Her debut EP METTENARRATIVE is an overtly gender-critical and anti-racist interpretation of charts pop, drawing on dancehall, gospel and hip-hop. Big name songwriters help fashion expertly produced club-ready numbers like "VAN GOGH," "MAMA'S EYES," and "FOR THE PEOPLE," apparently seeking parallels with pop heavyweights such as Lizzo and Doja Cat.
The project's bid for glory is in equal parts generic and innovative. "MAMA'S EYES," initially released as a single in February, offers an uplifting take on the pop trope of the divine feminine. Drawing on spiritual music – complete with a gospel trombone sample – METTE can be found celebrating an all-benevolent heavenly mother figure albeit one firmly stationed on the dance floor. ‘Mama’ occupies an iconic teacherly position ("hush now / she’s speaking," METTE cautions), but her power is reflected in each of womankind, who can "see [them]self in mama’s eyes." The rhythm is as triumphant as the message: dancehall syncopation makes for a get-down that pivots hard into an epic step-clap beat for a belting ballad-esque chorus.
The second single, "VAN GOGH" is a somewhat cut-copy of Lizzo’s "Juice" – and it's nearly as good. Opening with a fizzy synth riff over a 70s funk beat makes for a grind-worthy if unoriginal hook. These similarities are perhaps not surprising since the track's co-authored by songwriter Mike Sabath, who's previously been hired by Lizzo as well as the likes of Little Mix and Camila Cabello. What’s perhaps more thoughtful here is the light-hearted gender-criticism. METTE swims between the axes of masc and femme, Van Gogh and muse, and plays wryly on generic masc possessiveness: "don't dress up for no one but me."
What follows is a succession of celebratory, identity-driven dance tracks of varying accomplishment. METTE gets real in grimy trap-infused number "CHOCOLATE CITY," a celebration of black sexuality co-authored by "Bitch Better Have My Money" collaborator Bibi Bourelly. As a rapper, METTE's tone is authoritative and explicit: she signals her worldliness with quips like: "when we fuck it’s love," and "bitch’, I’m a woman." "PSYCHO (NAH NAH)" offers some sophisticated metrical techniques, with off-beat and three-against-four flow, in service of a critique of sexist tropes about female hysteria. METTE's key successes here are in striking the combination of sex appeal, empowerment and grittiness that characterize the rest of mainstream femme-coded rap; the more compelling aspects of her project are to be found in the gospel and spiritual elements in the lead singles.
