Review: GUILTY --- Mariah The Scientist and Kali Uchis Are Repeat Offenders In Love

Can your romantic history sentence you to imprisonment in the public eye? On “Is It A Crime,” Mariah the Scientist enlists Kali Uchis as an accomplice, staging a rebellion against the ruthless court of public opinion that polices the courage to fall in love more than once. Mariah makes her case powerfully on the second single from Hearts Sold Separately—arriving August 22 via Buckles Laboratories and Epic Records—armed with stealthy production from Mat1k, Nineteen85, and Oliver Easton. But the sharpest weapon in her defense? Her pen.

Mariah's verse simmers with frustration, perhaps lingering from the emotional strain of Young Thug’s RICO trial. You can almost picture her venting passionately to Thug on a call while he was incarcerated, confessing,“They, they were wrong about us, I hate the way they paint it / I, I love the way that you walk and the air you breathe / I just let 'em talk, but it bothers me / ’Cause it ain't love, it ain't love, it ain't love they see.”

Forever ride-or-die, Mariah testifies about her romantic choices the way she always does in her art: with disarming vulnerability. Then, flipping the script, she challenges the jury to cross-examine their own hearts as she pleads: “And so what? I fell, you fell in love a couple times / Tell me, what's it to ya? Tell me, is it a crime…to fall?”

In a generation defined by social media and dating apps—tools meant to create connection but ironically ended up breeding emotional distance and casual detachment—Mariah refuses to lock away her heart.

Descending from the blissed-out universe of her recent album Sincerely, Kali Uchis appears as Mariah’s star witness. Her testimony is layered: dreamy, feminine, and firm as she targets the social norms that surveil how women express love, “Some may say a girl shouldn't lay her cards on the table / Well, I'm a woman, I'm not a girl / Is that a crime in this cruel world?” Landing her closing argument, Uchis's cosmic cadence is a defiant kiss-off to outdated expectations.

Together, Mariah and Kali reclaim their narratives from trending topics and comment sections. On ‘Is It A Crime,’ they win by challenging the notion that their romantic rap sheets are a weakness. Instead, they wear them like bulletproof armor against cynics and social persecution.

And Mariah already has a big victory under her belt. Her previous single “Burning Blue” ignited a viral blaze, peaking at No. 1 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Chart and scorching its way to No. 25 on the Hot 100. Expect her to fan the flames further at her Lollapalooza Aftershow performance tonight, August 2.