Karina Pasian "16 @ War"
Rather than premiere with a tried-and-true puppy love ode, a slang-heavy dismissal to a dead-beat boyfriend or a giddy celebration for the oncoming summer season, buzzed-about Def Jam R&B newcomer Karina Pasian opts on a topic much deeper on intro single, “16 @ War”, a compelling exploration of the darker realities of modern day teen-life.
The song’s narrative casts Karina as a despaired youngster struggling to find light in a dire existence surrounded by frustrated single mothers, absentee fathers, racism, perverted men and the usual negative pressures of peers (“If he smoke/ Then she smoke/ I gotta smoke to”). “It’s like a disease the way y’all killin’ me,” she remarks, shaking her head at the sight of girls her age squeezing into tight outfits just to get the approval of boys who’ll only treat them as a “transaction” in the end. Images of dirt and debris throughout the inner-city streets and her inability at finding a guy that wants to know her mind and not “treat me like property” further conjure up a feeling of frustration and gloom inside her: “I’m 16/ I shouldn’t have to feel like this”.
A record to applaud, “16 & War” thankfully makes an effort to avoid alienating target young audiences (and radio programming tastemakers) not usually as receptive to message-oriented cuts by blending it’s powerful songwriting with hip, urban production (courtesy of current hitmakers Tricky Stewart and The-Dream). And while Karina doesn’t get the chance to showcase the vocals that made her a “Star Search” champion and impressed Quincy Jones enough that he took her under his wing, her controlled delivery here hints at a vocal talent that’s definitely beyond-her-years.
Could we have potential future R&B royalty in Pasian? We’ll see if she’s still as promising when her debut album, First Love, drops in August.
DL: “16 @ War” (YFH)
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