The new double-A side digital single from Cincinnati, Ohio’s Abiyah, “Crylike” and “Masked,” is available for download at bandcamp.
The songs on the single were produced by Dave Rohs, formerly of Cincinnati electro-synth rock group Chalk and backup vocals were provided by Dana Hamblen of Darlene, Fairmount Girls and Culture Queer. The cover art for the single came as a result of a chance meeting and growing friendship between artist Tiffani Gomez and Abiyah at the Afropunk Festival a few years back.
A six-time CityBeat Cincinnati Entertainment Awards nominee and six-time MidPoint Music Festival veteran, Abiyah has performed at NYC’s Sidewalk Cafe and the now-defunct Trash Bar, and opened for avant-hip hop vanguards Mike Ladd and Beans, as well as Big Freedia, Serengeti, Busdriver, Open Mike Eagle, Ceschi Ramos, and clipping., while also appearing on LA art-rapper Open Mike Eagle’s second full-length offering Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes.
“Abiyah is the queen of all the mechanical parts of your heart,” says LA-based Mello Music Group artist Open Mike Eagle. “Her songs let you breathe underwater. She’s the only thing your brain and your hips can agree on.”