Sydney hip-hop artist YIBBY shares his remarkable new EP Tangent. From the depth of the production (courtesy of Clockwork Odyssey) and songwriting, YIBBY has taken his sound to another level on the new project, expanding with poise and purpose on the themes explored in 2019’s Lost In Translation. Tangent is about knowing where you’re going and trying to reaffirm it regardless of the crossroads, embodying the passage of life as a young black man within society and its association to status, relationships and power.

Across Tangent‘s eight tracks, his sound ebbs and flows from progressive, up-tempo rap tracks in ‘Cigar‘ and ‘Chess Not Checkers (Feat. Arno Faraji)’ to the moody, abstract sounds of ‘Kick‘. The EP’s focus track ‘Amount‘ diverges sonically again and sees YIBBY team up with Sydney via London songwriter Chanel Loren, allowing her vocals to take centre stage to create a soulful R&B cut. Elsewhere, YIBBY taps into a number of international artists, with Lord Apex(UK) and Black Josh (UK) helping bring the body of work to life. 

On the EP, YIBBY shares; ‘On this one, I really wanted to build from the last and take it to the next level in all aspects.Tangent is about knowing where you’re going and trying to reaffirm it regardless of the crossroads. It is quite personal in a lot of the experiences but the essence and inspiration is largely universal. I really enjoyed bringing this project together with ‘CO’ and the artists involved to create a soundscape that I think is its own. I started this one late 2018, I like to live with my projects for a while to see if I still feel they resonate, rather than quickly turn things around. It’s a timestamp for me. So it’s a rewarding but challenging part of the process.’

Speaking on ‘Amount’, YIBBY continues; ‘Me and Chanel have worked before and It’s always really tight, she has such a quirky voice and it always brings the track a lot of flavour. ‘Amount’ is a little more out of my comfort zone stylistically but it’s a direction I really enjoy taking as I listen to a lot of smooth music. I like the way this one ebbs and flows with the pace, it takes you along for the ride. The lyrics get pretty personal but I try to keep things a bit light as well, I feel like that’s my approach to romance too.’

STREAM YIBBY TANGENT

YIBBY – Tangent EP
Out Now
1. Tangent
2. Cigar (Feat. Lord Apex)
3. Plot
4. Chess Not Checkers (Feat. Arno Faraji)
5. Amount (Feat. Chanel Loren)
6. No I.D (Feat. Black Josh)
7. Kick
8. End 2 End

Born in the town of Debre Tabor, Ethiopia, YIBBY was adopted at the age of two-and-a-half and brought to Sydney. Developing his interest in music largely through watching ABC’s Rage as a kid, YIBBY combines early rap influences of Kanye West, Jay Z & Pharrell with contemporary artists including Joey Bada$$, Isaiah Rashad and Earl Sweatshirt. Coupled with his love of the underground rap scene, YIBBY’s sound has blended to form his traditional-meets-modern amalgamation of crisp wordplay and flows over a varied range of production.

From his abstract instrumental choices to feature artist choices, YIBBY is intent on carving his own footprint in the Australian music scene. Signed by talent agency Niche Productions prior to releasing a single, YIBBY went on to deliver a concise, largely conceptual project on 2019’s EP Lost in Translation. Follow up singles ‘Poke (Feat. Raj Mahal)‘ and the triple j-premiered ‘No Sweat’ arrived in 2020 as YIBBY built up an impressive live following, landing a spot on Bad Friday’s lineup, undertaking his own headline tour and supporting artists including Winston Surfshirt, Drapht, Arno Faraji and more.

With rotation on stations including triple j, Beats One Radio and FBi, and praise from publications including The Guardian, Acclaim, Purple Sneakers and Sniffers, YIBBY continues to gain impressive accolades for his distinct sound in Australian hip-hop. With 2020 seeing him feature on Manchester legend Black Josh’s ‘Fifa Street’ and the collaborative release ‘Ballin’ with Angelo The Poet. Bringing 2021 to a close in style, YIBBY’s new EP Tangent pushes his sound forward and affirms him as one of Australia’s best hip-hop talents, featuring previous singles ‘Cigar’ featuring London heavyweight Lord Apex, ‘Chess Not Checkers’ featuring Arno Faraji, and ‘NO I.D’ featuring Black Josh. Stay tuned on details surrounding YIBBY’s EP launch, soon.