Independent artist Exzenya's newest single, "V.I.P.", is a cheeky rebranding of the term everyone associates with velvet ropes and champagne flutes. Instead, Exzenya inverts the script in her universe, V.I.P. is shorthand for Victim's Impact Panel, the mandatory program held nationwide by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) following a DUI arrest.
"V.I.P." lands from the first beat, like a gavel in court booming drums, woolly basslines, and razor-sharp quips that slice through the noise. But Exzenya does not glamorize the choices. Instead, she casts a satirical eye on the uncomfortable, often absurd facts of legal consequence, those endless court dates, sickening tales, and the gallows humor that emerges amid it all. "V.I.P. is about taking those awkward, uncomfortable moments in life and turning them into something unforgettable. It's gritty and it's funny and it pulls no punches with the characters.
That's honesty, as packaged in the signature blend of storytelling and swagger that is Exzenya. Her bars are unapologetic but slick, as if to offer listeners something to laugh about and second-guess at the same time. It's the kind of song that makes heads bob and also inspires conversations long after the bass has finished ringing.
And with an explicit version already available, Exzenya has even more angles on the story coming soon, including a Clean Version and a Club Remix. They will do so, together, expand the "V.I.P." universe, a place where reality is not sugarcoated but impossible to turn away from.