Release of the Week 20/9: Yibby “Poke” ft. Raj Mahal

Moving to Australia at the age of two, Ethiopian-born rapper Yippy is slowly cementing himself as one of the more diverse voices in the Sydney hip/hop scene. His latest EP, Lost in translation, consisted of five varied tracks that incorporate a range of influences to create bright, electronic-based rap music. His latest track, released on Wednesday, focuses on that last part, becoming decisively more rap oriented than previous releases. To this effect, he has brought in the mean Raj Mahal, a fellow Sydney-based artist from Boston.

The track is short and sweet, clocking in at just 2:20 and containing one verse per artist. It is straight to the point, with Yibby taking the first verse. The beat is solid, with thick bass pads syncopating with irregular cowbell beats. As the verses progress, a snare drum comes pounding into the foreground while deep toms boom away in the background. Yibby’s deliver is solid, with some interesting production effects, like ping-pong delay and echo reverbs, to stop things from getting repetitive. He has a noticeably more American sound than most hip/hop artist in the Sydney scene and tracks like this allow his rapping to shine. Between verses, there is a metallic shimmer effect over the beat as a distant electronic melody accompanies multiple filtered overdubs of Mahal repeating “Poke”. Next up is Mahal’s verse, which is everything fans expect of him. He is aggressive, opening with a list of people he couldn’t care less about. With a similarly American rapping voice, Mahal’s grit compliments the more dynamic, rhythmically enunciating Yibby. When Mahal’s verse kicks in, there’s a menacing keyboard riff that bounces around, creating some more interest, before moving up the octave to balance out the high-end.

On the track, Yibby said: "I wanted this one to be more rap-oriented so I thought Raj would be nice on it  because his aggression and delivery is so energetic. He came through and did his verse and we thought that we had something worthwhile." Raj confirms "It's one of the most unique collabs Sydney has ever seen."

Yibby will be appearing in both Sydney and Melbourne on his City to City Tour.

Friday, 20th September
Boogie Mountain, Sydney
TICKETS

Saturday, 21st September
The Gasometer Upstairs, Melbourne
TICKETS