{"product_id":"critical-thot","title":"Critical Thot","description":"\u003cp\u003eCritical Thot is the bold new collaborative album from Bay Area-based rapper\/ producer Sha Ray, and producer\/electronic musician DJ Haram—two\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003euncompromising artists reshaping rap and experimental sound. It is an intriguing pairing; Haram is one-half of the duo 700 Bliss with rapper and poet Moor\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMother and has several solo records under her belt—including 2025’s critically acclaimed Beside Myself (Hyperdub)—and high profile collaborations with\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBbyMutha, Fever Ray, Ghais Guevara, and Armand Hammer. Meanwhile, although Critical Thot is Sha Ray’s official debut album, her reputation as a next-\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ewave talent precedes her. Haram got wise in 2022 when she saw Sha Ray perform at a show in Brooklyn. “We spoke at the venue and after that I followed her\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eon social media. She gave an incredible performance, so later on when she slid in my DMs asking for beats, I was already on board,” Haram explains.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn Armand Hammer\/DJ Haram show in LA was the nexus for these connections to yield fruit. Sha Ray flew down from the Bay to link with Haram, and although\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ethe two didn’t end up recording anything that day, it was the springboard for the crosscountry collaboration that culminated in Critical Thot. The whole album\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ewas made remotely: Haram cooking up beats in Brooklyn and sending them to Sha Ray, who would send back demos and notes. They got to know each other\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eas artists, and as people, while they worked on this project. “Haram and I have had so many overlapping experiences working as women in the music industry,\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ewhich really enriched our bond. That, and her very striking approach to production, really inspired a lot of the writing on this record,” Sha Ray says.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat writing is razor sharp and refreshingly direct. Sha Ray quickly proves herself to be in a class of her own, navigating even the knottiest of DJ Haram\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eproductions without taking her foot off the gas. Haram digs deep into her bag with beats that run the gamut from experimental and abrasive to slinky fun to\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003edarkly foreboding. Percussive thuds and shots are layered with intricate details and soft linings. A trappy banger dissolves into a flood of strings. A sparse\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eindustrial soundscape slowly coheres into a cacophonous uppercut of a rap record. Sha Ray bobs and weaves her way through every drum break and synth\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ewith a defiant ease.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“As a rapper I’m pretty exclusively interested in interrogating misogyny and sexuality in my work. Critical Thot is a deliberation on unapologetic feminine\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eauthority, while being very honest about the complicated truth of being a participant in self-objectification, and sexuality as a social currency,” Sha Ray\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eelaborates. “This record focuses a lot on defining power in feminine sexuality as relational and evershifting, and thus inherently imperfect. However, it is a\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003epower that I have and I am going to use it.” Critical Thot features contributions from Nappy Nina, JWords, and Archangel.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Record Plant","offers":[{"title":"LP Vinyl","offer_id":54475680448835,"sku":"RPT-23174","price":37.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0821\/1601\/8499\/files\/a088c9240b5dd72eef5401de1207ef50.png?v=1778578300","url":"https:\/\/www.recordplant.co.uk\/products\/critical-thot","provider":"Record Plant","version":"1.0","type":"link"}