SINGAPORE's top hip-hop act Alyph is known for being frank and honest with his work, and his latest single Heat bares his soul to the maximum.
Heat comes hot on the heels of Check, his popular first single of the year which he released to critical acclaim in February.
STUNNING HEIGHTS
"Heat blazes right into my daily life. If Check took note of my circumstances, Heat analyses the head of a man whose hip-hop pursuit has raised him to stunning heights," said Alyph at the launch of Heat in Universal Music Malaysia, Jalan Professor Khoo Kay Kim, Petaling Jaya recently.
"Yet, even at the top, things can slow down. Heat reveals that standing still is not necessarily a bad thing — it is how we continue our movements ahead, and storing away energy until it is needed the most."
BEING DORMANT
Alyph, 33, describes Heat as an anthem about looking for energy after being dormant for a while.
"It talks directly about an everyday thing — every single time I want to head to work, or do something, I need to be motivated, to feel pumped for the day.\
"While the song's title may suggest something explosive, Heat simmers and glides like a sports car surveying an unfamiliar environment.
"And that means, every day presents something new for all of us — I need to bring the heat, but I must do it with purpose."
ROOKIE ENERGY
Heat's catchy chorus which goes, "God is testing, mentally tripped, the body has tripped but I switch, and get a grip" shows that Alyph takes every challenge positively and sees it as God's test.
"Whenever I am exhausted, I must train myself to switch my energy back up for the next move.
"This energy comes from maintaining the drive and hunger I started with — I call it my rookie energy — even as I continue to perform at the top of my game."
TOO COMFORTABLE
Alyph does not believe in "proving himself" to anyone.
"What is important for me is not getting too comfortable because there is always something more that I want to achieve for myself.
"There is more that I can contribute to the music industry, more stories to tell and more people to reach out to.
"I have no specific goal to achieve, apart from growing bigger and better with time."
THREE STUDIO ALBUMS
Alyph or Alif Abdullah has been making music since he was 17.
From 2005 to 2015 he was the lead singer of SleeQ which he formed with his cousin Syarifullah.
He has three studio albums to his credit namely 6560 Part 1 (2015), 6560 Part 2 (2016) and DETAIL (2018).
MEMORABLE COLLABORATIONS
The prolific artiste"s fingerprints are all over Singaporean and Malaysian hip-hop and pop music — be it in chart-dominating SleeQ, or production credits under the moniker Magic Potions for popular artistes such as Andi Bernadee, Ismail Izzani, Kaka Azraff, and Elizabeth Tan.
Alyph also has had memorable collaborations with Malaysian hip-hop powerhouses such as Joe Flizzow, K-Clique and SonaOne.
COSMETICS ENTREPRENEUR
"Heat has a stylish and matching video to go with it, directed by Nadirah Zakariya. It is pretty popular and I hope it will garner more views than the last one for Swipe."
Last year, Alyph came up with Swipe featuring cosmetics entrepreneur Datuk Seri Hasmiza Othman or Datuk Seri Vida. Its music video has had nine million views on YouTube and 7.9 million streams on Spotify.
Alyph is also working on a new solo album with a dozen songs and it is expected to be ready by next year.
