Artist Spotlight

Artist Profile: Abiyah

AbiyahIf I had to use just one word to describe Cincinnati hip hop artist, Abiyah, it would be colorful. Colorful in clothing, personality and style. Abiyah is someone you can find out almost any night of the week at every type of show. She is extremely supportive of not only the Cincinnati music scene, but the hip hop scene across the country.

Abiyah has been writing poetry since high school, but it wasn’t until 1998 that she began a hip hop career. But hip hop wasn’t her first musical love. Abiyah fell in love with “college rock” or new wave/alternative in the early 80’s. She tuned in to radio station, 97 X. “It was super faint but I could hear it,” Abiyah says. One of her favorite shows she attended around this time was Love and Rockets in 1985 at the Jockey Club.

So how did she get turned on to hip hop? She says she was living in Corryville working as a dental claims processor, raising her son Zeke, and there were a lot of “social protest messages” happening. She started listening to rap and hip hop cassettes on her walkman while she did data entry. By 1998, Abiyah combined her love for poetry and music by reading along to beats.

Years later, with a great career under her belt, Abiyah is still going strong. This year alone she is releasing a cassingle with Evolve. The song is called “Boom” and the cassingle includes the full version as well as instrumental versions done by two different producers. Then, later this year, Abiyah will release Double UP which is a collaborative EP featuring duets with Ceschi, Open Mike Eagle, WC Tank, and Dana Hamblen among a few others. The woman doesn’t stop! Be sure to stay tuned for more info on her upcoming !

An avid rock musician and enthusiast as well as a rock history buff.

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