New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The Toronto rapper Jay Whiss (Prime Boys) releases his official video for "How It Goes" via Universal Music. Filmed in Toronto and directed by Zac Facts (Wiz Khalifa,
Jessie Reyez & 6black, Tory Lanez, NAV &
Travis Scott), the video portrays the song's themes of isolation and loss through powerful, symbolic imagery.
Lyrics like "Don't know who to blame for all this fucking pain" and "Every day every night man I think of Kos / Think of Smoke, I just miss my bros / Keep ya n****s close / 'cause you never know" reflect the personal nature of "How It Goes".
"This means a lot to me," says Whiss. "I made it when a lot of pain was being driven into my life. It's sort of a renaissance record - starting over with new beginnings and taking advantage of new opportunities. With the video, I wanted to illustrate to my fans that sometimes you are the only person you can count on but believing in yourself is always the first step to greatness."
"How It Goes" is the second visual from Jay Whiss's newly released EP, Dark Cloud, his first solo music in two years. The EP's title track has been added to some of Apple
Music and Spotify's biggest playlists (including "Hip Hop Central" - Canada's most listened to urban playlist), has earned the cover of Spotify's "Northern Bars", and its video has racked up over 400K streams.
Dark Cloud features collaborations with Pro
Logic (Meek Mill, Post Malone, Lil Wayne) on "Every Night featuring Jimmy Prime and SAFE", fast-rising producer 1mind (French Montana, Swae Lee) on "Dark Cloud", and Amir Jamm (Smoke Dawg, Prime Boys) and Jaegan (Ramriddlz) team up to provide the soundscapes on "How It Goes". Guest features on the Dark Cloud EP include Toronto rapper SAFE and fellow Prime Boys member Jimmy Prime (credited with coining the Toronto nickname "The 6ix").
A Toronto native, Jay Whiss began making waves in the industry when he was featured on the 2016 debut mixtape by his long-time friend and collaborator, Multi-Platinum producer Murda Beatz. Their single "Brown Money" racked up over 300K streams on Soundcloud and led to Whiss being pegged by industry insiders and notable U.S. blogs like HotNewHipHop as one of a handful of "Toronto Artists To Watch".
Whiss's solo music ("
Watch This", "Welcome To The Life") has previously been featured on Drake's OVO Sound
Radio and last year he got nods from a wide range of noteworthy media including The FADER, VICE, Complex and Exclaim! (9/10) with the critically acclaimed release of Koba World - the 2018 album from the Prime Boys collective alongside fellow crew members Jimmy Prime and Donnie.
"The best way to get through to people nowadays is through music," says Whiss who was interviewed for Mustafa The Poet's 2019 documentary Remember Me, Toronto alongside
Drake and over a dozen other Toronto artists from different communities. "I want my music to uplift people. If you can take something away from what I've been through, then my job is done."
The Dark Cloud EP reveals Whiss's musical maturation and lyrical authenticity, serving as a prelude to his forthcoming debut album coming later this year.
