Every new release over the last two years from R&B/Urbano Latino newcomer Mairaly has proven her to be an unflinchingly forthright singer/songwriter with an alluring sound. With four singles to her name — the beginnings of her recently teased forthcoming debut EP — you’ll want to keep your ear to the ground for the arrival of more music.
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Mairaly’s winding path toward music started in the Bronx, growing up in a Dominican home where she learned to sing and play the piano/saxophone early in her childhood. In her late teens, she moved to Puerto Rico to be closer to her Afro-Dominican roots and has remained there ever since. Her music is deeply influenced by and incorporates all the vibrant multilingual and multicultural sounds she’s since been exposed to.
But music wasn’t her only foray as she’s also tried her hand at modeling and acting. An unfortunate experience with the latter served as the inspiration for Mairaly’s first single “Cruisin.” After making the hard decision to pause her musical aspirations to devote her time to a television series she’d just booked, she was sent reeling upon finding out she’d been supplanted by another actress. To add insult to injury it was because of her appearance — specifically her hair’s curly nature — that led to the unceremonious switch.
Layered over a laid-back beat and spacey atmospherics she tunes her frustrations to the track’s scathing retribution. As she trades English-Spanish bars the song hones in on the deception that comes with being replaced, professionally or romantically. Yet Mairaly makes it crystal clear that you’ll be hard-pressed to get away with such a sleazy betrayal without getting an earful in the form of an intoxicating but withering take-down.
She returned not long after with back-to-back singles “Addicted,” a thrumming and passionate profession of irresistible desire synced to equally sweltering rhythms, and the heartbreak explorer “Could Be.” Just like Bad Bunny — whose song “AMORFODA” she incidentally covered and subsequently went viral with — Mairaly effortlessly melds together her bilingual lyricism. Enhancing the emotional and intimate poetry of her songwriting in the process.
On her newest single, “galaxia” she sings entirely in Spanish — weaving her way through a buoyant collection of interstellar beats and pulsating bass. As the song begins, Mairaly’s incandescent vocals emerge from a swell of synths and galloping rhythms, her words roused to the surface as she taps into a bottomless well of emotion and charm.
Words: Steven Ward
Visit Mairaly on her TikTok and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Listen to “galaxia” the new single from Mairaly below!
