Miami Cuban artist Kat Dahlia seems to be headed into a new phase of her career with her latest single “I’m Doing Good.” In an interview with Remezcla, she explains that her aim with the new song was to make “another female anthem … really for anyone who feels like they’re doin’ good and don’t want anyone to shake them from their inner journey and focus.”
That might not be such a different stance than those taken by some of Dahlia’s past big singles. 2013’s “Gangsta” – perhaps her best known track – features a self-reliant protagonist under-impressed by a person marked more by their Gucci watch than any considerable life achievements.
But the new song does sound different than her past offerings, which run the gamut from full-throated pop anthem, to R&B coo – and not just because fans will hear her step into bilingual lyricism. “I’m Doing Good” taps into a light reggaeton beat that was produced by Adam “Royal Z” Waldman, who has racked up an eclectic list of collaborators, from Macy Gray to Fifth Harmony. One of Kat’s co-writers of the song, Jeremy Elliott has worked with Bieber himself, who she cites as her current dream collaborator (along with Drake, and Michael Bublé, with whom Dahlia longs to flex “over an Afro beat singing ‘Funny Valentine.’”)
The vocalist has been rapping since she was eight years old, and writing songs since she was 15. Her last full-length album was 2015’s My Garden, but according to Dahlia she’s done “plottin’” and ready to step into her auditory powers. “I plan on dropping music consistently going forward,” she says. “I have so much music!” The singer alludes to the fact that a US tour in the works, and to her burgeoning sense of mission; “I’m just happy to release the type of sound that I like personally as a female indie artist.”
Check out the airy reggaeton anthem here: