Not too long ago, actress Lupita Nyong’o debuted a rap alter ego known as Troublemaker on The Tonight Show, but claimed that her not-so-hidden talent was only for special occasions or to amuse her coworkers on set. Apparently, though, if Ciara calls you up to rap on a track with City Girls, Ester Dean, and Lala Anthony, it qualifies as a special occasion. Lupita — aka Troublemaker — dusts off her mic skills to appear with the superstar singer and her all-star cast of guests on the new song, “Melanin.” Check it out above.
Ciara has seemingly been really into uptempo dance music lately — although it could be said that she always has been, it’s just that certain trends came back around in time for the Beauty Marks Entertainment head honcho to really indulge. As suggested by its title, the song itself is a jock jam celebration of Black women, with boisterous horns and trilling referee whistles bolstering a rattling drum line made for halftime dance team routines. Ester Dean provides the hook, while Lala, Lupita, and City Girls provide the verses. Considering only about half the guest rappers on the song actually rap for a living, the verses aren’t bad, and Lupita actually does sound like she could make a career switch like actor-to-rapper peers Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, or Shia LaBeouf.
Ciara is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
