Niontay: Steady Having His Way
Get Familiar
Niontay is a Florida by-way-of Milwaukee rapper bringing a uniquely diverse brand of music to the underground, which fittingly mirrors his eclectic state-to-state come-up, wide array of tasteful influences, and continued presence within skate culture. Tay’s tracks carry a nonchalant and laid-back vibe, all while remaining content-heavy with witty bars seasoned throughout – a feat that few can replicate. It’s this rare cocktail of sonics that has helped him pave his own lane of artistry and aided him in accruing an exciting buzz surrounding the success of his recent project, Dontay’s Inferno.
First Glance
I was first put on to Niontay a while back at an impromptu performance at the storefront of The Good Company – a music community staple located on the LES. The experience was extremely intimate as we were all packed shoulder-to-shoulder, bargaining for room on the narrow sidewalk. We listened to Navy Blue and MIKE perform amongst us through overpowering speakers that shook all of Allen Street. Amidst MIKE’s set, we were introduced to “Tay” who humbly emerged from the crowd with an ear-to-ear smile across his face. Niontay’s presence and energy were immediately infectious, and at that moment, it clicked for me and many of those around me that he has something special.
Diamond In The Rough
Since then, it’s been amazing to witness Tay develop from release to release as he grows into his own. I was particularly hooked with his track, “Gospel Music” off his debut project, Blood Diamond, which was entirely produced by the talented SUIQE. The track, alongside the entire project, consumed my listening history for the better half of the past year and some change and for good reason. His charisma shines through his tracks, particularly in this one where he painfully and intimately reflects on the reality of, “not profiting off the shit we design” and trying not to fall into the perpetual cycle that his vices often warrant for others. Tay toes a line of honesty within his lyrics that few artists are brave enough to touch, he’s candid about his flaws, and it’s earnest tracks like this that make his more up-tempo tracks hit harder. The intentionality behind the song’s juxtaposition of going from praising Jesus to Tay disclosing his antisocial day in the life is clever and wrapped perfectly within a high-tempo jazzy instrumental. Additionally, I’d be remiss not to mention his track, Runaway off the aforementioned project. Tay cleverly goes bar for bar with the sampled production, weaving his narration between and through the sample. The record’s consistency is more than worth a listen and only further reveals his range and prolific resume that’s only now being unearthed by the industry and fans!
The Recipe
Niontay’s delivery across his discography is meticulously nonchalant, almost embodying what cursive may sound like, as he effortlessly glides from shoot-the-shit punchlines to pinpoint social commentary – a jolting juxtaposition that shouldn’t work on paper but does for Tay. It’s this tasteful balance that really encapsulates the beautiful synergy of his diverse experiences and influences, from his hand in skate culture to being surrounded by the talented roster of 10k artists and their culture-pushing movement. Tay does this all while curating diverse instrumentals ranging from low-end heavy samples – dipped in Gross Beat – to high-tempo Florida-influenced beats where his raps duck under and between head-knocking side-chained kicks and synth stabs. Niontay is on a hot streak, and it’s time his unreplicable artistry gets the recognition it deserves.
Escaping The Inferno
A lot of artists in Niontay’s shoes fear the infamous curse of the sophomore project that often dooms the artists who choose to replicate the songs that have previously struck a chord with the audience, but this just simply would never be the case for Niontay. The release of his most recent project, Dontay’s Inferno, was a statement underlining his versatility and his confidence to explore niche soundscapes, and the traction he’s garnered as a result of the project is a testament to that. The project journeys from thoughtful lamenting about his day-to-day to braggadocious bars that all seem to be delivered with a confident smirk. Tay presents his personality throughout his delivery, inflections, and diverse beat selections. His song, THANK ALLAH is one of my favorite tracks off the project, and it’s really a perfect example of showing how deep his bag really is. Every single bar throughout the track is memorable and worth highlighting. Tay quickly pivots from playfully pointing out, “ain’t no way we got the same god, cause he made y’all,” to critiquing society’s inconsistent perception of what is and what isn’t when remarking, “[those] pimpin ain't too far off from politicians,” It’s this honest insight and versatility within his raps that have really endeared me to Tay’s work and even his commentary beyond his musical output. The project as a whole is nothing short of stellar, and I highly recommend everyone give it a listen or two.
Having a Hand In Everything, Everywhere, & All at Once
Recently, Niontay’s presence has been everywhere – almost ubiquitous across the New York City music scene. He began the year trekking the nation alongside MIKE on his successful Ipari Park Tour – which I was fortunate enough to witness, placed features on budding releases like his recent verse on NYC legend Wiki’s tape, Papiseed Vol. 1, and booked his upcoming August show at Elsewhere in Brooklyn alongside Sideshow and El Cousteau – which I’ll be making it to by any means necessary. Tay has a lot of momentum as he approaches the summer, and I can’t wait to see what’s next for him.
Sincerely,
A genuine perspective
