Our song of the year might come as a shock to audiences. The Hottest Music's 2023 Song of the Year is not dictated by sales figures or streaming numbers but purely by sheer artistic merit and taste. In what may come as a surprise to pop audiences, our song of the year is not a Taylor Swift record, though she is our artist of the year. It is not Morgan Wallen's "Last Night" which topped global song chart's throughout 2023, including Billboard for 10 weeks, and was Apple Music's most streamed song. The song was by a rapper, despite Hip Hop having its quietest year in decades. Our song of the year is also not from a rapper signed to a major label, typically a requisite for winning these sorts of music industry accolades. In a year that will be remembered for regional sounds and totally new genres rising to the global forefront, The Hottest Music's song of the year, is Ratata by Toronto's own Shah!
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Congrats to Shah, and his team, including: independent record label Day One; Ratata's producer, Grammy nominated L'Eddy; and Ratata's engineer, Grammy winner Fragancia.
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Shah, emerged as one of Trap's New Stars after his debut record Just Text broke out in Atlanta. He's become a rising star in the entertainment industry more broadly, as he'll be starring in the forthcoming television series Ghostwriter. However, Ratata reminded us that music is at Shah's forefront. This bawdy trap ballad captivated an international audience because of Shah's multilingual prowess, which Shah first exhibited with his viral hit, Telemundo. Shah ability to seamlessly blend languages, in a way that resonates as genuine with audiences, remains a relatively unique feature, and is a testament to his ability to transcend conventional genre boundaries. A fact unknown to most, including us until yesterday: Shah is of Indian descent, and was named one of the Top 5 Rappers of Indian Heritage, alongside Nav, Sidhu Moose Wala (RIP) and others in 2022. It will be interesting to see if Shah further pushes his cross-cultural reach into the Indian community in 2024. Getting back to 2023, its also fitting for Ratata to win song of the year, when considering how 2023 was defined by artists like Peso Pluma pushing regional sounds to global levels, and how Peso and Shah invented entirely new genres along the way.
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Ratata delivers a musical experience that goes beyond the confines of Trap that Shah is known for. The best description for Ratata is a Modern Love Saga. However, when considering how Ratata evolved out of Shah's previous cross-cultural hit Telemundo, it becomes clear Ratata is more than just a song; it's a cultural touchstone. Shah's ability to weave together diverse musical elements, coupled with his charismatic delivery, has resulted in a record that resonates across cultures and generations. At a time where society feels more divided than ever, a song like Ratata feels so much more important than your 2023 pop hit.
From a musical perspective, Ratata delivers the infectious energy, associated with Shah's singles. But also, right from the song's opening, its TikTok tag provides Ratata with the all-important wormhole to GenZ, which has probably contributed to it becoming a rising thirst trap anthem on Only Fans in recent weeks. The key is the song's ability to deliver a dopamine hit in an effortless way, where it feels like Shah is bringing his core audience in on a joke. One that can also be genuinely by fun-loving audiences and more ironically by the cool kids. The song's ability to resonate with seemingly unrelated audiences, is a task that's becoming increasingly rare to accomplish in this era. Typical of most Shah songs, the verses are riddled with Easter eggs and punchlines that Shah is known for:
Fly into her city it's her birthday Showin off em titties, got that surgery She got that IUD don't need to worry Want my last name, she got my jersey
Shah's commitment to pushing creative boundaries independently is a beacon in an industry often driven by commercial metrics. In a musical landscape where authenticity and creativity are paramount, "Ratata" emerges as a symbol of artistic resilience and originality. Shah's dedication to creating a cross-culutral phenomenon without compromising his artistic vision distinguishes him as a true independent trailblazer.
In the grand tapestry of Shah's career, "Ratata" solidifies his position as an artist who continues to shape the future of music through a lens of taste, creativity, and unbridled innovation. As we look ahead, "Ratata" paves the way for a new era in independent music, proving that true excellence is measured by the impact a song leaves on the hearts of its listeners. Congrats again to Shah and his team!
