Listen to “BDE” (ft. slowthai) by Shygirl

Three years after the phrase first permeated public consciousness, Shygirl would like to remind everyone of the original spirit of “big dick energy.” Her latest single makes it clear: “Quiet confidence” discourse aside, true “BDE” was always about being good in the sack—duh. Here, the London rapper expands on the filthy hooks and thunderous beats scattered throughout her most recent ALIAS EP. Inspired by a chronically disappointing lover, Shygirl lays out her physical needs clear as crystal: “Ain’t nobody slanging it right, that’s why, oh, I’m so damn unsatisfied.”

Songs about sex can sometimes feel over-workshopped and unnatural, but one of Shygirl’s greatest strengths as an MC is her ability to write for the club. She dives between pounding kick drums with casually flung-off bars, modulating her voice from sultry low tones to manic, hyper-processed stanzas as she builds out a whole universe of lust. Aided by Northampton’s frenetic favored son slowthai and some uncharacteristically brash production by UK producer Karma Kid, Shygirl’s “BDE” feels like an instant calling card, a purer distillation of the slick sex raps that have defined her recent ascent. Like another cinematic rapper, Missy Elliott, she takes base desires and raises the stakes—the true mark of any classic party anthem.