In the era of SoundCloud described as “The rowdy world of raps new underground” by The New York Times, opportunities and exposure for your not-so-typical artists are more accessible now than ever. Soundcloud has created a platform for independent artists such as Kevin Pouya (Pouya) to make it big. His first official album, “Underground Underdog,” managed to snag number two on the Apple music hip-hop charts right below Drake’s album “Views” in 2016. He’s also known for his collaboration with other prominent underground rap artists such as the New Orleans group $uicideBoy$ featuring on “$outh $ide $uicide” and Florida native Ghostemane in “1000 Rounds.”

Pouya released his second album “Five Five” on March 5, 2018. This album is best listened to in entirely from track one, “Aftershock,” to track eleven, “Suicidal Thoughts in the Back of the Cadillac,” as it all ties together to paint a picture of Pouya’s struggles and successes since making it big in the rap world all while boasting major pride for his hometown of Miami, Florida. In the song in which the album was titled, “Five Five” Pouya displays his developed lyricism and beats described as “classic boom-bap hip-hop beats from the golden era of 90s’ rap” produced by Mikey the Magician. In addition to showing off his lyricism, he makes statements about contemporary rap with lines like “Rappers been mumbling, talking about nothing” and “They got the kids stumbling off the xannies.” All of Pouya’s discography, spanning from his beginnings to his latest album, is available free to stream on SoundCloud.