Karri Embraces His Toxicity with “fmyx” / “dirty diana”
Bay Area breakout Karri specializes in smoky late night ballads, using his sonorous voice and flexible melodies to tell freaky tales. The 22-year-old San Francisco native treats his fans to a double dose of heat with “fmyx” and “dirty diana,” released as a double single via Playing for Legacy (PFL). The two-pack arrives alongside the new video for “fmyx,” live now on Karri’s YT.
“fmyx” applies Karri’s sonorous baritone to a mob-style Bay Area bounce, as the Filipino-American singer idly ponders embracing his toxic side: “I might f*ck my ex/Just to remind her how it feels,” he intones above crisp fingersnaps, electrofunk synths, and cinematic strings, courtesy of producer P-Lo. The 2-pack’s other single, “dirty diana,” features production from Noel Cadastre, known for his work with Drake and Noah “40” Shebib. The song has a title inspired by a famous Michael Jackson song, but while MJ warned the titular femme to stay away, Karri yearns for her affections, promising to be good to her, despite his past behavior.
“fmyx” and “dirty diana” follow in the footsteps of “Oakland Baby,” Karri’s recent collaboration with Isaiah Falls. Often performed during Karri’s appearances on Isaiah Falls’ “LVRS Paradise Tour,” “Oakland Baby” is a vulnerable and fiery ballad, racking up over 1.2 million streams on Spotify and 434k YouTube views. Earlier in the summer, Karri shared “slauson ave,” a moody anthem sampled by by Ye and King Combs on their recent song “REPEAT ME.”
A fixture on the R&B scene since releasing his viral 2023 hit “3AM In Oakland,” Karri is ready to level up this year. With over 13 million streams on Spotify alone, “3AM In Oakland” bubbled up on TikTok, helping propel Karri to more than 200k followers and earnng the attention of tastemakers like Drake and his associate OVO Chubbs. The strength of “3AM In Oakland” helped convince Chubbs to sign Karri to his Playing For Legacy label. In 2024, Karri continued to rack up co-signs, earning praise from the likes of Kehlani, Saweetie, and Lil Baby, who raved about Karri’s music, calling him one of his favorite current R&B artists, during a recent appearance on PlaqueBoyMax’s stream (2.2 million subscribers). After honing his sound for much of the year, Karri released the Late Night Slider Music EP. Home to “Oakland Pt. 2” (2.2 million views), the sequel to his breakout hit, Late Night Slider Music earned attention from Billboard, who named Karri the R&B Rookie of the Month for January and anointed him an Artist To Watch for 2025.
Earlier this year, Karri has kept the streets hot by releasing collaborations, including “Suede,” a song with P-Lo and Goapele from P-Lo’s For The Soil mixtape, an official release by the Golden State Warriors, “Hesitation,” a collab with Joe Kay of Soulection, and “Cheeky,” a duet with fellow riser Jack Dine. In July, Karri performed at Wireless Festival in the UK, taking the stage as part of Drake’s curated programming on Friday night alongside stars like Sailorr, Odeal, KWN, Leon Thomas and more, and hit the road with Isaiah Falls as direct support on the “LVRS Paradise Tour.” K
With a slate of new music on the horizon, Karri is poised to evolve from Bay Area hometown hero to an internationally recognized artist. His forthcoming EP, set for release later this year, serves as a continuation of Late Nite Slider Music, which came out in December 2024, and will further solidify his place as one of music’s most promising voices. Check out more music here.