North London’s rising genre-bender Tommy Saint has just released his latest single, kalila, arriving hot on the heels of his June track control and marking the second installment in his more vulnerable, R&B-focused era. Written, produced, mixed, and mastered entirely by Saint himself, kalila blends a smoky Bossa Nova swing with warm acoustic textures and Saint’s signature husky vocals, capturing the tangled push and pull of modern love with razor-sharp emotional clarity.
With an ever-growing list of co-signs, including M Huncho, Nafe Smallz, AntsLive, ZieZie, and Glizz, Tommy Saint’s ascent has been unstoppable since his breakout 2022 project Saint Season. That project, which now sits at over 4.5 million streams, showcased the artist’s knack for crafting genre-defying bangers like the viral single Elixir while laying the foundation for his introspective and immersive sonic world. kalila takes this evolution further, solidifying his pivot into R&B while refusing to abandon the experimental edge that sets him apart.
Saint’s commitment to creative control remains at the heart of his work; every note of kalila is his own, from the delicate acoustic plucks to the deep, percussive breakdowns that let his vocals float and smolder. The result is a track that feels both timeless and strikingly contemporary, channeling the raw soul of classic R&B through a nocturnal, genre-blending lens. Speaking on the meaning behind the track, Saint shares, “I love the direct intimacy in hearing the name of the person that the song is addressed to, yet being left with only the option to imagine them for yourself.” That sense of intimacy radiates through every second of kalila, which plays less like a single and more like a confession.