King Fiya

Right on the edge of the city of Boston lies a city that, more often than not, gets lumped into the same category as the city of Boston itself.

Boston, already a city within Hip Hop Culture, has not received the notoriety it deserves and sometimes overshadows the identity of a city like Cambridge that has its own identity and culture that is just as noteworthy. Rapper and Cambridge Native, King Fiya, is determined to make sure this city doesn’t get forgotten.

His debut album, Money Dreaming, serves as another staple of identity to the many diverse voices that are living just across the bridge. After some success with his first two singles, “Dour” and “All In,” Fiya gives us his first full-length project serving as a narration for the untold story of Cambridge, Massachusetts. “This album represents for Cambridge, the people who really lived there, and grew up there. Outside of the perception of just being a university town. There are people who live there that aren’t necessarily of that, yet we have to see it all the time and just wonder how we can get our own piece of the pie.”

King Fiya brings up a great point. Not only does Cambridge live, slightly, in the shadows of the city of Boston, but it is definitely a city that is having its original community hidden, by way of gentrification, by major universities like Harvard and MIT. Fiya has seen this city’s transformation time and time again over his 20+ years developing his artistic vision. Money Dreaming is an excellent testimony of that growth within the city, and within Fiya emerging as one of its premiere emcees. - Allston Pudding

As part of our wrap-up coverage for 2017, we keep the focus on another Cambridge representative in King Fiya. After receiving a positive reception to his single “Dour” earlier this year, King Fiya delivered his first full-length effort titled Money Dreaming this fall.
Digging beneath the surface level of Money Dreaming provides a clear glimpse of Fiya’s artistic principles. While financial aspirations are clearly evident, years of experience fuel Fiya’s streets-oriented perspective and his commanding mic presence/vocal tone adds authority to his story.
Tracks such as “The Movement” and “Money Dreaming” set the tone as Fiya mixes in a standard dose of drugs, money and women-centric content with noteworthy personal anecdotes touching on his own experiences coming up in Cambridge. Clocking in at just over 25 minutes, Money Dreaming proves to be both easily digestible and fully representative of what Fiya can offer to new listeners.
Between the increased energy on “All In” and standout effort “Ounces” best exemplifying the appeal of Money Dreaming, King Fiya’s hunger showcases itself over production mainly overseen by close collaborator Cartier C and the high moments definitely make it worth a listen. - Based Boston - Eric Bernsen