Track listing: Last Night, Fantastic, I’m too Pretty, Let me know, 2 cups, Trip of Love, Ocean girl, Matching hearts, No makeup (Demo)

Musik For A Prima Donna is the third album released by Waldorf, Maryland based rapper Zel?. The album's sound is a turn in a new direction for Zel?, whose 2022 Now and Forever embodied more Pop, and the 2024 release Mode De Vie. put forth an ominous, mysterious aura. Prima Donna "was put together inspired heavily by Pharrell and the VA sound," Zel? explains, crediting producer Mack Coleman for his creative role, beyond standard engineering and producing.

"The album is an audio capsule of recent experiences, as life has been one big party. I’m translating that into songs." You can feel the frivolity across the record. The grooves are deep, the ethereal synths give late night club energy. "Too Pretty" brings a brightness to it that lands somewhere between the indisputable Pop genius of George Michael, with the creative musical flow of George Benson. Have those two Georges ever been referenced in the same music review?

Zel? shares that "this is a sound I’ve never done before--vibes I’ve never done before--so it was really like having that freedom on a blank canvas type of feel." And you can sense this throughout Prima Donna.  Perhaps the album's smoothest jam is "Trip of Love." It's got a 90s R&B/Hip-Hop sensibility along the lines of the Boyz II Men / LL Cool J collab, "Around the Way Girl." Smooth, sexy, alluring. 

Much of Prima Donna brings this energy--a late night party with just the right group of people whose energy only adds to the experience. Good times, nostalgic stories, and laughter abound, all set to an engaging-yet-chill soundtrack that fits the vibe to perfection.

Check out Musik For A Prima Donna streaming on all major platforms: ffm.to/musikforaprimadonna. Add some tracks to your next party's playlist and wait for people to ask, "Who's that?" Zel?, that's who.