Ciara Enlists Female All-Star Cast Featuring Lupita Nyong’o, La La Anthony, Ester Dean & City Girls For “Melanin” [New Music]

Ciara Enlists Female All-Star Cast Featuring Lupita Nyong’o, La La Anthony, Ester Dean & City Girls For “Melanin” [New Music]

Black Girls Rock! Singer Ciara recently released a new single entitled “Melanin,” that features acclaimed actress Lupita Nyong’o, Miami girls duo City Girls, actress and host La La Anthony, and “Super Bass” co-writer Ester Dean. Most notable on the single that was released Friday (Nov. 22nd), the Oscar-winning actress appears under her rap alter-ego, Troublemaker.

The ‘Beauty Marks’ singer says in a press release,

“This is ultimately an anthem of self-love, which is a journey I’ve been on since my Beauty Marks album. It celebrates the beautiful shades of culture that comprise the inner and outer beauty of everyone. Embracing the unique nature of our skin tones threads together the tapestry of humankind.”

Lupita took to Instagram to share a short clip of their collaboration touching on how her rap persona, Troublemaker made the record. She says,

“The beautiful queen Ciara asked me if Troublemaker could make an appearance on her new song, #Melanin, and you know I had to show up and show out! All the lyrical credit to my long-time collaborator Robyn Hood Music for being the mastermind behind Troublemaker’s bars.”

The 34-year-old singer released her latest album, ‘Beauty Marks,’ back in May. She followed it up with a remix of Todrick Hall’s “Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels” in August.

As previously reported, the singer recently opened up on owning her own masters. She says,

“It’s an incredible chapter. It’s pretty cool to know you’re out here running around and hustlin’ and bustlin’ and you’re not only performing songs you wrote, but you also own the masters to those songs.”

She added that it’s all a dream come true.

“I used to dream about that while being signed to a label. I was like, the day that I get a chance, I want to own my own masters. I want to do it differently. Because after a while you kind of get frustrated with having to go through the same process — when you believe in something, when you have a vision for it, but the person who makes the decisions doesn’t share the same vision. When I got the chance, I actually wasn’t even planning on doing it in that moment.”

Ciara is set to hosts the American Music Awards Sunday night, and the singer has reportedly promised some surprises during the show. Sounds like there maybe a “Melanin” performance featuring special guests?

Listen to the track below:

What are your thoughts on Ciara’s single? Let us know in the comments!