Kaytranada ft. Kali Uchis – 10%

What’s Jessie Ware minus Duke Dumont? (No, the answer isn’t ‘getting a feature credit.’)

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[6.86]Pedro João Santos: Bubba sees Kaytranada slacklining between grandeur and matter-of-fact expertise. There’s no disgust to be had over the perfunctory disco-R&B for which he recruits SiR, Masego or VanJess, but 99.9% hovers as a reminder of what he can do as a song/groove designer. “10%” is this album’s “TOGETHER”, in that it replicates the touch-and-go of his trademark slinky bombast and the singer riding it. A chill-in-excelsis melody is made flesh by a nimble vocalist, Uchis filling in for Aluna Francis and going to town on that second verse. Simple–though unchallenging–as that. (For more godly moments on the disc, see also: that synthwave torrent lasting only 10 seconds midway through “Scared to Death” and the entirety of “The Worst in Me” and “Midsection”.)
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Kylo Nocom: Following up the excellent 99.9% with a lead single titled “10%” is obviously symbolic of something. It sure was: Bubba was Kaytranada on auto-pilot, devoid of the oddball production choices that made him worth listening to in the first place. But “10%” was an instant highlight, perhaps not for Kaytranada’s production (although certainly more alive here than on other tracks on the album) but for Kali’s sheer excitement bleeding through every half-rapped, half-sung line. This certainly doesn’t outdo anything either have done before, but after years of hearing terrible imitations of this style, it’s nice to see this guy return again with somebody that cares enough to do a good job helping him out.
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Alfred Soto: A smart hook: Kali Uchis sasses errant lover for not treating her like a manager. The shimmering guitar projects the wistfulness she won’t muster. Kaytranada’s beats are almost up to it and her.
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Oliver Maier: Uchis’ dryness seems like an ideal fit for one of Kaytranada’s swampy house concoctions, and it works at certain moments. The conversational verses lope at the right pace, and the way she delivers the word “bitches” is nothing if not immaculate. Elsewhere, though, she crowds the track with melodies that ring a little sour or a little overwrought. Compare it to Channel Tres’ cool restraint on “Sexy Black Timberlake” — sometimes only giving 10% works better than the full hundred.
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Brad Shoup: That disco backbeat is the real deal. He even tosses in handclaps! I’ve had my fill of that curdled synth-cloud timbre, but that’s where we’re at. Uchis is great, all business.
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Katherine St Asaph: Found Justin Bieber’s “heart full of equity” line insufficiently finance-bro? Here’s Kali Uchis lamenting a relationship in the language of songwriting residuals. Her timbre here — well, that plus the sometimes-off-ish stresses — remind me of Disclosure’s now-definitively-underrated AlunaGeorge collab “White Noise.” The rest, though, isn’t nearly so wonky. It’s Kaytranada doing his usual thing, making background music in the best way: dance music for the time when songs and heads feel floaty-wistful, helium-high, disconnected from the stems and slightly unreal. The nostalgia is already there for you.
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Leah Isobel: The camera roams around a disco at waist-height; everyone is dressed in pastels and groovy floral prints. Kaytranada plays a rippling, anxious bassline while Kali Uchis dances in the center of the party bathed in neon blue light. When she catches sight of us, she sneers, but she’s not mad — she just knows that she looks better than we do. Her cool disdain keeps the party from overheating, even as it powers the entire room.
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