If you’ve been following Anita, the Houston-bred singer continued to keep her audience entertained by releasing a string of singles, including “On Me,” “Put It Down (Routine),” and “Spend The Night.” The popular singles made it to her six-track EP Anticipation, which was released on March 28. In addition to the aforementioned singles, Anita gave her fans a taste of some new songs with her opening track “Depends,” “Focus,” and outro “Pray.”
“My debut EP is finally here, and the only word I can think of to describe the emotions, the long nights, the creative stretch, the life lessons, and the dream that I am chasing is ANTICIPATION,” she wrote to her fans via Instagram on Anticipation’s release day. “I started this project in 2020, intending to release it the next year. Now here we are in 2023. This season of my life has shown me only God’s timing is right. I’ve learned that the waiting phase is the most valuable and sacred phase. It is the most discouraging yet encouraging moment where you choose if you will be broken or bent. Bitter or better. My brother always tells me an oven is the hottest point while it’s preheating and anticipating a certain level. I pray I never stop heating up, and the hunger never ceases!”
“Depends” opens Anticipation, but initially, it was up for debate on whether the track would have been swapped for “Pray.” “Depends” is similar to the following five tracks as it stays true to Anita’s core sound of rhythmic hooks and animated lyrics, whereas “Pray” standouts as the only ballad on the project that proves the rising star isn’t all just “poppy” hooks.
“‘Pray’ encompasses everything that I love,” Anita explained. “It’s a ballad, but it has some bounce, and then it’s the harmonies. Everything else on the EP is upbeat, and I’m an upbeat person, and I love to dance to my music, but ‘Pray’ is that one.”
The track listing was decided between Anita and her team a year ago. The singer says that the final list was determined by how the songs flowed into one another rather than a traditional storyline.
“We were raised on CDs, so I’m really big on track lists,” the singer said. “It really was about how the songs blended into the next one. It doesn’t tell a story as much as [answering] ‘What is more seamless?’”
Watch Anita’s full interview with Lowkey R&B above, and make sure to follow the singer on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to keep up with her newest releases. You can stream Anticipation on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and YouTube.