When you’re a rap music artist at the top of your game, what comes next?
This seems to be the questionrap artist Shehyee is addressing on his latest single, “Kuntento.”
Here, Shehyee is picturing what it would be like to be content to the point of not chasing his passions. It’s part confessional and cautionary tale as Shehyee raps, "‘Yo, pa’no ba sipagin / Bruh, pwede ba ituro n’yo sa akin / Ang hirap hanapin / Gan’to ba talaga ‘pag natupad na ang iyong dalangin?’"
Shehyee’s seen success. Been there, done that, as they say. But if you listen, “Kuntento” reveals where his head is currently at.
"‘Di ko na bibilangin / Not a fan baka sabihin n’yo mahangin / Gan’to na lang, alam n’yo sa’n ako nanggaling / Kung babalikan ‘yon ay hindi na pwedeng lakarin, ey’ / Parang lyrics lang ni Thyro / Kilome-kilome-kilometro ang layo / Masaya na sana kaso / ‘Di ko gets, ‘di ko gets kung saan na’ko dadako.”
Sounds like a man currently at a crossroads, wondering what to do next.
“Appreciate what you currently have but never settle,” said the rapper when asked about the main message of his latest song.
Shehyee also wraps his thoughts in cool 80’s inspired music. “(The music on “Kuntento”) has a City Pop vibe, I want to feel (and sound) like I’m driving around the streets of Tokyo at night when I listen to it.”
Shehyee is consciously veering away from the sound of Pinoy Rap, saying “I really don’t like to sound like everybody else.”
“I mean, I don’t listen because I don’t want to unconsciously be influenced.”
Asked if there ever was a “Kuntento” moment for him, the rapper answered, “when I became a 2 division Rap Battle Champion, won an Awit Award and became a champion on all the gamer stuff I competed on.”
So, it sounds like Shehyee just needs to find that spark to keep him going. Because it’s obvious that “the thrill of competition” is what keeps him going.
That, “and maybe being the greatest Pinoy rapper in ten years’ time.”
That’s a bold declaration given that he’s been in the company of fellow heavyweight rappers.
“Nothing wrong saying that,” he says cooly, adding, “that’s ‘the secret’ – you have to say it to attract it."
Shehyee “Kuntento” coincides with his engagement to his long-time girlfriend Ann B. Mateo and the release of a new music video directed by Eric Ejercito and Jeff Centauri of Episode One productions.
“Kuntento” by Shehyee is now out on all music streaming platforms as released by Viva Records.