DJ Haram and Sha Ray release collaborative album, ‘Critical Thot’

DJ Haram, born Zubeyda Muzeyyen and of Syrian-Circassian heritage, has teamed up with Bay Area rapper and producer Sha Ray for the collaborative album 'Critical Thot'.

The project pairs two artists working across rap and experimental electronic music. While 'Critical Thot' marks Sha Ray's official debut album, DJ Haram follows a run of solo releases, including 2025's 'Beside Myself', as well as collaborations with BbyMutha, Fever Ray, Ghais Guevara and Armand Hammer.

The collaboration began after DJ Haram saw Sha Ray perform at a show in Brooklyn in 2022.

“We spoke at the venue and after that I followed her on social media. She gave an incredible performance, so later on when she slid in my DMs asking for beats, I was already on board,” the release note reads, quoting DJ Haram.

Although the pair later reunited around an Armand Hammer and DJ Haram show in Los Angeles, the album itself was developed remotely, with DJ Haram producing beats in Brooklyn while Sha Ray responded from the Bay Area with demos and creative notes.

“Haram and I have had so many overlapping experiences working as women in the music industry, which really enriched our bond. That, and her very striking approach to production, really inspired a lot of the writing on this record,” the release note reads, quoting Sha Ray.

Across the album, Sha Ray delivers direct lyricism over productions that move between experimental electronics, industrial textures and rap. DJ Haram's production shifts between sparse, rhythm-led arrangements and denser compositions, while maintaining a cohesive sonic identity throughout the record.

“As a rapper I’m pretty exclusively interested in interrogating misogyny and sexuality in my work. Critical Thot is a deliberation on unapologetic feminine authority, while being very honest about the complicated truth of being a participant in self-objectification, and sexuality as a social currency,” Sha Ray continues in the release note. “This record focuses a lot on defining power in feminine sexuality as relational and ever-shifting, and thus inherently imperfect. However, it is a power that I have and I am going to use it.”

An official music video for 'Thot Daughter', one of the album's tracks, directed by Alli Logout, has also been released.

'Critical Thot' is available now on digital, CD, cassette and limited-edition vinyl. Explore the album here.