SLEEPY HALLOW SETS THE TONE WITH ‘SLEEPY FOR PRESIDENT’

Sleepy Hallow has quickly become a rising star on the New York rap scene. Brooklyn has been running rap for the past year, making its mark on the industry by pushing the drill sound. Artists such as Fivio Foreign, Sheff G, and Smoove L have made their mark on the industry by combining gritty rap with lyricism and giving us tracks we can dance to.

Sleepy Hallow is a close friend of Sheff G, acquiring fame after numerous features with the fellow rapper. They are both a part of Winners Circle Entertainment Inc., which is an imprint under Empire. When you hear a Sleepy Hallow record the first thing that grabs your attention is his voice. A unique voice in rap is priceless. He’s able to use his voice as an instrument to shape a melody over classic sounding tracks.

Sleepy For President features many tracks that utilize the hip hop foundation of sampling. The rest of the project takes you through a range of emotions and captures what it feels like struggling to make it in New York. Sleepy For President is a perfect combination of upbeat songs, aggressive more traditional drill rap, and somber records that make listeners think about life.

The project starts with one of my personal favorites “Deep End Freestyle,” which has over 42 million streams on Spotify. The ghost-like, high-pitched sample mixed with his trademark voice creates another world for the listener to step into. The first line of the project hits hard with the lyrics “my body be different,” meaning Sleepy Hallow moves different, has his own style, and will never be a follower.

KEY! REINVENTS HIS SOUND WITH “I LOVE YOU SAY IT BACK”

KEY! is making his name known with his new project I Love You Say It Back. KEY! began his career in music busting on to the underground hip hop scene in Atlanta. Part of the collective Awful Records with fellow artists Makkonen and Father, KEY! has always stood out with his sound and style.

KEY! has always been his own genre, as made evident in his older tracks “Look At Wrist”, “Rackades”, and “Give ’em Hell”. He’s been ahead of his time since 2014. KEY! can’t fit in a box and by next year he will emerge as one of the biggest artists out of Atlanta. He’s been featured and produced for a number of artists, such as 21 Savage, O.G. Maco, and Trap Money Benny.

I Love You Say It Back is an emotional project that takes the listener through the mind and heart of KEY! It’s unapologetic, experimental, and goes against current trends creating a new sound, which he commits to throughout all 10 tracks. He displays his uniqueness by managing to utilize a number of sounds with zero features. His last project 777 was produced entirely by Kenny Beats and featured 6LACK, Rico Nasty, Jay Critch, and Skepta. Creating such an individual sound for each song without collaborating with other artists highlights KEY!’s raw talent.

“Spend One Night” is one of the final tracks on the album. It sounds like an 80s pop song with an Atlanta flow over the beat. Nothing about this album can be replicated by another artist. KEY! is in his own lane and he rhymes confidently over every beat on the album with no hesitation. In addition to sounding confident, the placement of his flow over the track always sounds like a natural layer and is never forced.