New Music – The New York Belgium Connection

Growing up and becoming enthralled with the chaos of the big city, Wiki from New York was a high school favorite that has now turned into the new-era Jay-Z for myself. His voice immediately spawns ideas of chopped cheeses and sunsets on the Hudson, even before I stepped foot in the concrete jungle.

Recruiting producer NAH for his newest project, the joint venture, “Telephonebooth” has more quick tracks, almost as if you dropped a quarter in a payphone and heard snippets of another dimension of sound. Holding the receiver close to the ear, Wiki delivers the rhymes while the congruency of production from NAH becomes the centerfold under the vocals.

The project, Telephonebooth doesn’t feel much longer than 20 minutes, and that’s because each track can bounce from being the shortest at 44 seconds to the longest upwards of two minutes and 18 seconds. As Wiki and NAH open with “Life Like?,” the bombastic production takes a pause and instead becomes this soulful display of horns and percussion from the basements. Exposed brick becomes a backing for Wiki almost as if he was in these open mic performances or being the soul poet in Washington Square Park.

Reverbing over the question, “What yo life like?” while the grimacing production continues to push Wiki into this flow of direct consciousness as if the audience was taking a peek into the mind of someone who lives, breathes, and dies for New York.

One of the more illustrative tracks, “Frogskins” becomes washes of hope that are dissected and redistributed through NAH’s production. They go above the bar here and can take Wiki’s now gruffer voice than the Ratking days through some real engaging depths not really seen to the vocalist. He eats the production on “Frogskins,” as he describes, “Put that, put that, put that money in my hand,” with this snapping snare that can be heard for miles.

Much of Telephonebooth is almost distant and that’s a new feeling for Wiki’s performance. Usually having production that is more straightforward and less of a kaleidoscopic view, Wiki here made brash decisions in the past but is having some moments of clairvoyance on Telephonebooth.

Being a sucker for the summer knights over Harlem, “Shit’n Me” immediately throws imagery of Taxi Driver where the hydrants are cracked and kids can be heard for the length of Broadway. The lyrics here are more of a consumption and reflection of the changing seasons in New York. From the cold to the hot, the train continues to roll where not even the tunnels can keep Wiki unexposed.

NAH matches this energy with the horns that blurt out and this sporadic sense of percussion. Telephonebooth as a whole project is nearly jazz in moments and is a less head-on approach that pays off in both artists’ favor.

Still grimy, still displaying the best parts of hip-hop, Wiki and NAH are fantastic in their own respect. The branch out to become more abstract is a successful step and only creates more intrigue into both careers as time spins further.

Listen To Telephonebooth Here!!! – BandCamp