Aiya Kareem Is Not Waiting By The Phone — She’s Writing The Song Instead
The Dutch-New York songwriter drops her boldest confession yet with “WNTD (Wild Need To Desire)”
There’s a certain kind of crush that lives entirely in your head — the one you nurse from a safe distance, replaying moments, imagining conversations, never quite letting it spill over into reality. Aiya Kareem knows that feeling well. And instead of texting him, she wrote a song about it.
Released April 3rd, WNTD (Wild Need To Desire) is the first single off Kareem’s forthcoming 2026 project, and it arrives as a warm, honest confession from a woman who knows exactly what she wants — and exactly how to keep her cool while wanting it.
“I’m not afraid to chase a man a little,” Kareem says with a laugh. “But I do it on my own terms.” That balance — desire and self- preservation held in the same breath — is the heartbeat of the record. She’s got a major crush on this guy. She admires him, thinks about him, feels him.
Kareem wrote WNTD alongside R&B artist Ro James on a warm Manhattan night, the kind where the city feels quieter than it should and conversation gets honest fast. The two found themselves deep in a real talk about dating — the confusion of it, the games people play, the way modern romance can feel more like a minefield than a meeting of hearts.
“We were just talking,” Kareem recalls. “About this guy I was really feeling, and how messed up the dating game is right now.” Out of that intimacy, the song came effortlessly — the way the best ones do, when you stop trying to write and just start telling the truth.
The result is a record that opens with quiet confidence: Gonna chase that bone but imma keep my cool, yeah / I know you used to girls actin a fool yeah — two lines that set the tone immediately. This isn’t desperation. This is a woman who sees you, wants you, and refuses to lose herself in the process.
Musically, WNTD moves through warmth and playfulness, wrapping its vulnerability in melody that feels lived-in. The hook pulls you in with softness before the verses reveal the full picture — a woman fully aware of her own desire, mapping the emotional terrain of a connection she’s not quite ready to name but absolutely not willing to ignore.
WNTD (Wild Need To Desire) is out now. The project follows later in 2026.
