EP: Well$ – All Kings Get Their Heads Chopped Off

NOISEY Premieres the North Carolina Emcee’s 7-Track Effort, His Latest Release for Immaculate Taste

6.8.2017

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 charismatic live performer…the hometown hero is ready to shine whenever the national look is imminent. – 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 Project:

Well$ ‘ aggressive, authoritative bark and confident, yet introspective lyrical point-of-view helps him stand out as one of the best young rappers in the North Carolina scene. Returning with a strong collection of textured, electronic-influenced tracks, the son of Congolese immigrants dwells on life’s impermanence on All Kings Get Their Heads Chopped Off, his latest EP. With production from Well$’ Immaculate Taste labelmates Lucho, VACAY, and Alec Lomami, as well as appearances from NicX and Wally Left, All Kings Get Their Heads Chopped Off serves as a satisfying appetizer until Well$ completes the follow up to The Way I’m Living Makes My Mom Nervous, his most recent project, which was loaded with North Carolina talent. Complete with seven well-crafted tracks and packed with irreverent, boastful bars, the Noisey-premiered All Kings Get Their Heads Chopped Off represents the latest stage in Well$ maturation as a person and an artist. While Well$’ first mixtape MTSYD: The Revenge of the African Booty Scratcher reflected Well$’ perspective of an African in America, and TWILMMMN discussed how Well$’ African values clashed with his American lifestyle, All Kings Get Their Heads Chopped Off finds Well$ more comfortable in his surroundings, but still wary of things that might bring him down. Featuring highlights such as relationship drama “Rosé” and the whirling “Day Ones,” both premiered by Pigeons & Planes, the NOISEY-premiered All Kings Get Their Heads Chopped Off is a propulsive and engaging listen from an artist on the rise.

The third major project from the acclaimed North Carolina emcee, All Kings Get Their Heads Chopped Off follows last year’s The Way I’m Living Makes My Mom Nervous, a deeply personal effort about the immigrant experience in America that doubled as a showcase for the the underrepresented North Carolina arts community. TWILMMMN was a suitable follow-up to his previous mixtape, MTSYD: The Revenge of the African Booty Scratcher, which earned Well$ praise from Pitchfork and led to a performance at 2016’s Moogfest, which NOISEY listed as one of the “Seven Sets At Moogfest That Expanded Our Consciousness into New Realms. Well$ has kept busy in 2017 with a steady stream of singles, including his appearance on Baloji’s afrobeat/hip-hop hybrid “Unité & Litre,” alongside his cousin and labelmate Alec Lomami and acclaimed artist Saul Williams. All Kings Get Their Heads Chopped Off arrives today via Immaculate Taste.

Listen to All Kings Get Their Heads Chopped Off: https://open.spotify.com/album/0sduPlUOvmGlXuydfVCVC7

Check out the NOISEY premiere: https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/welldollar-is-fighting-to-give-north-carolina-hip-hop-a-sound-of-it-own

Please contact Michelle or Dharmic for more info.

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 2014 project, MTSYD: Revenge of the African Booty Scratcher was well-received by fans and critics alike and he followed it up with the equally accomplished The Way I’m Living Makes My Mom Nervous in 2016. His next project, All Kings Get Their Heads Chopped Off, arrived June 8th, 2017.