KayCyy has been considered one of modern hip-hop’s favourite featured artists.
The Kenya-born, Saint Paul, Minnesota-bred rapper has racked up a Rolodex of industry-wide A-list co-signs and credit. Most notably, simply when he began gaining momentum as a rising artist, KayCyy contributed manufacturing and writing to Ye‘s Donda in 2021, having labored intently with the rapper since connecting via mutual buddy and document govt Abou “Bu” Thiam, who later went on to turn out to be each artists’ managers. Now 27 years outdated, KayCyy earned a coveted Grammy nom for for Album of the 12 months for his work on Donda, nabbing the Grammy win for Finest Melodic Rap Efficiency for his backing vocals on “Hurricane.”
After proving his manufacturing prowess on Donda, KayCyy continued his momentum with some extra standout singles (together with “Keep Up” with Lancey Foux), adopted by his first-ever collaborative EP with Gesaffelstein, TW20 50, which spanned a trio of tracks and dropped on streaming providers in March of 2022. The mission established the pair’s unexpectedly effortless-sounding ease of artistic collaboration, KayCyy’s slick vocals sliding over the distinctly clean Gesaffelstein melodies, laying the groundwork for the duo’s second collaborative EP, TW2052, in Might of 2023, which got here after one other spectacular KayCyy mixtape, Get Used To It, which dropped in June of 2022 and options Foux and 070 Shake amongst others.
It’s not simply the heavyweights, the Lil Keeds and Joey Bada$$es, that KayCyy chooses to faucet in with; on Get Used To It, the malleable musician chooses to champion different rising expertise like Annahstasia and Nigerian-London singer Steven Bamidele.
To shut out 2023, the rapper hopped on Travis Scott‘s UTOPIA, providing up vocals to “THANK GOD,” on which KayCyy wasn’t credited, which prompted him to drop “My Denims” with unique cowl artwork that learn “I’M NOT NO BACKGROUND SINGER.” Shortly thereafter, he assisted Westside Gunn with And Then You Pray For Me title monitor, “AND THEN YOU PRAY FOR ME,” closing out Gunn’s charming album on a excessive word.
He’s spent the final yr or so persevering with to dial in his sound, exhibiting out on extra small artist options and simply over two months earlier than dropping BEFORE I WAS BORN, he dropped one other collaborative mixtape with Irish musician signal crushes motorist, curating a duo they known as HIIBRYD. Dubbed SADDEST TRUTH, the tape leans right into a extra indie-inspired rap sound and arrives as one other prime instance of KayCyy’s collaborative capabilities and the flexibility of his shape-shifting sonic persona.
That’s all to say that every considered one of these collaborative mixtapes, singles, and manufacturing credit has paved the best way for BEFORE I WAS BORN.
Dealt with nearly utterly solo, the 13-track mission is an ode to KayCyy’s independence – one thing solely made doable by the journey he took to get right here. Nonetheless toeing the road between being a behind-the-scenes power from the shadows and stepping totally into the mainstream, that is probably probably the most lowkey KayCyy will ever be. Swerving from nostalgic R&B-influenced cuts to trap-turned ballads, BEFORE I WAS BORN places KayCyy’s creative adaptability heart stage.
Stream BEFORE I WAS BORN – out in every single place now.
