Track Review: Latto & Lu Kala, “Lottery”

Coming off of a pair of Grammy nominations and the biggest album (777) and single (“Big Energy”) of her career to date, Latto has already hit the jackpot going into 2023. With the release of “Lottery,” her first official single of the year, Latto builds on the pop-rap foundation of “Big Energy” for a lightweight disco-tinged bop that helps introduce rising Congolese-Canadian pop star Lu Kala to a larger audience.

A frothy, syrupy sweet pop song that falls in line with the come-hither punchlines and flirtatious energies of Doja Cat’s “Say So” and Megan Thee Stallion & Dua Lipa’s “Sweetest Pie,” “Lottery” finds Latto successfully adapting that formula to fit her own flow and style. In what reads as the final solidification of her name change, Latto hammers home the lottery imagery with lines like, “If he hit this, then he hit the Mega Million / Play him like a scratch-off, think he gettin’ lucky,” and “Jackpot, baby, if I ever let you touch me.” She dials up the more playful elements of her tone as she skates over the admittedly generic production.

“Lottery” is one of those pop-rap songs that doesn’t present itself as anything else, and that’s why it works. This is a track that’s been specifically engineered for a lengthy stay on Top 40 radio, and it expertly plays into the bubbly effervescence of that format. Unfortunately, for as fun as “Lottery” is, the Dr. Luke production credit sours the whole affair. Further attaching the disgraced producer and alleged rapist to your name isn’t nearly worth such boilerplate production. Nonetheless, the inclusion of Lu Kala, instead of more obvious choices like Dua Lipa or Bebe Rexha, gives “Lottery” some teeth. It’s heartwarming to see Latto using her platform to highlight a young Black woman in pop; Lu Kala’s cloying tone helps counterbalance the more rugged edges of Latto’s delivery. In fact, there could have been a more liberal sprinkling of her ad-libs at the end of the song to really tie the whole thing together.

“Lottery” is a fine song; a solid attempt at pop-rap that should help Latto coast her away to another crossover smash.

Vote for Latto at the 2023 Bulletin Awards.

Score: 68