Rapper Young Cocoa and R&B singer DEMI come together on the glossy, groove-heavy single “Cheap Thrills,” a collaboration that taps into the thrill of spontaneous connection. Produced by Young Cocoa’s frequent collaborator JGreg, the track is sharp, playful, and deceptively refined. “Cheap Thrills” blends early 2000s hip-hop and R&B with a modern sheen. Drawing from Timbaland-era percussion and Neptunes-like bounce; it’s a lean, stylish effort that doesn’t try to impress through excess.
The collaboration officially launched at Gnostic, a fourth-floor venue tucked in a narrow corridor in Makati’s Barangay Poblacion. Built like a hybrid between a sari-sari store and a basement party, the space was bathed in neon and lined with jagged plaster. The crowd poured into the event mid-afternoon, lured by a free-for-all of street food, sorbetes, and vegan fare, set to amapiano, UK garage, and R&B. Before the headliners took the stage, performances from Stef Aranas, Peaceful Gemini, and Player Two set the pace. When DEMI and Young Cocoa finally stepped in, it was the first time they’d been in the same space since the track’s conception. They debuted the much-awaited collaboration single in front of the crowd
The process wasn’t easy at first. Young Cocoa wrote the demo and hatched an idea of who would be the best fit for the track. Luckily, it was DEMI that came to mind that matched the track’s theme and concept.
“Confused talaga ako ‘nung una na bakit ako napunta [sa collaboration with Young Cocoa],” DEMI tells Rolling Stone Philippines. “Di ko marinig sarili ko sa demo kaya it took a while bago [maisulat] ‘yong track, it took two months actually para mag-resonate sa kanta.”
DEMI is often pegged as a hip-hop artist thanks to her past work with Hev Abi and gins&melodies, but she took the delay as a way to rewrite expectations — starting with her own. “When I first heard about [DEMI], I thought [she was] a rapper,” Young Cocoa tells DEMI during the interview.
For Young Cocoa, the collaboration was part of a broader goal in expanding the genres that are both hip-hop and R&B. “The lane I’m trying to get into is alternative hip-hop,” he says. “It doesn’t always have to sound like traditional hip-hop. I think genres are becoming more fluid, maybe even obsolete, in a way.”
“Cheap Thrills” is a sign that both artists are open to the mess of reinvention and willing to say yes even when the outcome isn’t clear. The two found their rhythm not through genre familiarity but through shared intent.
“I naturally give my all when I fall in love [writing a song],” DEMI says. “So [making “Cheap Thrills”] was a fun and honest way to express that side of me.”
