Hebrew influenced hip-hop with a little 90s rhythm thrown in, Virginia local rap artist Uriyah is bringing something new to the rap industry.
Hebrew influenced hip-hop with a little 90s rhythm thrown in, Virginia local rap artist Uriyah is bringing something new to the rap industry. Uriyah’s fluid metaphors and style gives listeners an Andre 3000 vibe with a flow that they can both dance and relax to.
“I’ve been releasing solo music since 2009, starting on myspace,” Uriyah said. “I released a mixtape with Henmusik, an artist from Va Beach, called Weekend Update in August 2009 that gained some buzz. We released a follow up of titled Weekend Update 2 in August 2013.”
“The biggest song we did together was titled ‘Who U R’ which had a combined total of over 100,000 plays on the internet,” he added.
The Petersburg native and VSU graduate also has two solo mixtapes under his belt.
The up and coming hip hop artist released his self-produced single “Grind. Pray.” in March. Check it out on soundcloud below catch it on 106.5 The Beat and Zxulu’s Sunday radio show.
“The song came about when I attempted to write about where I was spiritually,” he said. “I wrote the words first then went into the studio and produced the beat.”
“The hard part of this single was the months that preceded the song coming together. I had hit a writer’s block and had been focusing more on producing than writing. When the idea for “Grind. Pray.” came to me, it all fell in place. A few weeks later, I received the idea to put “Grind. Pray.” on a shirt, and it’s been growing as a clothing brand.”
Uriyah said he’s now looking for a videographer to put a music video together for the single.
Uriyah works with Brad Mossto produce his music who is part of The 1st Kind which has produced records for Casey Veggies and Mike Jones.
With performances at The Camel, The Norva and the National, Uriyah has been gaining awareness while remaining loyal to his local region.
“The bad in the RVA/Petersburg scene is that it’s small and not a lot of outlets to get your music heard in the area,” said Uriyah. “The good news is that there is a new wave in VA starting in the 757 area with Young Money Yawn and D.R.A.M. respectively bringing attention to the state.”
The hip hop artist recently performed at Sixteen West in Petersburg this month and is scheduled to perform at 7 Cities Music Festival’, a festival in Virginia Beach organized by Soundloy and owned by Henmusik, Oct. 10th.
