Curation Picks: Sio, beatsbyhand - Trick Me (Atmos Blaq Remix)

A familiar hook returns, but this time it lands differently. Reimagined through an Afro House lens, Kelis’ “Trick Me” first found new life through Sio and Beatsbyhand, following a concept led by Kid Fonque and Beatsbyhand, before being reshaped once more through a remix by Atmos Blaq, and released via Stay True Sounds. The result is not just a remake. It is a timely reflection, rooted in lineage yet fully alive in the present.

For Sio, the invitation to step into the track came with intention:

“This cover of ‘Trick Me’ began as an idea led by Kid Fonque and Beatsbyhand who invited me to sing on it. I’m very shy of singing covers but this one felt right for me. Kelis was pioneering, a maverick who carved her own path and stood on the outskirts in such bold authenticity she was impossible to overlook, which is something I connect with.”

That connection carries through the record. The message remains sharp. The framing evolves. What was once a bold articulation of emotional clarity returns with renewed urgency, shaped by the textures and rhythms of Afro House.

“To me it’s a song about clocking the freedoms given to men, allowing them the social pardon and ‘freedom,’ to cheat, but how to women it’s always ‘a trick,’ which is a clever wordplay by Kelis. I’d like people, especially women, to resonate with her message, the cheeky wit of it and clock when they’re being played. Given the grit and bite of Atmos Blaq’s remix, we’re honouring that story in a new wave and an African sound.”

There is a certain weight in hearing that message now. Not because it is new, but because it continues to resonate. In a space that often frames women through the lens of absence or imbalance, records like this shift the conversation. The focus moves away from the need to prove presence and toward the clarity of contribution. The voice is not an exception. It is central.

Sio’s performance sits in that space with confidence and control. It carries the tone of someone who understands both the history and the moment.

“I’m honoured to be the voice that reignites, the cool, clever, unique and sovereign woman who knows her worth and states it boldly with an African flavour, which like the original, makes it impossible to ignore.”

Beatsbyhand lays the foundation of the reinterpretation alongside Sio, shaping a version that honours the original while grounding it in a distinctly Afro House sensibility. From there, Atmos Blaq extends the work through his remix, bringing added grit and depth while holding the emotional core of the record in place. The track unfolds in layers, moving from reinterpretation to reimagination, each artist adding their own language without losing the message at its centre.

What emerges is more than a rework of a well-known record. It is a meeting point between generations, between sounds, and between perspectives. It speaks to the strength of collaboration and the importance of recognising the voices that continue to define the space.

Not as a response to absence, but as a reflection of presence.