Today, Halima returns with “november like u,” a steely, pitch-shifting slow jam outlining an imperfectly perfect love. Halima describes the song as, “A queer fairytale, or at least my version of one.” The music video is another taste off her forthcoming debut album, SWEET TOOTH, arriving September 19th via drink sum wtr.

Speaking about filming the video Halima shares, “For ‘november like u’ Alain (the director) and I leaned into the cheekiest side of SWEET TOOTH – sweet and playful but still rich like the rest of the project. We pulled from iconic childhood staples that felt magical and a little over the top, like Missy Elliott, Lil’ Kim, A Cinderella Story. We wanted to bring back that same nostalgic rush, but make it deliciously queer. In post, we got to really play with VFX: I shrink into a miniature version of myself, eat myself in pure SWEET TOOTH gluttony, and Samantha multiplies on screen to match the “like u like u like u” hook. Alain went absolutely bonkers with it.”

 

 

Upon the upcoming album release Halima will be performing her headline NY album release show on October 7th at Night Club 101.

Framed as one long night out – from twilight anticipation to the quiet clarity of sunrise – SWEET TOOTH is a cinematic debut tracing years of self-discovery and emotional reckoning. The album includes previous single / video “cocoa body,” a hot and hazy dance club track with choreography by Roy Garzon and Jordan Kaya, and “eau de vie,” an intimate anthem that’s all breath and yearning. Across the album, Halima creates a world where sultry club bangers meet deep ballads, in a hybrid of honeyed Afro-pop and scorched R&B. Not genre-less – but genre-full!

Halima co-produced the album with a sharp range of producers, including Mikey Freedom Hart (A$AP Rocky, Dev Hynes/Blood Orange, Empress Of), and the album explores desire, transformation, and the complexity of sweetness. “Sweetness on my terms,” Halima offers – a mantra for reclaiming softness without surrendering strength. “The album is about returning to yourself through chaos, and loving the parts of the journey that hurt – the pleasure and the pain”

Though SWEET TOOTH marks her full-length debut, Halima calls it an epilogue:

“Am I the person that I wanted to become? I think so. I’ve given myself permission to be bold, to be free. To take up space.”

SWEET TOOTH follows her XYZ EP and EXU, Halima’s first release via drink sum wtr, where she seamlessly wove together UK soul, Garage and experimental R&B.

 

Upcoming Shows:

10/7/25 – New York, NY @ Nightclub 101

10/17/25 – London, UK @ Barbican w/ Touching Bass & Illnoledge

10/18/25 – Bristol, UK @ St. Dunstans House w/ PRVNA and LEXXI

 

Halima
SWEET TOOTH
September 19, 2025
drink sum wtr

1. omoge
2. eleven eleve
3. eau de vie
4. oops
5. sweet tooth
6. wasting my body
7. cocoa body
8. feel about it
9. laundromat
10. november like u
11. callum