The Rise of Foreign Exchange

2009 saw the sharp rise in recognition for one of hip hops most elegant groups, Foreign Exchange. Dutch producer Nicolay and North Carolinas Phonte Coleman met one another whilst blogging. They began sharing and working on one another's pieces of music and before they knew it they had amassed enough material for their debut album “Connected”, released in 2004.

Sonically Nicolay reminds me of a cross between producer 9th wonder and chill out group zero 7, organically amalgamating genres to create his distinct ethereal sound. Teaming up with the exceptionally talented singer/rapper Phonte Coleman of Little Brother was a match made in heaven. “Connected” was highly acclaimed amongst the purists and was deemed a classic alternative hip hop album. Memorable tracks from the album include Nic’s groove and Sincere (their debut single release).

With the success of “Connected” Nicolay and Phonte began working on their sophomore album “Things Fall Apart”, financing and promoting the record themselves. The album was released in 2008 and was an instant hit amongst fans and fellow artists. When listening to the album its clear that no musical comprises were made as the two manage to successfully explore music as a genre of entertainment rather than hip hop as a genre of music.

Tracks such as “House of Cards” with its methodically collapsing rhythm and “Valediction’s” triple change of soulful motion are poles apart but compliment each other rather than hinder the overall cohesiveness of the album. Muhsinah puts in a stellar performance in the extremely relevant yet hauntingly beautiful highlight track “Daykeeper.” Later in 2009 “Daykeeper” was nominated for a Grammy in the “Best Urban/Alternative Performance” category, which in itself is testament to their organic connection.

In their five years Foreign Exchange have managed to put a spin on the controversial notion of hip hop, injecting a spark of much needed class and musicality into the genre. Fingers crossed for January.

Article written Babatunde Adefuye