Alyona Alyona
In her native Ukraine, alyona alyona's debut album has already become the most anticipated release of 2019. And within just a few months, the young kindergarten teacher from a village on the outskirts of Kiev became an overnight hiphop sensation. We first chanced upon her in a post by her booking agency More Zvukov. And although we couldn't understand a word she was saying, we fell in love almost instantly.
It all began, when she released the first companion video to her song "Рибки" ("Fishes") last October, which went viral on YouTube and has meanwhile collected over a million views. “Fishes” was alyona alyona's claim to fame, the reason she is now widely considered to be the future of Ukrainian rap and has been nominated for a YUNA Award in 2019 ("Best Hiphop Hit"). But she is far from being just another one-hit wonder.
alyona alyona has so far released several tracks with equally engaging companion videos. Her track "Залишаю свій дім" ("Leaving My Home") is a personal story about her move to the big city, namely Kiev, while the companion music video directed by Delta Arthur has meanwhile accumulated over 2.5 million views. The b&w video to her second single "Голови" ("Heads"), directed by Sasha Prilutsky, sees the hefty rapper jogging through the countryside, never once stopping to catch her breath. Her third single "Відчиняй" ("Open Up")is a powerful hiphop manifesto to a new generation, with a fresh video directed by Israeli director Jan Bolotov, who also cooked up this fun, David Lynch-esque video to "Рибки 2" ("Fishes 2").
There is something about alyona alyona that goes beyond her no doubt impressive appearance, her confident attitude, her captivating flow, her (assumed) lyrical prowess, her sound delivery or her kindergarten alter-ego. Her success may simply boil down to an innate sense of authenticity that provides her hiphop persona with the necessary street credibility the genre thrives on. That and obviously the talent and creativity she continuously displays in her music.
We expect to be seeing and hearing a lot more from her in the near future and can't wait to witness her live on stage in Europe. That being said, there is no doubt in our minds that alyona alyona's got next.
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