It’s unlikely that the very great Chewing Gum will return in the near future — a rep for series creator Michaela Coel told Vulture she’s not currently writing a third season because she’s “focusing on some other projects†— but we’re glad to see that Coel is keeping occupied in some other exciting ways. Coel and soul singer Obongjayar lent their voices to “Super Human,†a track from London artist Kojey Radical. On it, the actress and writer performs what seems like spoken-word poetry about colorism and appropriation. “I watched my peers walk a path far different to mine. I grew more confident with my own solitude,†Coel recites movingly. “Politics, love, manhood, and sexuality I discovered like a blind lamb in the hands of an unfamiliar shepherd.†Later, she addresses appropriation: “With darker pigmentation, you become an example of exoticism under that Western microscope. Elements of your identity appropriated and then sold back to you — sold back to you with less the clever taglines.â€
This isn’t Coel’s first foray into music: She recorded snippets of original tracks for Chewing Gum’s first season, as well as the show’s theme. The Kojey collaboration, however, has Coel reading his words, and the effect is disorienting. “Download it. Listen to it. Grow reflect learn, throw shit across the room,†Coel suggested via Instagram. “Cry. Feel sexy. It’ll make you do all of the above.â€