SALIMATA shares new album ‘The Happening’ via 10k Global

Brooklyn-raised rapper SALIMATA has just shared her new album The Happening — out now via 10k Global. Stamping her third full-length release, the project was crafted primarily in Marseille, France, a far cry from the borough that raised her, and serves as both a coming-of-age moment and a diaristic showcase of the self-reflection, personal evolution, and stylistic freedom she’s grown into. The album arrives during a strong run for SALIMATA, coming off several high-profile moments that include her opening slot on MIKE‘s European tour and a viral On The Radar freestyle that drew widespread attention. Led by recent singles “Jackpot”, “SWEETTHANG”, “Moonlight”, “9-5”, and “foil”, The Happening finds her stepping into a fully realized creative identity with a renewed sense of self-definition and confidence that flows throughout the project’s fourteen tracks.

SALIMATA has always been a universe builder, incorporating fashion, painting, and even sculpting into her artistic practice. Her mother, who grew up in Côte d’Ivoire, introduced her early on to African music and aesthetics — to this day, she still hand-sews and styles the bulk of her daughter’s performance outfits, one of the many ways SALIMATA imbues ancestral wisdom and home-spun care into her work. She also credits her formative years on Tumblr, where she connected with a creative community that included Danii Phae and Ken Rebel, and early freestyles over diverse YouTube beats — from house music to UK grime to free jazz — as sharpening her flow and keen eye for storytelling. She first emerged onto the scene with her 2022 debut project Salimata Presents – OUCH and cemented a name for herself as one of the most promising new voices in independent rap with 2024’s Wooden Floors, which featured highlights like “u kno who u are” (feat. MIKE) and “Pootie Tang” (feat. Pink Siifu). Now with The Happening, SALIMATA is turning the page on this next chapter with precision — and bringing the new sound of her city to the world.

The Happening – Tracklist:
01. Sweetthang
02. Spur
03. Let’s Talk About It
04. Cake Up (feat. Kelly Moonstone)
05. Fergie
06. 9-5
07. Sprung (feat. Peyton)
08. it’s like dat
09. why u gotta act like???
10. Foil
11. Centerfold
12. Cigar Smoke
13. Jackpot
14. Moonlight