PREMIERE | Hua Li 化力, "Outwitted"

Outsmarting the opposition with Hua Li; photographed by Stacy Lee.

Montreal rising emcee Hua Li 化力 recently announced the upcoming album debut Dynasty for Next Door Records and now shares another exclusive glimmer from the record with the premiere of the ambient battle of defenses and wits — "Outwitted". Flexing skills on the mic and known for putting in work as a touring DJ for Cadence Weapon; Li's latest creative work blends meditative production with expressive harmonic deliveries that are mixed with sharp spitted bars that reveal subtext and inner thought zones about complicated realities. "Outwitted" spins the rules of attraction on its head like melted wax rotating on a platter that delves deep into the reasons and rationales behind our human hesitations and inherent reluctance while raising a toast to the ones that slipped away.

Hua Li begins the track with the twinkling luster of emerald glistening atmospherics that offers an inward view of twisted up feelings. "Outwitted" is delivered like an intimate spa day spent with a therapist/love guru where Li exhibits in both song and spoken rhyme the tug of war between wanting freedom and the allure of being attached and in love with a potential suitor. The questions of compatibility are sung serenely like a lark in flight while the exposition and myriad intricacies are revealed in rapped sections that showcase the standoff between both the defenses of both parties and their obfuscated endgames. Like a chess match between mismatched star-crossed lovers — Hua Li's "Outwitted" illustrates the missed connections at stake in a game where both individuals play it cool and coy instead of opening themselves up to the instinctive and tangible chemistry at play.

Hua Li provided the following candid insights on the single “Outwitted” and more:

I wrote “Outwitted” about a lover I had many years ago. At the time, I felt that we were soulmates, but I was too insecure to be truthful to this person about my feelings. I worked hard on playing it cool until one day they told me that they had been locked down by another one of their casual partners and that we couldn’t see each other anymore. They seemed sad about it and in the same conversation told me that they would have preferred being in a relationship with me. I kicked myself for not being more vulnerable and honest with this person. To me, the hook in “Outwitted” is kind of an inside joke — in fact, it’s not the lover that had me outwitted, but my own damn self.

The debut album from Hua Li 化力 Dynasty will be available September 20 via Next Door Records.