Ghanaian-American songstress Moliy has released her highly-anticipated full EP Honey Doom. The eight-track project is the follow-up to her mini-EP Mahogany St, and her first full release since 2020’s Wondergirl skyrocketed the artist to virality, via her hit track Sad Girlz Luv Money, featuring Amaarae and Kali Uchis, which has amassed nearly 250 million streams to date.
Moliy teased the project back in February when she dropped the first single Love Doc, which was followed by Hard — a lo-fi, sparkling anthem, unapologetically crafted for sexually liberated women (and people) globally. Moliy uses the infectious track to flex her expanding prowess, experimenting with her rap flow alongside South African star Moonchild Sanelly, who is widely known for her major contribution to Beyonce’s Black is King album.
The project also features legendary Ghanaian-British producer Juls, considered a pioneer in the African music diaspora, and best known for his production work with the likes of Burna Boy, Mr. Eazi, Stonebwoy, and more. Juls produced Honey Doom’s opening track Together, Moliy’s up-tempo, wistful ode to her first love, and came to Ghana to record with Moliy in person.
Honey Doom features some of Moliy’s most vulnerable, raw storytelling to date, and tracks her personal development as a young woman unpacking love and relationships; alongside her own experimental journey with her sound, which remains airy and optimistic, while expanding to include more of her influences globally.
The painfully honest, and ostensibly upbeat Freak is another song worth mentioning, as the delicate, self-reflecting work of a young woman confronting her own demons, and the toxicity that has plagued her past relationships. She croons, “won’t be a punching bag just because you can’t communicate…I’m not your freak anymore, got put on the floor, you probably should have acted right, cold to the core.”
From all indications, the young star is defiant, she’s growing up, and she’s not embarrassed by the ghosts of her past — she wants to talk about what’s happened to her, and hopefully be a conduit for other women to share their own stories.
The rest of the project features hypnotic dance tracks paired with intentional, but sometimes heartbreaking storytelling, buoyed by Moliy’s classic sound, like her floating, airy vocals on the haunting Prisoner, or Body on Fire. The sixth track on the list, Banana, is more experimental — showcasing her undeniable maturation. The singer has been working hard, is more confident in the upper-register pocket that buoyed her to stardom than ever before, and is pushing the boundaries of her own sound, and what fans have come to expect from her.
Following the success of 2020’s Wondergirl, (which was highlighted on BBC News This is Africa, Apple Music via Ebro Discovery, topped Billboard charts, and led to her becoming a new member to the Recording Academy Class of 2022), the rising star has dropped surprises for fans along the way, like her mini-EP Mahogany St., and also premiered visuals for the reggae-tinged 9-5.
As one of Ghana’s foremost rising artists, the alté and afro-fusion singer has been on a consistent rise since the viral celebrity of Sad Girlz Luv Money and was recently featured in Spotify’s Equal Africa campaign, including a featured billboard in Times Square. Her original track The Place was also highlighted in Apple Music’s 2022 Juneteenth Freedom Songs playlist, in which Moliy was the only African artist featured alongside artists like 6LACK, Kranium, Lupe Fiasco, and more.
And it appears that this is only the beginning. As her star continues to rise, Moliy hopes to open more doors for women in music throughout her native country of Ghana. “They need to know there is no limit to what we can achieve, regardless of our background,” she says. “I would love for all women to feel confident and empowered, even on the saddest and hardest of days.”
Honey Doom is available on all streaming platforms now: