“WHO’S NEXT” Proves BNZA is MVP
The single is BNZA’s third this year, and accelerates his moves as one of the best rising musicians in Canada.
In his music, singer-songwriter BNZA often portrays himself as a player. He’s the kind of guy who, like the Toronto bar he shoots pool at, is big trouble. He cops to this in his lyrics: He’s a self-proclaimed problem, a bad boy who admittedly is the kind of guy who finds it hard to change his ways. I know I may be bad for you, he seems to say, but let me prove you wrong.
His charm means that BNZA holds your attention in the same way a basketball star runs the court. But often this coolness isolates him. “I need honeys/ I need dollars/ What don’t kill you make you stronger,” he figures on the 2020 track “Ice Cold”. “Feeling cold/ Trust nobody/ Trust no more.”
He could, he wagers, switch it up for the right girl. And on his latest single “WHO’S NEXT”, BNZA may have found that girl. “I don’t know what happened to my faith,” he tells her, then adds with some flirtation: “I’ll try with you/ You seem like you could change my ways.” That confidence is the underlying motion of “WHO’S NEXT” as BNZA knows, “Imma get her someday.” He’s got the support of his friends, too, who see the potential. “Everybody says that I’m right,” he sings, before pausing to add “respectfully” because he knows this sounds cocky.
Boy’s got game, too, and he’s driven in his pursuit of pleasure. “Got me thinking lately/ For years I’m lonely,” he thinks then slyly warns, “I’m a runnerback, shawty, and I’m coming for you.”
Often what makes BNZA’s music so compelling is his voice. It’s a light, airy instrument that can reach a falsetto pitch and convincingly spit bars. BNZA’s voice empowers him to deliver his lyrics with dual sincerity and playfulness. When he’s at his most vulnerable his voice will melt you. But on tracks like “WHO’S NEXT”, BNZA’s voice is made to seduce.
“WHO’S NEXT” is rounding out a career high run of singles for the Canadian singer. Throughout the past year, BNZA has dropped some of his best work, including the fantastic pop track “SELFISH” and a transcendent ballad “U”, released in August. You can see just how versatile he is as an artist by watching the live performances he posts on Instagram Reels.
“WHO’S NEXT” is more agile and bouncier than BNZA’s latest work, tuning itself towards a mix of acoustic pop and hip-hop. Here, BNZA asserts himself as a producer willing to experiment and build upon his thematic storytelling. The characters BNZA’s music evokes often feel like they’re from another era: greasers who fuck around and find out; supermodels and boys from bands who get high in darkly lit nightclubs; jilted boys with trust issues and hearts that need soothing. His songwriting ethos are what makes BNZA’s music so evocative, often giving his lyrics a cinematic twist.
“We said if I don’t flex, who’s next?” he asks on the chorus. It’s a sly moment for the artist because, well, no one can top him right now. On BNZA’s court, he’s the star player; on his champagne shit and ready to prowl, BNZA pulls the ace on “WHO’S NEXT”.
