The Coldest Winter Ever Pt 2 – the follow-up to an ice-cold self-released project from 2018 – was set to be released in May this year, which might explain why it sounds so counterintuitively summery. But Ms Banks has, understandably, been busy. The south-east London rapper kicked off the year by appearing on stage with Little Mix at the Brits, before providing guest vocals on R&B singer Tinashe’s new album, and just this week, on a remix of Jorja Smith’s latest single, Be Honest. Still unsigned, Banks is following a well-trodden path for UK rap stars in 2019 by eschewing major labels to build her own artistic and brand connections. Her support slots for Cardi B and an as-yet-unreleased collaboration with Nicki Minaj suggest the plan is working.
Where the first album was downbeat and trap-oriented, the second leans more into afropop rhythms and captures the euphoric glow of an artist whose star is rising. Banks is steely yet playful on the come-up anthem Back Up in This; she taunts an ex with a low, melodic hook on the dancehall-tinged Again, and she glides gleefully over UK garage on the Conducta-produced standout Desire. Over sparse, creeping synth pads on Bad B Bop, she declares: “bitches can’t match me / But they wanna @ me.” These are the most memorable and danceable Ms Banks songs to date. She’s funny (“up in every spot like acne”), she’s got range, and she’s proving that, even as winter approaches, she can make the most sultry of summer bangers.
