"Dreams" on Correct Me If I'm Wrong
WHO IS EKLY
Desiigner, Rae Sremmurd, Juice Wrld. These names have helped change the hip-hop game in recent years, blazing new trails and influencing the next generation of rap talent in 2022 and beyond. Kyle Spyhalsky – soon to be better known to the world as EKLY – is in no doubt about this. He recognizes the impact these artists have had on his own music and his own direction as an artist. On his debut full-length, Correct Me If I’m Wrong, these influences are all present and correct.
EKLY’s MUSICAL INFLUENCES
But what about AC/DC? And Guns N’ Roses? While certainly influential to plenty of people, these acts don’t catch name-checks from the best and brightest young talents these days, especially the hip-hop talents moving in their own direction.
Kyle does things a bit differently. For him, these bands formed the basis for his earliest musical leanings – thanks in no small part to his rock-fan parents, who made him fall in love with listening, writing and performing music in a big way. Rather than shifting gears altogether, Kyle has simply added to his musical palette, taking cues from long-haired rockers, as well as the rhymers and beatmakers who are his hip-hop peers.
HOW LONG IN THE BIZ
All of this would be interesting enough by itself, with a diverse mix of influences coming together to craft something fresh and exciting. But it’s made all the more startling by the fact that EKLY is only 16 years old.
Already, Kyle is making things happen. Releasing Demons via Soundcloud and YouTube aged only 13 was a big step for the young rapper, marking his decision to finally go public with something that had up until then he kept to himself. With so much talent and potential, it seems inevitable that EKLY would start blowing up, and he’s never looked back.
CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG
On Correct Me If I’m Wrong, EKLY has arrived. Announcing himself with orchestral fanfare on the prophetically titled Destiny, the young artist follows up with the soulful piano of Queen of Queens, continuing this conscious, considered thread with Rain Drops before Flowers kicks in with a darker tone. There’s even a glorious lighters up, soft rock finale on the album’s closer, Ballad for Juliet – something like GNR’s November Rain channeled through a kaleidoscope of other influences and ideas.
With the EKLY project, Kyle’s message is one of positivity. In his lyrics, Kyle comes across as someone wise beyond his years, taking the rulebook that’s been handed down to him by previous generations of rock and hip-hop talent, and flipping it into something new, something forward-thinking, something unmistakably his own. In Kyle’s own words, “Hearing and listening are two different things.” Make sure you’re ready to do the latter when you tune into what EKLY has to say.