With one foot in the club and the other in more traditional R&B territory, Cicero’s music is dancefloor-friendly, but it also puts the songwriting upfront and in the center. We saw it with last year’s Ultraviolet EP and we’re seeing it again in a big way on her new single “What Do I Do”, for which she’s teamed up with UK funky mage Roska.
UK funky is a significant influence on this one, as it was on several of last year’s EP, and that’s not unexpected given who produced it. It’s a hefty little club piece propelled ahead by a snappy bassline and Roska’s unrivaled flair for percussion, yet Cicero’s vocals are left uncluttered and with plenty of space to flutter and fly.
The new tune has also been given a visual makeover by the duo. In keeping with the theme of not complicating things, director 411 frames the pair in a moodily lit studio, with Roska’s head bobbing up and down to the beat while the camera focuses on Cicero in the booth, before switching to a shot of her on her bed, running through her romantic dilemmas and wondering why she pays them so much attention.
Cicero is clearly a natural team player, and she’s had a number of great collaborations with producers and MCs alike in the few years she’s been releasing her own music (not to mention her composing for other artists), but this is one collaboration we’d want to hear a lot more of.