To flex or not to flex. That is the question: whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the “bruising” and “bleeding” of your ex’s outrageous “cruel sh-t,” or to “pull just to stunt” on a sea of shady scrubs and by opposing end them. William Shakespeare didn’t live long enough to see Melii and 6lack team up for their new song, but if he had, he probably would want to jump on “You Ain’t Worth It.” A month after the song’s release, the Harlem singer-rapper teamed with Baltimore 6Lack’s to put out a video that perfectly captures the song’s essence.
After dropping a scummy ex and moving on, Melii revels in her new love with “big racks, big d–, big bag, big stacks.” Ultimately, it’s a victory lap but one that showcases Melii’s clever songwriting, especially when she unravels her ex’s methods of “Using trauma as excuses for [their] lack of effort.” She raps how they “Would give advice on mental health like you’re the fuckin’ expert / But you might need one, sh-t, if you see one / Fill me in on tips, an explanation, what’s the reason? / On causing bruising to my heart, you left me bleeding / You kicked me down while being down, you barely left me breathing.”
“The video was such a fun vibe,” the Geffen artist tells HollywoodLife. “We wanted to go with old school looks and aesthetic because it went with the song the best. Working with 6lack was amazing.”
It’s this sharp lyricism that has made Melii one of the brightest new stars in hip-hop. She first burst out on the scene in 2017 with a bilingual remake of Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow,” according to All Music, but has since established her own voice with such tracks like “Balling, “BK Woe,” and “Icey.” Her debut album, phAses, arrived in 2019, featuring songs like “Gangsta Talk,” “Anime Girls,” and “HML,” her collab with A Boogie Wit da Hoodie. The album was a way for her to declare her arrival, take her first step to hip-hop domination, and celebrate the heritage that helped formed her creative voice.
“I grew up in Harlem, so that made it big,” she told DJ Booth about bringing Spanish into a majority of her music. “Usually, the English music is remixed a lot in trap. So it’s important to do both because I know these people and I know what they like, and me myself, I listen to both Spanish trap and English. I mean, the project is called Phases for a reason.” And with this new video, Melii begins the new phase of her career.
“You Ain’t Worth It” is out now.