(Photo By Sound Cloud)
“Drug Empire” (preview)
Best Kept Secret (listen/download)
Aye Yo Smiley is a fresh face to the world of Hip-Hop and R&B. She hails from Washington, DC and released her debut project earlier this year. That project was a mixtape dubbed Best Kept Secret. It contains 13 total tracks and has received fairly positive reviews. Part of the collective is a track titled “Drug Empire.” The song was produced by Martin Mac. The single is set to a hood savvy production laced with offbeat musical elements. The content is of an adequate quality. Smiley enlists a delectable flow, estimable wordplay, and select rhymes. She establishes herself as a tough competitor in the game despite her small stature and pretty face. Overall, this a first-rate offering.
Last month, Smiley dropped a video for this single. The video was directed by GFilms. The concept of the video centers around surveillance of a brand new drug that is out on the market stemming from the U.S./Mexico Border. It comes in a small USB case that is adorned with a smiley face on the front. Those impacted by the drug end up rocking large colorful headphones also decorated with smileys and zoned out facial expressions. Their expressions are occasionally exaggerated by large trippy eyes. In between the monitoring of the new craze, are some fly solo shots of Smiley. The most notable one being of her sporting stylish street threads while chilling amongst some speakers laced with headphones of her own. Speakers are a common motif in the flick just like the other mentioned music accessories. It should be noted that producer Martin Mac makes a cameo in the piece. He is seemingly working out of the surveyed drug lab. The video wraps up as it began with an outside view from the surveillance camera. The whole drug operation scenario serves as a clever metaphor of how Smiley is taking over the game with her tunes. Overall, this was an innovative quality vision.
**My Two Cents: I think Aye Yo Smiley is dope. She has a super appealing marketable brand. Plus, her flow & rhymes are on point too. “Drug Empire” is a nice record. And the video made for an excellent companion piece. It was well packaged with a hit storyline. I definitely think that Smiley has the potential to go very far in this industry. I’m looking forward to whatever she does next. Be sure to check out her mixtape and visit her website via the above provided links. -MinM
