Good things come in fives. Dropping his first rough cut as a high school freshman when he was just fourteen, Matthew Borley, couldn’t have known that five years later he’d be touring Europe, playing packed-out shows in the South of France.
Initially sparked by his father during his teenage years, he was introduced to select verses from ’90s hip-hop pioneers and one of the most controversial rappers of his time, Eminem. Matthew was profoundly impacted by his connection to Hip Hop’s cutting and unapologetic persona. Being put on the likes of Eminem, while most of Em’s lyrics were PG-13 at best, his father was careful to only show his son lines that connect at a deeper level from cuts like classic “Stan”. Not satisfied with only hearing bits and pieces, viisi did what any typical adolescent would do: he snuck out an old laptop and dove deep down the hip-hop rabbit hole. Eminem led to Dr. Dre. Dr. Dre to Tupac. Tupac to Biggie. Soon enough, Matthew’s obsession provided an escape that quickly evolved and made way for viisi.
Based on the Finnish word for “five”, viisi represents past, present, and future. viisi returns to push the boundaries of what it means to be an artist in his ‘Liiminal’ series. Through his powerful and raw storytelling, his music transcends unique and universal human experiences that have shaped him as an artist and individual. With lyrical honesty and unwavering dedication to his craft, viisi is unafraid to delve into his personal experiences such as family struggles, fallouts with loved ones, career choices, failure, self-worth, and more. Writing prose with messages of life and dreams and of merit and substance, his visceral approach to the story of his evolution will surely leave fans moved and stunned.
Source Chantal Reeder/Illustrated Sounds image: SJ Spreng
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