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Premiere: Eden xo's Punani 'Drips Gold'

Premiere: Eden xo's Punani 'Drips Gold'

Eden
Photography: Angela Peterman

The LA-based pop star flaunts her femininity alongside songwriter Raja Kumari. 

"I don't know what you been told, but I ain't trippin it," sings LA-based pop star Eden xo on her new single, "Drips Gold." The cocky synth-driven cut features Grammy nominated songwriter Raja Kumari, who's worked with everyone from Gwen Stefani to Iggy Azalea, and sees the duo flaunting their femininity and middle eastern heritage. "My punani drips gold," Eden xo confidently shouts on the chorus, delivering a shameless one-liner drag queens across the world will die to lip-synch this summer.

Eden xo, who originally performed as Jesse and the Toy Boys, first broke out with her guitar-drenched, '80s-leaning track, "Too Cool To Dance," and followed that with her delightfully sacharine sweet single, "The Weekend"--an updated version features rapper Lil Jon for the ultimate early aughts throwback. The rising songstress more recently covered the Thompson Twins' 1984 hit, "Hold Me Now," Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn," and unveiled this fall a spacey original stunner, called "El Barrio."

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Bringing back the best of early to mid-2000's pop, Eden xo's "Drips Gold" would have a happy home on Gwen Stefani's debut solo effort, Love Angel Music Baby, or Fergie's The Dutchess. The track boasts subtle Bollywood undertones and plenty of brat-pop overtones; its bridge revisits the Pussycat Dolls' sultry discography, with a direct lyrical ode to Nelly's 2000 single, "Country Grammar"--above swirling production, Eden xo repeats his iconic line, "Shimmy shimmy cocoa what."

Listen to the OUT premiere of Eden XO's "Drips Gold" and learn more about the rising singer/songwriter, below.

OUT: You've been releasing several singles over the years. Are you working on a larger full-length album?

Eden xo: I am always writing. I think being a songwriter is the best job in the world. I used to say no to other artists cutting my songs because they felt so personal and I didn't want other people telling my story. I now see the success of artists like Sia and Bonnie Mckee, and that has changed my perspective on it completely. I have a short list of songs set aside for what I imagine and hope is an album, but I realize to get there I need to feed my fans more. They're hungry and major label mentality has been starving them. That's why I'm giving them "Drips Gold"--they've been thirsting for it and after this there will be much, much more coming.

What's the story behind "Drips Gold"?

I started the song about 3 years ago with Jimmy Harry (Peaches, Diplo) and Tony Kanal (No Doubt). We went through several re-writes before I called in Raja Kumari to do her thing on the track. In-between working on the song, we'd take mini breaks and just have conversation. I think we were kind of griping together about all the double standards we felt as women in the music industry, and this lead to a larger conversation about the ubiquity of women's oppression. We just wanted a way to speak out and say, "I am a woman and I am invaluable." Singing "my punani drips gold" seemed like such an insanely hip-hop way to do it. We were all cracking up and then we realized how powerful it was, so we kept it.

You first debuted the song during your 2015 Los Angeles Pride performance. What was the audience's reaction?

Performing "Drips Gold" at LA Pride was the moment I realized I had something pretty special on my hands. It was the best crowd to debut it for because no one was there to be judgmental--everyone just wanted to have a good time celebrating love and individuality. By the second chorus there were thousands singing along, and I realized it didn't really matter if you were female, male, gay, straight, trans, or questioning--the song is a rallying cry about pride and everyone felt it. It's been 2 years since that performance and ever since, at least once a day I've had my fans asking me for a studio version online, so I just felt like it was time to give it to them.

Talk about the track's guest vocalist, Raja Kumari.

Raja Kumari is an Indian-American artist and close friend. She's also a fantastic writer who has worked with the likes of Gwen Stefani and Fall Out Boy. I love her voice and delivery. She is fearless with her music. She's connected to her Indian heritage the way I am to my Persian heritage. We talked about all the rich cultural beauty and art that comes from that part of the world, but how it's often over shadowed by heart-breaking war, terrorism, sanctions, revolution, misconception and fear. We wanted to pay homage to our heritage in a subtle way, while keeping the track positive and fun.

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