You might know Safe from “Now,” his collab with Eric Dingus, or maybe from his work with the original Sweeterman Ram Riddlz. As he prepares for his debut live performance, the 18-year-old Toronto rapper just dropped his debut project on Soundcloud.
Stay Down is an eight song EP, filled with lush synths, booming 808 subs, and a surprisingly fluid melodic vocal, that alternates between divine falsetto and shredded autotune. From the cinematic piano intro on “Eternity” to the club-ready, uptempo cut “Nuh Time,” Stay Down helps us unravel what Safe is all about, without showing his hand too much.
There’s been much speculation on whether or not the 878 Dreamteam affiliate is on OVO Sound’s radar, based on Instagram snaps with Drake and Oliver El-Khatib. In a recent interview with DMNDR, Safe noted that it’s not a professional relationship yet. “Yeah I’m not signed with them or anything...it’s just a family thing,” he explains.
There may be no official OVO affiliation here, but it’s definitely well within the moody and melodic lane paved by PARTYNEXTDOOR. It’ll be interesting to see if Drake tries to scoop up the young vocalist for a deal. Until then, this is a promising piece of work from one of the city’s rising stars.
“I created the whole EP with the goal to show people how diverse my songs can be and to create a different vibe from every song,” Safe told The Fader. “Just know this is just the beginning of more music to come in the near future."
Listen to Stay Down below. You can catch Safe performing live for the first time ever in Toronto at the Mod Club on December 12th, alongside Eric Dingus and unnamed special guests.
