When Moliy's breathy cadence floated across the 2021 remix of Sad Girlz Luv Money alongside Amaarae and Kali Uchis, listeners got an early look at West Africa's new-school alté scene. She brought a light touch, crystalline melodies and a celebration of feminine autonomy.

Turning that charisma into a durable, full-length musical statement is harder than it looks. On her official debut mixtape, BADDIES ♥ MOLIY (released on July 31, 2026), the Ghanaian-American singer-songwriter leans on high-fashion internet branding, late-night VIP tropes and hyper-kinetic club tempos.

The packaging is polished to a mirror shine. The music underneath struggles to hold up across 12 tracks, and style ends up outpacing substance again and again.

The illusion of the VIP section

The central conflict of BADDIES ♥ MOLIY is its insistence on keeping up appearances at all costs. The mixtape builds an exclusive, bottle-service universe where vulnerability counts as a defect and emotional detachment is the currency.

That aloof posture works for a three-minute viral banger. Across a whole project it wears thin. Moliy delivers almost every line in the same whisper-cadence, rarely modulating her vocal dynamics or letting the listener into the interior life behind the designer sunglasses. The production bounces constantly between Caribbean dembow and brisk Afro-house, and the mixtape rarely pauses to breathe. There is little room left for melody or memory to take root.

The tracklist

1. TOMETO & 2. JETSKI (FRIKI) (feat. Yailin La Más Viral & Theodora)

The mixtape opens with TOMETO, a breezy, sing-song flex that feels more like an extended social media teaser than an album opener. It bleeds directly into JETSKI (FRIKI), an uptempo Latin-Caribbean dembow workout featuring Yailin La Más Viral and Theodora. The beat knocks with club authority. Moliy's vocals sound strangely detached, swallowed by the aggressive production.

3. POPSTAR XOXO & 4. BUKSHOT

POPSTAR XOXO attempts a glossy Y2K pop crossover, but the hook leans on repetitive refrains that grow grating after a couple of spins. The track cuts off abruptly to make way for BUKSHOT, where Moliy adopts Jamaican patois inflections over distorted 808s. The posturing feels theatrical rather than lived-in, all sonic cosplay and no conviction.

5. PARTYGYAL (feat. bees & honey) & 6. BODY GO (feat. Tyla)

The tape finds temporary salvation on track six. PARTYGYAL dissolves into generic sound-system filler. BODY GO is the one that works. Teaming up with South African star Tyla, the pair find real chemistry over a sultry bed of Amapiano log drums and Afro-R&B keys. It is the one moment where Moliy's sensual vocal approach is fully in command of its surroundings.

7. 911 (CALL THE LAW) & 8. BOUNCE

911 (CALL THE LAW) pumps urgent Afro-house tempo into the room and works reasonably well as a dancefloor detonator. BOUNCE follows immediately with nearly identical rhythmic phrasing. It is the mixtape's pacing problem in miniature: tracks blur into one another without distinct melodic architecture.

9. ACCRA GIRLS (feat. Sarkodie & Mellissa) & 10. PRETTY MAMI (feat. MAVO)

ACCRA GIRLS is the project's strongest cultural anchor. Ghanaian rap veteran Sarkodie brings vintage charisma, and rising alté singer Mellissa complements Moliy's hook on an affectionate ode to Accra's cosmopolitan women. It is a highlight, undercut immediately by the forgettable, hurried filler of PRETTY MAMI.

11. BACKIE & 12. SHAKE IT TO THE MAX (REMIX)

The final stretch exposes the tape's structural problems. BACKIE clocks in as a repetitive, skeletal sketch that ends before it develops into a full song. The mixtape closes with the all-star remix of SHAKE IT TO THE MAX, recruiting dancehall heavyweights Skillibeng and Shenseea. Their verses bring real energy, but the track still feels like an outsourced rescue job.

The verdict

BADDIES ♥ MOLIY has real high points: BODY GO and ACCRA GIRLS prove Moliy has the star power to share a stage with anyone.

At 5.8/10, though, the mixtape is held back by rushed song structures and repetitive themes, and by a preference for style over musical substance. It works as background fuel for late-night pre-drinks. As a statement from one of West Africa's brightest lights, it leaves the listener wanting more.