The continuously polarizing artist known as BADSQUATCH offers up
the fourth single from his debut album, a fourteen-track double EP that he
refers to as a mental health piece. The dark and light contrasts that have
been present in the first releases by this new creative are even more
present as this song “Nakupenda” almost seems to come from a
completely different world as the previous single.

Following up that last tune about soul-crushing heartbreak wrought
with heavy guitars and blistering vocals, the new song “Nakupenda” does a
complete turnaround, opening with sounds of a babbling brook followed by
slow and beautifully methodical acoustic chords that lead into
BADSQUATCH’s soft, yet warm and inviting vocals. The name of the song,
the phrase for “I love you” in Swahili, is confirmed to be a kind of title-track
of the I LUV YOU side of the album, but it is also a nod to the
African-inspired percussion instrumentation and lyrical themes of flowing
with the river toward the ocean, mentioned by the artist to be further
inspired by stories of the Nile River.

In this song, these lyrical themes set this single even further apart
from the rest of his recent releases, speaking with an air of wisdom that can
only come from somebody that has experience with not just pain and
suffering, but also the coming to terms with it, the process of ‘healing’, and
moving forward in life. Utilizing metaphors and thought-provoking lines
alluding toward a search for peace, the themes of the song directly match
the very calm, inviting, and disarming instrumentation delivered to us.

With this acoustic single, BADSQUATCH has now shown us four
completely different looks as an artist: first an industrial anthem about
self-loathing, followed by an 80’s dance/workout song about moving your
body, and most recently, a gritty and gut-wrenching song painting a picture
of the moment your heart breaks. Now, we get to experience this acoustic
adventure down a river of gratitude and healing. It seems whatever
BADSQUATCH has for us next, like Sasquatch legend, is a total mystery.

STREAM "Nakupenda" HERE

Listen to "Nakupenda" Below: