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spacer MP3/News: Kokayi - "Nicotine" + ESPN Collaboration With Stalley 03.02.2011
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spacer New Single, ESPN Collaboration With Stalley Continues An Eventful 2011 For Kokayi spacer
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Critical Praise for Kokayi:

"Robots is Kokayi's Illmatic- a masterpiece that will surely be regarded as the artist’s crown jewel, no matter what he records afterward." Rating: 93/100 - OkayPlayer

"Kokayi has created a sound that’s entirely his own - a blend of rap, rock, electronica, R&B and whatever else he decides to throw into the mix and doing so with expert ease. If this album doesn't make a best of 2010 list, it would be a complete travesty. This release deserves not only deserves measurable acclaim, but also a place in anyone music lover’s collection." Rating: 4/5 - Potholes In My Blog

"Robots & Dinosaurs... an everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink post-modern pastiche of sonic sweets." MyOldKentuckyBlog.com

The Song:

With a string of SXSW performances in his future, a mtvU.com Freshmen Five victory under his belt, and a highly acclaimed new album, Robots & Dinosaurs, still directly in his rearview, Washington D.C. multi-talent Kokayi continues to stay active. With a recently released video and remix for the lead single from R&D, Kokayi is excited to drop the latest single from the album, "Nicotine." "This song tells the story of love lost for the protagonist, conveyed in 3 stages of his life: ages nine, 16, and 23," explains Kokayi. "I used some personal experiences and put myself in the shoes of someone who thought they found true love, but the sentiment was never returned until it was too late."

The song begins with a staggeringly eerie piano, accompanied by a minimalist drum pattern, stuttering, warbled bass, and crunchy guitar as the track builds and continues to develop, climaxing at the chorus as Kokayi sings, "She's a real good lover, and a real good friend/ That type of girl that'll never let you drown out in the deep end/ The type you give your heart to, but that all depends/ 'Cause she might light you up, and breathe you right on in." Where many have tried and failed (read: writing love songs, especially those of the darker variety) Kokayi succeeds. "The most challenging part of writing unrequited love songs is to not come off as mad corny," says Kokayi, acknowledging the difficulties many artists often face when tackling such a subject. "The cornball, Herb Tarleck label is never the one you want as an artist. Especially in this genre of music to be mad sappy is a no-no. Unless it's overly done and then done tastefully bad."

While continuing to promote Robots & Dinosaurs, Kokay also remains busy collaborating with other artists. First, Kokayi worked with fellow DC artist's Tabi Bonney and Wale on tracks from Tabi's recent album, and now Kokayi has teamed up with Stalley to record tracks for ESPN. "He's a dope emcee and down to earth, too," says Kokayi of Stalley. "He reached out with the ESPN opportunity, and hearing his new mixtape along with his previous body of work has given me some insight on what he sounds best on."

Download Kokayi's "Nicotine" here: http://media.audibletreats.com/Kokayi-Nicotine.mp3

Kokayi's new album, Robots & Dinosaurs, is available now via QN5.

Please Post Buy Links:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/robots-dinosaurs/id396136677




Please contact Michelle or Dan if interested in talking with Kokayi.

The Background:

Kokayi (Carl Walker) is a Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, emcee, producer and educator. Koyaki (pronounced "Ko-Kah-Yee") has already independently released his debut album Mass Instructions (2007), toured the world and snagged the 2009 Grammy-nod for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for his work as a vocalist and co-producer on "Lovin' You (Music)" by Ethiopian singer Wayna. He also produced Wayna's "Moonlight Rendezvous" which spent 7 consecutive weeks on Billboard's Top 10 R&B/ Hip Hop Singles and 100 Hot Singles Sales charts. Kokayi keeps busy on multiple fronts with several side-projects - as one half of the electro-hop duo, Dastardly (with DJ/Producer Sharkey), and his long-time Afropunk outfit, TheCaesarz. In 2009, Kokayi signed to NYC's independent hip-hop beacon, QN5 Music as an in-house artist and producer.

Streams:

"Nicotine":
http://media.audibletreats.com/Kokayi-Nicotine.mp3

"RoxTar" Remix Feat. Substantial Prod. Roddy Rod:
http://media.audibletreats.com/Kokayi-RoxTar_Rmx_Ft_Substantial_Prod_Roddy_Rod.mp3

Gibson Guitar CouchSessions:
http://vimeo.com/16408954
http://vimeo.com/16953508
http://vimeo.com/19375574

"RoxTar":
http://vimeo.com/17161832
http://media.audibletreats.com/KOKAYI-RoxTar.mp3

"Chanticleer":
http://media.audibletreats.com/Kokayi-Chanticleer.mp3

"Only":
http://media.audibletreats.com/KOKAYI-Only.mp3

"Autumn Rules":
http://media.audibletreats.com/KOKAYI-Autumn_Rules.mp3

Bio, pictures, and streams available here:
http://www.audibletreats.com/download/kokayi

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/KOKAYI

Official Site:
http://www.kokayi202.com/

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/KokayiMusic

MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/kokayi

Label Site:
http://qn5.com/

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