Ruby Goes Hard

Name: Ruby Goe

Where She’s From: East London, UK

Genre: Hip-Pop

When they started: 2010

Most Similar: Niki & the Dove; Rye Rye

The Sound:  Sex; Candy

Favorite Lyric: You are a badman/bury me under the willow

Another gem from the UK’s seemingly inexhaustible pop music reserves, Ruby Goe is a 25-year-old badass East London gyal about to murder the music game. Dressed in golden hot shorts and sumptuous electro-beats, Ruby has yet to put out a full-length album, but has already has a small catalog of club-ready singles that destroy.

There was “Get On It,” a fusion of grime beats with candy pop hooks about all about s-e-x. Then there is “Beat Breaking Boy,” another tune that skillfully fuses street and club sounds. Most recently, she put out “Badman,” (below)  an electro-pop banger with a slow-burning build and a tasty, almost coupé décalé-inflected beat and ominous murder-ballad lyrics.

Visually, she’s doing cool thing as well, whether she’s pulling a Shakira and covering herself in tar, or running through deserts, or gallivanting with Dali’s spindle-legged elephants. And, she runs a jewelry line called By Rouge that she designs herself, so you can be assured that her distictive style is very much her own.

Hip-hop and pop have shared spheres for a long time (who are we kidding, hip-hop is pop nowadays), yet somehow nobody has quite unified hip-hop beats with a full-throttle pop sensibility so gracefully till now. Ruby Goe feels like music from right now. Expect an album later this year on Ruby’s own label, Goe Records.