With, 'Those Kids Next Door' Forevatired is here to stay
Sometimes, you discover new music and you just have a gut feeling, you’re never going to forget the first line or first chord, where you were standing, and what you were doing. Nigeria-originated, soul-hip-hop group, Forevatired exemplifies that.
After breaking out last year with their demo tape, Before You Kill Us All, the 11-man collective, had a lot to live up to. Though the tape never reached the kind of mainstream audience that could catapult them to instant clout haven, the dynamic synergy between the members and their wide range of influences earned them the attention of alte culture tastemakers like Morebranches and The NATIVE. Their new project, Those Kids Next Door, doesn't only meet expectations already predicted of their top-dollar quality, it actually soars over them.
Those Kids Next Door cements Forevatired’s evolution from obscurity to bonafide rap crew, without losing the unique style that made them SoundCloud underground beacons in the first place. Faith, Brum3h and Goldfdrummachine, all have production credits. While, Etienne, Indigo, Rookie SBK, Pharoah, Rockimonsta and featured artist, Solis, deliver vocals. Their blend of angst-fulled sad-boy rap, over melodic production, is aware of hip-hop trends kick-started by groups like OFWGKTA but stretches them to places unimaginable. In the age of pop-culture supergroups like BTS, A$AP Mob, Brockhampton, and so on, the tape reflects the full complexity of Forevatired, without any unnecessary artistic sacrifices made for the sake of being more relatable.
"I came up with the name after having a dream about a zombie apocalypse and thought of what the resistance should be called," the group’s founder, Faith explained in an email when we asked about the group’s origins. That fantastical perspective of life adds a mythical aura to the stories that surface on Those Kids Next Door. On “FILM TRICK”, sensual lyrics like “I just made her panties vanish”, is a reference to Nollywood voodoo tropes and the group’s own mythos. While wide-ranging influences and use of metaphors, sometimes make 'alternative rap' sound corny or at best, otherworldly, Nollywood skits on the tracklisting, help keep TKND focused within the context of an authentically Nigerian experience.
On “Devil Fruit”, the strength of the collective can be heard as different voices bring different perspectives into focus while they narrate their party and drug indulging lifestyle over the synth-heavy trap beat. The creative kinship is spotlighted here as every spaced-out sample seems just as important as any animated punchline from any of the members as listeners can hardly tell who’s saying what.
In the group's e-mails with us, Faith recalled that when they initially had the idea for Forevatired in 2017, it was meant to be a blog for recording artists and producers to exchange experience and influence. The attention they have garnered as a music group, however, may evolve to be a landmark moment of redefining what masculinity is for an entire generation. It’s perhaps also what allows the creative freedom to blend tender R&B sentiments with neck-snapping freestyle rap flows like on BROKEN, where they remain charismatic while flashing their vulnerable side. Saying “I just want one night with her, ’lord/ Do you have that might, you silly boy?”
Stream Those Kids Next Door Via Apple Music