, bending the mold just enough to allow her room to grow out of her shell.

7:00 PM · Feb 6, 2017