South London’s freshest genre-blending artist Dexter in the Newsagent has dropped her latest single, ‘Special’, an introspective take on self-worth. Announcing the song, she says it’s “about falling/being in love and all the ways that love makes me feel.”. The track was self produced by Dexter In The Newsagent alongside Kurisu and Saionthebeat.
The soft hip-hop track comes with a pensive, homely music video where the singer rides the bus, daydreaming about external validation as she repeats her painfully strong, yet simple line “in the morning, I need you like coffee”.
The release of this new addictive track comes alongside her upcoming performance for Fête de la Musique in Paris, with a one-day pop-up in a newsagent alongside Kwes e, Mosses, Natanya, and Sahn. The event, with London based clothing brand Always Do What You Should Do, celebrates inclusivity, community and creativity, and in this style, Dexter has announced “no need for a ticket/rsvp just come and danceeeee”
The artist released her last EP ‘Fortune Cookie’ in 2022, and has since shared several singles including her song prior to ‘Special’, ‘With u’. The melancholic acoustic pop track gives a similar self reflective feel to ‘Special’, fusing the soft bedroom pop adolescence of ‘Fortune Cookie’ with a new, dreamy and somber consideration.
Dexter’s inspirations come through in her latest releases as she spoke to NME about her first gig watching Rex Orange County. She said, “I was obsessed with that man. It was just a few months after he was on [Tyler, The Creator’s] ‘Flower Boy’ as well. Even just going to concerts after that, I would just be thinking, ‘I want to do this’.” Dexter then uploaded her cover of ‘Sunflower’ as one of her first on Soundcloud.
She goes on to speak about her debut EP ‘I Do Love A Good Sandwich’ and its themes, which seem to loop back to her latest single ‘Special’. The artist explains her relationship with validation and gender in the song ‘I Like Me’ in which she shares, “I went to an all-white school and there was a running thing about Black women being masculinised.”. She then goes on to say the song “was about realising I can still be considered a girl even if I’m not portraying myself in a hyper-feminine way.”
Dexter’s popularity in the scene is taking the internet by storm, as she recently performed on Victory Lap with names like PinkPantheress and Niko B, who she collaborated with on his single ‘Tresspass Coat’.
Watch out for exciting music updates and projects to come from Dexter on social media.
