the eye

Audible ‘Breakthrough’ Alum Sasha McVeigh Delivers A Swaggering Rendition Of ‘Black Label’ On ‘The Eye’

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Audible has something great going on with its new series, Breakthrough. Breakthrough takes the popular idea of a singing competition show and brings it to the audio-only format for the first time ever, letting artists’ voices and personalities shine brighter than anything else. The two-part finale debuted recently, so if you’re only just hearing about Breakthrough, you can go binge the whole thing now. (Read our introduction to the series before you do that, though.)

The audio-series featured five contestants, among them being Sasha McVeigh, a British singer who moved to Nashville to break into the country music industry. About a week after her Breakthrough season wrapped up, she dropped her first single since the show, “Black Label.” Furthermore, she’s just performed it for The Eye.

The Eye is our performance series in which up-and-coming artists take to an intimate studio space to deliver a rendition of a song in one take, with just one camera and one microphone. For her turn in the studio, McVeigh gave a charismatic performance of her country-rock stomper, in which she’s feeling self-assured about her backroad-friendly lifestyle.

The track starts, “Got an SUV, circa ’96 / My guy’s in the shotgun ’cause he don’t drive stick / Not trying to get hitched: I drive one / Not trying to get rich, but I get it done.” McVeigh delivers those lines and subsequent ones with a swagger and confidence that make it easy to see why she was given a shot on Breakthrough.

Watch McVeigh’s The Eye performance of “Black Label” above.

Phony Ppl Are Masters Of Funk And Soul With Their Performances On ‘The Eye’

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The Eye features music’s premiere rising artist in a stripped-down studio space to deliver renditions of their finest songs with just one camera, one microphone, and one take. The latest group to bask in the spotlight is Phony Ppl, a Brooklyn band that you probably know better than you think.

The five-piece group combines sounds of hip-hop, R&B, soul, and more, and they’ve been doing that for over a decade now. Their biggest chart success came in 2015 with the release of the album Yesterday’s Tomorrow, which found its way onto the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart. Months later, they made their television debut by backing Fetty Wap for his Jimmy Kimmel Live! performance of “Trap Queen” and “My Way.”

More recently, they turned some ears in their direction with the 2020 single “Fkn Around,” a fun and funky tune that boasts a feature from Megan Thee Stallion. (They previously debuted the song together in Meg’s 2019 Tiny Desk Concert performance.) Also in 2020, the group linked up with Joey Badass for “On My Sh*t.”

These days, Phony Ppl is fresh off the release of their latest album, Euphonyus from November 2022. Also these days, they recently graced The Eye with a trio of performances.

The group sounds tight on “Why iii Love The Moon,” a jazzy and vibrant cut that comes with a simple but thought-provoking message: “That’s why I love the moon / Every night it’s there for you / It’s constant / Unlike these human beings / Who lie about what it seems to be.”

Beyond that, they also delivered the funky “Nowhere But Up” and, of course, “Fkn Around.” They didn’t get Meg to join them in the studio for this rendition, but even without her, the song’s smooth and infectious energy holds up tremendously well.

Watch Phony Ppl perform “Why iii Love The Moon,” “Fkn Around,” and “Nowhere But Up” for The Eye above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Ogi Flexes Supreme Vocal Ability With Stripped-Back Performances On ‘The Eye’

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The Eye features music’s finest rising artist in a stripped-down studio environment to deliver renditions of their best songs with just one camera, one microphone, and one take. The latest to give it a shot is Ogi, a Chicago-born Nigerian-American singer who was pursuing a career in law just a few years ago before she blew up on social media.

For Ogi, it started by sharing covers on Instagram and it was her rendition of PJ Morton’s “Alright” that set everything in motion: Morton heard the cover and shared it, producer No ID saw that, and he signed Ogi to his Def Jam imprint ARTium in 2021. Earlier this year, she released her debut EP, the well-received Monologues.

Now, she brings three songs from that effort — “Envy,” “Bitter,” and “Follow Me” — to The Eye.

