When this CYK movement started a lot of people didn't know what to think, with his unique mohawk and punk rock style, names like ‘Alte Balotelli’ swirled around. Some may have assumed that this was just a gimmick to help them stand out within the never ending stream of new content the internet throws at us, they would have been wrong. The ball started rolling when he ended up on Santi’s stream in February announcing his arrival, from then on he's gone from strength to strength, each release building on the last, showing how dedicated he is to his craft.
Fast forward to December and we are witnessing an afrobeats resurgence before our very eyes. To close out an admirable year Luwamp4 leaves us with ‘CYK baddie’ a culmination of all the hard work he's put in this year. Luwa might have outdone himself here, when I first heard the snippet I was mesmerised, I’d return to the reel everytime liked my comment just to have an excuse to hear it one more time. From the infectious melody, to the exuberant beat you have no choice BUT to move, and to top it all off he’s recruited Jeleel! To add some flava. I admit I was a bit skeptical seeing him on the track, but after a few listens I think he handled his own very nicely, taking the song to a 10/10.
The CYK sound is so nostalgic of the 2010s, heavy autotune with bars in every verse, but if you listen closely the melodies themselves are out of this world; reminiscent of the likes of Naeto C and Wizkid in his early days, nothing but talent and ambition. The term CYK, meaning cyber youth kin, is one people of our generation can relate to. The feeling of growing up on the internet, scrolling on mp3juices,1604ent, and mixtapemonkey.com looking for the next album to pirate, watching vines and youtube laughing hysterically.
It’s clear they are carrying the torch in their own unique way. S1ordie is an artist worth mentioning, his last EP ‘PROJECT CYK’ is one that perfectly captures the experience of listening to his music, heavy beats, old melodies reminiscent of old nollywood, and new age rap songs that are evidence of his identity as a CYK. What they're doing is undeniably important for the music scene, because as much as it doesn't fit into what the conventional definition of what afrobeats is currently, it's very much the present and future of the genre in the most experimental and fun way. It would be worth paying attention to the moment we are in, it's like watching afrobeats be reborn.
Sidenote: can someone let S1ordie know we're still waiting on “EGO’’?
