Why Music Bloggers Are Obsessed With This New Oakland Rapper

Back in March, a 24-year-old rapper named Kamaiyah hit the scene, with a debut album titled A Good Night in The Ghetto, that would that give boners to music bloggers everywhere. Now I understand why.

“You know that feeling where you hear some new music and it’s exactly what you didn’t know you needed?” a Stereogum writer explained his love for Kamaiyah’s song, “How Does It Feel” in an article titled, “Kamaiyah Just Fucked The Whole Summer Up.”

“Kamaiyah stands out from her peers,” Pitchfork writes, “With her appealingly natural presence.”

While being described as “appealingly natural” doesn’t sound all that appealing, it is true that the Oakland native is already able to occupy some space that feels very much her own, without alienating her listeners.

In other words, you don’t need to have been broke all your life — like she raps about in “How Does it Feel”  — in order to appreciate what she’s saying. And she isn’t a pop star; you don’t need to want to be Kamaiyah, but you should recognize when you’re listening to someone rap that’s better than any rappers out right now, male or female.

I learned that Drake follows her on Instagram, and I liked that too. Listen to “How Does it Feel” below, and check out her Soundcloud here.





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