Los Angeles-based Colombian-Dominican singer, songwriter and producer Danny Polo shares his brand new single Cruella, a pulsing mix of r&b, carnal Jersey Club and sensual Afrobeats, dripping with sin, seduction and Halloween allure.
Cruella finds the talented artist mirroring his own faith journey, where sacred devotion collides with the thrill of temptation. I am loving the tone of his voice and how smooth, soothing and sensual his vocal delivery is, soaring beautifully over the infectious Afrobeats rhythms. Layered with tolling church bells and ominous synths as it progresses, the dangerous groove builds like a sermon gone astray, pulling listeners deeper into its spell. Speaking about the song, Danny Polo said,
Cruella came from a moment when I wanted to experiment with the forbidden. My whole life I had been told what was good and what was bad, and I felt the need to try that other side, he confesses. For me, the song had to sound like a dangerous woman, like that energy that pulls you in and doesn’t let you go. I also wanted it to reflect who I am: a guy born in New Jersey who’s also in love with Afrobeats, with that African and Caribbean swing that runs through my blood.
The mischief is brought to life in a music video directed by Conner Wilson and shot by Ethan Wilson. His bond with the latter strengthened on set when discovering their similar upbringings which further fueled the visual narrative.
I was raised in the Seventh-day Adventist Church and Ethan grew up in the Mormon Church. Both of us spent time as missionaries, going door-to-door. The video reflects my own transition from being a devout Christian to stepping away and realizing the world outside wasn’t the terrifying place I had been always warned about, Danny explains. Instead, embracing what I had once been taught to fear proved liberating: transforming temptation from something dangerous into something freeing and affirming. Maybe the scary ending would’ve been never becoming who I was meant to be in the first place.
