This 1992 Madonna deep track is going viral & its lore is unbelievable - Queerty

"A Madonna deep cut from her 1992 album Erotica is going viral, but the kids have no idea just how legendary this spicy diss track really is. "Thief of Hearts," which is currently trending on TikTok and recently had its best-streaming day ever, was one of the first songs Madonna recorded for her sensual fifth studio album, which arrived alongside her explicit coffee table book, Sex, in October 1992."

"As far as Madonna albums go, Erotica was perhaps the singer's most misunderstood LP upon release. And, depending on whom you ask, it's also her boldest statement as an artist. Alongside "Vogue" producer Shep Pettibone and André Betts, who had just worked with Madge on "Justify My Love," the singer crafted a vulnerable and sprawling ode to female sexuality at a time when fears around the HIV/AIDS epidemic and policing of women's rights largely dominated the cultural conversation."

""Madonna wanted Erotica to have a raw edge to it, as if it were recorded in an alley at 123rd Street in Harlem," Pettibone explained in his book, Erotica Diaries. "She didn't want some light glossy production to permeate her sound." Perhaps that's why "Thief of Hearts" fits so neatly on the track list; it's angry, smug, and threatening, coated in undeniable dance-pop and house production."

"Thief of Hearts" is trending on TikTok and recently enjoyed its best-streaming day. The song was one of the first recorded for Erotica, Madonna's sensual fifth studio album released alongside her explicit coffee-table book Sex in October 1992. The tune opens with dark chords, the sound of glass breaking, and Madonna cooly blurting "B*tch." Erotica faced misunderstanding at release and is viewed by some as a bold artistic statement. Producer Shep Pettibone and André Betts helped craft a vulnerable, sprawling ode to female sexuality amid HIV/AIDS fears and policing of women's rights. Madonna sought a raw, alley-recorded edge, and "Thief of Hearts" reads as an angry, smug, threatening dance-pop and house track that targets a titular "thief of hearts" with epithets like "Little Miss Thinks She Can Have What She Wants" and "Little Miss Black Widow."

Read at Queerty