Right on the edge of the city of Boston lies a city that, more often than not, gets lumped into the same category as the city of Boston itself.
Boston, already a city within Hip Hop Culture, has not received the notoriety it deserves and sometimes overshadows the identity of a city like Cambridge that has its own identity and culture that is just as noteworthy. Rapper and Cambridge Native, King Fiya, is determined to make sure this city doesn’t get forgotten.
His debut album, Money Dreaming, serves as another staple of identity to the many diverse voices that are living just across the bridge. After some success with his first two singles, “Dour” and “All In,” Fiya gives us his first full-length project serving as a narration for the untold story of Cambridge, Massachusetts. “This album represents for Cambridge, the people who really lived there, and grew up there. Outside of the perception of just being a university town. There are people who live there that aren’t necessarily of that, yet we have to see it all the time and just wonder how we can get our own piece of the pie.”
King Fiya brings up a great point. Not only does Cambridge live, slightly, in the shadows of the city of Boston, but it is definitely a city that is having its original community hidden, by way of gentrification, by major universities like Harvard and MIT. Fiya has seen this city’s transformation time and time again over his 20+ years developing his artistic vision. Money Dreaming is an excellent testimony of that growth within the city, and within Fiya emerging as one of its premiere emcees.
When asked about what he wanted people to take away from this project Fiya said, “I want people to get from this about me that I’m a versatile artist that isn’t afraid to try different styles without sacrificing quality. That Cambridge has niggas who grew up hard like everywhere else face the same struggles and have the same aspirations.” With songs like “The Movement,” which delves into this idea that Fiya presents. “I lost a lot but I’m still moving…I get it all angles, just said a prayer for all of my angels, I came prepared for all of the danger.”Fiya is your average Cambridge dude, the only difference is, this isn’t the university Cambridge that you’re used to. This is Cambridge, raw, uncut, and unedited, and with fluent delivery, knocking beats, and witty/well-crafted lyrics. King Fiya urges us to take a listen.
Check out the title track and music video for “Money Dreaming” below and make sure you take the time to check out the project in its entirety. Be on the look out for King Fiya to continue to push the border of Cambridge further into Boston and hopefully the rest of the world.
