Kali Uchis recruits El Alfa and City Girls’ JT for new song “Muñekita”
The mostly Spanish-language cut draws inspiration from Dominican dembow.
Kali Uchis has shared her first new single since the release of her third studio LP, Red Moon In Venus, in March. “Muñekita,” a mostly Spanish-language track featuring Dominican dembow scene leader El Alfa and JT of City Girls fame, is out today.
Where Red Moon tended heavily toward the neo-soul side of Uchis’ sylistic spectrum, the new song is a rare rap performance that finds her deferring stylistically to her guest (Alfa) for a visit to reggaeton- and dancehall-adjacent world. The single centers a sing-song refrain that could easily belong to a nursery rhyme: “Gata, gata / Dale muñekita,” or “Cat, cat / Go little doll” in English.
El Alfa’s input is similarly silly; halfway through a relatively standard verse, he pauses for 15 bars consisting only of the lyrics “chiqui-chiqui chaka-chaka” (the 16th, a pre-chorus transition, goes “Chi — Kali Uchis”). JT plays along as well, introducing herself as “JT Medellín” in the song’s opening bars and returning with some of her own animal-themed, Spanglish bars later on: “Uf! Camina con su actitud / Está en su mood / Watch out, she’ll walk you like a dog, woof woof,” she raps in the third person at one point, though clearly describing herself.
On September 22, Kali Uchis will kick off the second leg of her Red Moon in Venus tour with a performance at San Diego’s Viejas Arena, followed by five more shows in the southwestern United States. Scroll past the visualizer for “Muñekita” below to view her full schedule.
Kali Uchis fall 2023 tour dates
September 22 - San Diego, CA - Viejas Arena*
September 24 - Sacramento, CA - Golden 1 Center*
September 26 - Oakland, CA - Oakland Arena*
September 29 - Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden Arena*
September 30 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl*†
October 3 - El Paso, TX - UTEP Don Haskins Center*
* with Tokischa
† with Buscabulla