Daisha – “Hiyah (F.O.H.)” (audio) (Premiere)

If you want to attract attention in today’s pop music, which is more ephemeral and virally driven than ever before, the more enormous and attention-grabbing the hook, the better. In the case of Daisha’s percussive new single, “Hiyah, bitch!” is certainly that.

The stripped-down, pulsating track, which is cut from the same cloth as Rihanna, M.I.A., Santigold, Azealea Banks, and Kanye West’s Yeezus, is murky, confrontational, and playful, its in-your-face chorus countered by some whimsical stream-of-consciousness wordplay. And wait, is that the Florida State War Chant in there as well? Either way “Hiyah (F.O.H.)” is as catchy as all get-out, and we’re pleased to premiere it here.

After working as a dancer for the likes of Beyonce, Diddy, Rihanna, and Pitbull, New York-based Diasha Graf is pursuing her musical career with the release of the forthcoming EP A Tribe Called Daisha. “Words will never express the excitement I have about releasing my first song ‘Hiyah’,” she tells PopMatters. “I’ve put so much time, energy, life experience into this project. I could literally burst from the inside out. It’s amazing to see your creativity come to fruition. I pray you love it. I pray you live it. I pray you dance your ass off.”

A Tribe Called Daisha will be released this summer on MBK/Sony Red.