Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Gabriel Teodros, host of EARLY on KEXP, is "Exodus (feat. Akua Naru)" by Jesse Markin, a 2021 single on VILD.
Born in Liberia and raised in the 100% white Finnish town of Viljakkala, singer/songwriter Jesse Markin turned to music to find himself. His 2019 debut album, Folk, landed him the "Newcomer of the Year" and the "Critics’ Choice" awards at the Emma Gala (the Finnish equivalent of The Grammys). (And, last fall, he participated in Finland's own version of the TV show Dancing with the Stars, where he placed seventh!)
His follow-up full-length, NOIR, will be out June 11th; he's shared a few singles from the release already, including today's Song of the Day, which finds Markin teaming up with American rapper Akua Naru. "Before, I was scared to even reach out to certain artists to see if we can work together," he told American Songwriter. "Now though, the internet has made me feel like we’re on the same level, in a sense. I can reach out to anyone.”
