As Milwaukee’s Hip Hop scene continues to thrive and get bigger, its R&B scene has been starting to take off as well. Artists like Micah Emrich and *aya have been popping off in online music communities, showing fans that we have a pretty diverse music world in this city. *aya is someone who I am beginning to appreciate more and more with each release, as their talent is vast and it seems like they are constantly growing and expanding. *aya has not been putting out music for very long, but they are already making an impact. Their first releases on streaming came out a couple of years ago. *aya burst into the scene in 2023, having dropped several singles as well as two EPs, titled sweet sonder and time & metaphors. These releases, as well as her multiple very nice live performances, put them on the map as one to pay attention to around the city. *aya continued their momentum heavily into 2024, putting out a few more singles(including a cool collaboration with dak duBois and Emmitt James), as well as a very good EP titled slow burn, which was easily one of my favorite projects from a Milwaukee artist in 2024. *aya’s first single of 2025, ‘pink lady,’ was put out a couple of weeks ago on Valentine’s Day; I wanted to briefly talk about this single below. With that being said, please let me know in the comments what you think of *aya’s ‘pink lady,’ and also comment the names of any other Milwaukee artists you think I should check out!

One thing I have dug about *aya’s music so far is how classic and timeless it feels. ‘pink lady’ is a song that exemplifies this so well. This instrumental feels old-school and fresh at the same time, which is really cool. Although ‘pink lady’ is a pretty short one at 2:06, it has such a full sound and presence that it feels longer than this. The instrumental for this track has a bit of a Jazzy and Bossa Nova feeling to it that I appreciate a ton. The melody is driven by a warm and sweet piano riff, and is complemented by some horns and sound effects that give a very complete sound. The beat for this song is pretty quick yet soothing; it makes me want to dance and relax at the same time. As cool as the instrumental is, the main this that is so great about ‘pink lady’ is the vocal performance from *aya. Their tone aids in the coziness of the track so well, and their range adds to the track’s many textures; their vocals give the song so much life. *aya once again proves with her vocals that she is a super compelling singer whose presence commands the track. ‘pink lady’ is a quality and delightful way for *aya to begin 2025, and am excited to see what they have coming up next.