Song: Sipho the Gift – “Somewhere” (ft. Well$)

Following the Successful Week of Well$, the Charlotte Rapper’s September Continues to Shine on the Latest Single with Producer Gifted, Premiere via HotNewHipHop

09.18.2014

Critical praise for Well$:

“The album finds the 19-year-old straddling the line between trunk-rattling southern bounce and the witty 16s of any Freshman spitter.” – The Fader

“…a startling peephole into something deeply personal within Well$.” – Pitchfork

“Well$ uses inspiration from his own heritage as well as popular American culture to develop a sound that is distinctly his own, drawing on southern influences as well as his own African culture.” – Complex

“Charlotte, N.C., may not be the first city to come to mind when thinking of hip hop hotbeds, but thanks to a rising echelon of talent, that’s about to change. Leading that charge is 19-year-old Leroy Shingu, who goes by the name of Well$.” – Huffington Post

The Song:

Continuing his hot streak that began at the top of this month with a week full of new releases, 20-year-old Charlotte, NC rapper Well$ joins South Africa rapper/producer Sipho the Gift for the latter artist’s new single, “Somewhere.” Premiered by HotNewHipHop, Well$ raps “Leave it at home boy, you don’t need your heart out here / ‘Cus these boys hungry, the hood love me, but the streets haunt me.” As for Sipho, he says that “the song epitomizes the struggles of a young man through his right of passage,” adding, “there’s constant uncertainty along his path to manhood, but for much of the journey he is in constant limbo. The song is an expression of the aspirations I have, my experiences and the thoughts that led me to where I am right now.” Sipho and Well$ collaborated previously on the Sipho-produced “Youth in Revolt Pt. 2,” a loose single released last month following Well$’ mixtape, MTSYD: The Revenge of the African Booty Scratcher, which released earlier this summer.

As mentioned, Well$ kicked off September with a Week of Well$ – dropping new releases each day of the week in celebration of his 20th birthday. The charismatic MC kicked off the week with a free Labor Day show in Chappell Hill, NC. His first release of the week, “An Awfully Rude Reintroduction,” dropped via 10.Deep/The Fader, featuring a sample of Kanye West’s infamous interruption speech at the VMAs. That was followed by the Billboard premiere of “Black Swan,” a video filmed at the Foxy Gentlemen’s Club in Brooklyn. The third release of the week featured another collaboration between Well$ and Sipho. “98 Juvie” is a tribute to rapper Juvenile and was premiered by Noisey. Next up, Well$ released “Stella 95,” which features vocals from Lucho and production from PGMW, and Thefacesblur. The track was featured on Wondering Sound and utilizes a pulsating synth to emphasize Well$’ lyrical stylings. The final release of the week was again produced by PGMW and premiered via HotNewHipHop. “Fight” features artwork and sample inspired by the popular video game series, Street Fighter.

21-year-old producer Sipho the Gift (aka Gifted) is described as “bars for bars” one of the best producers hailing from South Africa by fellow African artist, Alec Lomami. Through Lomami, Gifted was introduced to Well$, who was instantly drawn to the producer. On a trip to Cape Town the two collaborated on two of Well$’ latest singles, along with “Somewhere.” Through the process Sipho became part of the Immaculate production team, joining Lomami and Well$. Gifted is currently in the process of completing his debut mixtape, Coming of Age, set to drop in early 2015. His debut loose single, “Poundcake Freestyle,” features the producer rapping over Drake and Jay-Z’s single, “Poundcake,” which itself samples vocals from Ellie Goulding.

Read the HotNewHipHop premiere: http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/sipho-the-gift-somewhere-feat-wells-new-song.1957446.html

Listen to “Somewhere”: https://soundcloud.com/siphothegift/somewhere-ft-well-prod-sipho-the-gift/s-4S0xA

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Well$ Background:

Like most kids in his native town of Charlotte, North Carolina, Leroy Shingu had a head filled with hip-hop dreams growing up, even trying his hand at freestyling when he was all of nine years old. But a trying background starkly different from the blissful suburban reality of his peers would compel the rapper better known as Well$ to turn that childhood fantasy into a promising career as a rapper. Quietly released in 2012, $ay La V, Well$’ debut EP rose steadily on the Bandcamp charts to peak at number 5 and eventually become the most downloaded album in the Charlotte area. This remarkable ascent as well as the video for the song “State of Ecstasy The Interlude Part 1″ hauled Well$ out of virtual anonymity, and shoved him onto high profile stage performances with artists such as G Eazy, Chris Webby, Johnny Polygon, and one of his idols, Pac Div. His most recent project, MTSYD: Revenge of the African Booty Scratcher was well-recieved by fans and critics alike.