FOREIGN EXCHANGE: CYHI, 070 SHAKE, SIMI
Presenting six emerging global acts that you need to be across! From all corners of the planet, these emerging stars should be on your playlists right now! Keep it locked to FOREIGN EXCHANGE; your home to find new talent on the reg. Stay locked via our socials, and if you’re outside the AU and keen on some AUD’$ love, be sure to send us your latest drop via Submithub.
LOWKEY GWAP – POETIC PAIN
There’s few unsigned artists with the pen game of Lowkey Gwap, the Canadian rapper who bares it all on ‘Poetic Pain’. Having moved from South Sudan to Ottawa, Canada as a toddler, music was always a love but never a passion until he was inspired to start writing six months ago, following the passing of a close family member. His second-ever release, ‘Poetic Pain’ is a touching melodic trap ode that finds Gwap reflecting on the harsh reality of street crime and the grief of losing people close to you. He tells a story that takes you on a cinematic journey and pairs this with minimal production and an accompanying music video directed by Chleepy. Reminiscent of trap storytellers like Lil Durk and Polo G, Lowkey Gwap deserves all the flowers that are bound to come his way down the line.
SIMI – LOYAL
Multi-talented Nigerian creative Simi returns with her newest album TBH (To Be Honest), her first project since 2019. For the Lagos born artist, she’s had unprecedented success over the years; achieving a Top 5 record in the Billboard World Album Chart and an MTV Africa Music Award nomination, as well as collaborating with some of the industry’s biggest producers. This wasn’t overnight though, as it was back in 2008 when she debuted with her album Ogaju. Since then, she’s dropped multiple EPs, singles and a further four studio albums. Simi is a blend of many genres such as soul, R&B, Afrobeats and hip-hop – all of which you can hear in ‘Loyal’, a standout moment from To Be Honest. Featuring Fave, ‘Loyal’ is a smooth offering of the highest quality with hints of brass instrumentation and soothing guitar strums soundtracking her heavenly vocals.
CYHI – HELP ME GOD
CyHi makes somewhat of a return on ‘Help Me God’ from his new project, EGOT the EP. It was Beyonce who first convinced Ye to sign him to GOOD Music which eventually lead to his feature on ‘So Appalled’ from MBDTF. Now one of the most respected emcees in the game, CyHi has writing credits on Yeezus and The Life of Pablo, as well as Travis Scott and Drake’s record breaking ‘Sicko Mode’. It resulted in six Grammy nominations to his name so far, which is nothing less than deserved. In his first full-length release since No Dope on Sundays in 2017, ‘Help Me God’ is a heavenly track that is unsurprisingly bar-heavy and demonstrates why CyHi is so revered. He touches on important social matters and speaks to the vulnerable over the soul and gospel samples throughout. At this stage of his career, CyHi has the respect of the hip-hop gods and will continue to be a prominent force on the pages of the elite.
070 SHAKE – HISTORY
New Jersey’s own 070 Shake shares her sophomore project titled You Can’t Kill Me. Part of the 070 collective, she rose to the limelight for her feature on various Kanye West related projects like his 2018-released Ye, Nas’ Nasir and Pusha T’s Daytona. Building on that momentum and catapulting her success, she dropped her debut album Modus Vivendi in 2020. Her distinct vocals and diverse sound has placed her high in contemporary alt-rap and pop circles with her newest album displaying influences of Kid Cudi and Ye through the production style and how she approaches each track. Specifically on ‘History’, an easy SOTY contender that sounds like it could be a bonus track from MBDTF, 070 Shake effortlessly transitions between production changes in the near five minute long song.
JAY RARE – TESLA
East Oakland artist and producer Jay Rare drops his debut EP titled Built Different. Free-styling at a young age, it wasn’t until College that he started to take music seriously by hosting notoriously rowdy parties around the campus. Then moving to LA, he proved his potential and began building an impressive resume that found him working behind the scenes on projects and campaigns for artists including Guapdad4000, Fivio Foreign and Coi Leray. Under Steve Cardigan’s Putyouon Music Group, he shares his first body of work of which ‘Tesla’ is from. It’s an incredibly catchy and melodic trap track crafted to be stuck on repeat with a similar cadence to artists like Tory Lanez. Built Different EP features keyan’7e on four of the five tracks including ‘Tesla’ and is an energetic showcase of their chemistry and talent.
EAGZ580 – UNDER SKY
Eagz580 dedicates his second single ‘Under Sky’ to his childhood in Oklahoma. Meeting his close-friend turned manager in 8th grade, he later formed a collective called Stash-Gang – an acronym for ‘Stay True And Stay Humble’. Debuting with ‘NO EVIL!’ earlier this year, Eagz has returned with an addictive and thumping, bass-heavy single that displays his Southern influence. Produced by Germany-based Youslaccin, he spits with a comfortable cadence and flexes his flows on ‘Under Sky’, proving plenty of potential that awaits to be explored further. With almost 60 new unreleased songs between them, it’s likely we won’t have to wait long for it.
