‘Foreign Exchanged’ is the 1st solid project I put together. It was officially released onto DatPiff in September of 2013. This body of work follows me through the period of time I spent living in China, so late 2011 to the end of 2012. The project was intended to capture the experience of a Cameroon-bred American raised black male living China was in auditory format, allowing the listener to witness all of these cultures mesh together. Be it through the anxiety of traveling, going somewhere new and not knowing what to expect captured in ‘Smoke Clears’, the ambitious and optimistic tone of ‘Talk is Cheap’, night life anthems such as ‘Luv Iz Luv’ and ‘Another One’, or the cry for home in ‘Yasmina’s Song’. With Drake’s ‘Controlla’, Rihanna’s ‘Work’, or even Tory Lane’s ‘Luv’ dominating 2016, a song like ‘Kameroonian Gal’, which was recorded late in 2010 was simply years ahead of its time. Quite a bit of time is spent addressing women through out. Where ‘Askin’ 2 Much' finds me chasing after a woman who is clearly out of my league, ‘School Boy’ and ‘Kiss & Tell’ recount the 1st heartbreaks of a grade school immigrant trying to adapt to his new surroundings and the challenges that arise in doing so. The only feature comes on ‘B4 I Go’, with a guest appearance from my mentor Phella. This snare hitting Rap version of a ballad open to interpretation, but speculatively a “Dear Jane” letter to Hip-Hop itself. The project falls short on songs like ‘Numberz’ where I pretty much confirm doing a ‘money song’ for the sake of it, in so many words. And then on ‘Sorry’ where I simply stick it to a supposed ‘ex’ as I brag about how well life is going for me over seas. While the sample heavy “Growing Apart' pulls at the heart, I fail on delivering the same heart felt introspectiveness displayed on the last verse of a ‘Smoke Clears’. Overall the project did an excellent job at capturing life through the eyes of a care-free 20yr. old me. Making it a solid foundation for my catalog to be built off of, in my humble opinion. -KING