North London rapper Keeya Keys unveils his highly anticipated debut EP Keys to the City, out today via Moves Recordings.
Two years in the making and meticulously crafted with the help of London production quartet 4PLAY, Keys to the City sees Keeya in his element, carving out melodic flows alongside a plethora of talented artists including BOJ, Blanco and Kida Kudz. The six-track EP consolidates the North Londoner’s reputation as one of the UK’s finest new rap talents, showcasing his ability with ease to rap over over Garage, Rap, Drill and Gospel-influenced productions, having burst onto the scene in 2020 with a flurry of big singles including ‘Your Loss’, ‘Ruud’ and ‘Bebey’.
Keys To The City opens with feel-good lead single ‘Lean On Me’, a soulful anthem which was named Capital XTRA’s Home Grown Track Of The Week as well as 2x Record Of The Week on BBC Radio 1Xtra. Next up, the peppy and energetic ‘You Don’t’ sees Keeya and fellow Londoner Blanco combining over a jazzy guitar and saxophone. Keeya’s slick wordplay is then given room to shine on recent hit single ‘Boujee’, riffing on success and self-confidence over a cool, stripped-down afrobeat production. Nigerian Alté pioneer BOJ shines on the catchy chorus, and the track is expertly crafted by revered Grammy-winning producer Jae5.
Rounding out the EP, ‘Street Life’ is a wholesome mix of sunny guitar and uplifting piano as Keeya and Nigerian afropop sensation Kida Kudz wax poetic about their humble beginnings, before ‘Up Down’ brings Keeya’s garage influence to the fore with nostalgic production from Grammy award-nominated producer iO.
“This EP is a rebirth for myself”, Keeya says about the release. “It is a new chapter and I’m excited to be back releasing music. Every song on this project is placed particularly as the EP is made to be played on repeat.”
Hailing from North London, Keeya Keys is a home grown talent who has absorbed the diverse influences of London’s music scene, from grime to afrobeats, drill and hip hop. Keeya merges complex lyricism and versatile melodic flows, culminating in grimace-inducing wordplay over punchy instrumentals. Despite only breaking into the scene in 2020, Keeya Keys has 15 million streams, is continually gaining the endorsement of his peers and exponentially growing his global fanbase, and is still nowhere near peaking. Career highlights so far include headlining Space 289 in Bethnal Green, supporting NSG on their 2022 European tour, and collaborating with Conducta, Blanco, Illatek, Rudimental and Kenny Allstar.
Helming the production of the EP, 4PLAY started off as a quartet consisting of four London producers working together simultaneously. A movement that kicked off from leisure and pure passion has evolved into one that cuts across fashion, event organising, record label and management. The group is made up of Kellz (Jordan Watson), OGD (Dennis Mensah), Jay (Jaydon Campbell) and SK (David Okeke), and has scored hit tracks for superstars in the black music scene like NSG, Young T & Bugsey, Tion Wayne, Jae5, King Promise and many more. When they’re not producing, 4PLAY are hosting their memorable ‘Private Society’ parties – an avant garde rave only open to handpicked fans, music industry tastemakers and the press.
With its polished, genre-hopping production and blistering verses, Keys to the City is a debut EP that spotlights why Keeya Keys is such a key new figure in the UK rap scene.
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