Skiifall Releases EP ‘WOIIYOIE TAPES VOL. 2: INTENSE CITY’

Montreal-based artist Skiifall releases his long-awaited second EP WOIIYOIE TAPES VOL. 2: INTENSE CITY. The EP includes previously released singles “Fam Without Blood” and “Yuteman Denis,” which showcases Skiifall’s ability to transcend established hip-hop conventions and carve out a unique sound for himself. The project is an accumulation of stories and experiences chronicling Skii’s life to date, with the most prescient theme being the violent relationship between Black communities and law enforcement.

Recorded between Montreal, Los Angeles, and London, the EP serves as the follow up to WOIIYOIE TAPES VOL. 1 (2021), features renowned producers DJ Dahi (Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Pusha T) and Wondagurl (Travis Scott, Pop Smoke, Lil Uzi Vert), singer-songwriters Obongjayar and Charlotte Cardin, Skii’s longtime collaborator and producer YAMA//SATO, and mentor Master Zibz. “Zibz gave me a chance to make music, but we never made music together until about a year ago. If you hear these crazy ass adlibs, that’s him!”

On Christmas Day 2022, Skii’s friend Nicous D’Andre Spring died in custody after being assaulted by guards. “I didn’t want to post a picture of him or anything. I want to talk about it in my music because millions of people are going to listen to it,” says Skiifall. “I didn’t choose to take part in this narrative — it was given to me by the government and the schools they send us to, the rules they give us. They keep us on a path where it’s difficult to succeed.”

In this context, Skiifall’s boundlessness is the sound of a young person’s world being opened up beyond the parameters set upon his social context as a Black man and migrant. He has become deeply inspired by ’70s photography, and the sounds of the Caribbean and its diasporic offshoots — reggae, dancehall, and lover’s rock. “The world hasn’t gotten a chance to hear music from all of these artists. ‘Ting Tun Up’ opened this new door for me, of all the things I could do with my music.”

Having been described as “the future sound of Montreal”, Skiifall is preparing to deliver upon the promise of his early breakout songs, which include songs off his debut EP WOIIYOIE TAPES VOL. 1. as well as the roadman melodies of “Ting Tun Up” to the soulful reggae of 2021’s “Break of Dawn” with fellow Canadians BADBADNOTGOOD and The Kount.