Singaporean pop star Iman Fandi switches gears, while staying true to her message of empowerment and self-love, on her new single ‘Top Bop’. This marks her first release of 2023 via Universal Music Singapore.
Following up last summer’s seductive ‘WANT’, Iman doubles up the trap beats on ‘Top Bop’, where her signature pop diva cadence evolves into a rapper’s entrancing flow with absolute ease.
“I hope that my fans will be able to see a different side of Iman as an artist, and how diverse my music is,” she says.
“I’ve always enjoyed listening to artists within the house & bass genre, and that has also shaped the way I want my music to evolve this year.” Iman is setting her sights on genres to challenge the preconceived notion that she’s firmly entrenched in pop music, all while holding onto her artistic style, which she defines as “chic”, “relatable”, and “just ME”.
To embark on this bold premise takes a lot of guts, so it’s no surprise that ‘Top Bop’ comes roaring from the start. The song, produced by RIIDEM, sees Iman attempting to manifest the Iman she sees in her mind – to empower herself, and, by extension, her listeners to make the biggest strides in their lives.
In its chorus, Iman envisions the high life – “We’re in our whip whip, givin full body shots / You see my head dip yeah I’m in a top knot / I made it big big crusin in a drop top / They wanna drip drip gettin on that top bop.” In this world, the “top bop” is the big goal, one that her biggest peers in pop music have achieved. But it isn’t everything. The journey to get there is just as important.
“It’s useless to compare our lives to others. We should want to achieve success on our own terms,” she explains. “And not just because social media portrays the ‘top’ to be beautiful! Everyone’s concept of success will be different as people are on different paths in life.”
To reach the top also means challenging yourself – and for ‘Top Bop’, Iman worked hard to switch up her vocal delivery style with the help of local rapper Tengyboy. “The lyrics were a mouthful, but it was a really fun learning process,” she notes. “I think I should study rhymes more to get my rhyming game up to speed!”
The music video for ‘Top Bop’, which will be released soon, sees Iman stepping up on the physicality of her artistry as well. “I’ve always known that the video should be dance-focused,” she teases. “I wanted to showcase my dance ability and I feel like dance always elevates a music video. This is something that I haven’t done before and it just feels right.”
‘Top Bop’ represents a lot of firsts for Iman: her first single of 2023, her first rap-influenced song, her first dance choreography. But rest assured – as she moves forward to tackle the rest of the year, there are many more firsts lying ahead for this groundbreaking pop star.
‘Top Bop’ is now available on all digital streaming platforms and the official music video is now out on YouTube. Click here to stream.