For all three tunes, Ogi is accompanied by just an electric guitarist and that’s really all the backing she needed. The minimal accompaniment really gives her room to vocally flex, which she’s more than capable of doing. While talented vocalists can fall into the trap of trying to do too much to show off their pipes, Ogi is subtle when she needs to be and powerful when the moment calls for it, making it easy to see what No ID saw in her.

As for what Ogi has on the horizon, in an August interview, she told Uproxx, “I’d like to release some more music, for sure. I just want to travel, I want to go to different places through tours and shows, just to see where I am. One thing that I regret from college is never studying abroad, and I feel like this is my moment to go wherever I want — or I guess wherever people want me. So I guess that means I just gotta work hard.”

Watch Ogi perform “Envy,” “Bitter,” and “Follow Me” for The Eye above.

Kevin Gates Delivers A Simple And Vulnerable Performance Of ‘Bad For Me’ On ‘The Eye’

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The Eye usually features up-and-coming artists taking to a minimal studio space for a one-shot, black-and-white performance of discography highlights, with just a single microphone and camera capturing the rendition. That’s mostly true for the latest installment, but this time, performing is somebody we’ve already known well for years now: Kevin Gates.

The Louisiana rapper has been at it for well over a decade, with his first brush with mainstream success coming in 2013 via the Stranger Than Fiction mixtape, his first release to land on the Billboard 200. A few years after that, in 2016, he dropped his debut album, Islah, which managed a peak all the way up at No. 2. The 2019 follow-up I’m Him also fared well, topping out at No. 4. Most recently, his third album, June’s Khaza (which we named one of our most-anticipated rap albums of the summer), was the rapper’s third straight top-10 LP. (A couple mixtapes, 2017’s By Any Means 2 and 2018’s Luca Brasi 3, also both peaked at No. 4.)

So, Gates comes into his new performance for The Eye with a wealth of experience and success by his side. With the instrumental backing him, Gates goes hard for two minutes, sometimes spitting quick-paced verses and sometimes delivering some tender singing.

On the vulnerable track, a single from Khaza, he sings of a woman he loves, for better or worse. Lyrics include, “No one loves you like I will / Feel like Yung Bleu ’cause you mines still / Baby, tell me what the fuck they know ’bout our love / Our love is a fire inside and it’s burnin’ forever.”

Watch Gates perform “Bad For Me” for The Eye above.

Kevin Gates is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Sabrina Claudio Turns In A Tranquil But Powerful Rendition Of ‘Better Version’ On ‘The Eye’

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In The Eye, music’s best up-and-coming artists take to an intimate and minimal studio space to perform highlights from their discography, with only one microphone and one take. This time, in the studio is Sabrina Claudio, one of the most intriguing rising stars in R&B.

The Miami-based singer-songwriter got her start, as many do, on SoundCloud, uploading songs there, generating attention, and working her way up. The hustle eventually landed her a label deal with Atlantic and she’s made good on it so far by staying busier than most of her peers: Between albums, EPs, and mixtapes, Claudio has put out a whopping six releases since 2017, with three of those being albums. The future is looking bright, too: In addition to another album, Based On A Feeling, set to drop on May 6, she also earned the favor of The Weeknd, who granted her an opening slot on his upcoming After Hours tour.

Before all that, though, Claudio has taken to The Eye for a performance of her latest single, “Better Version.” As is often the case with The Eye performances, Claudio goes for a more stripped-down arrangement of the song here, which makes it feel more like a tranquil ballad than the original. The minimal instrumentation gives Claudio’s voice plenty of room to breathe, which, when you’re blessed with as much vocal talent and beauty as Claudio, is never a bad thing.

Claudio previously told Paper of the song, “This song stems from the perspective of someone who’s in a relationship with a person who is internally toxic, they choose to remain in this relationship because of those once in a blue moon glimpses of who their partner has the potential to be. It feels like this person is in a relationship with two completely different people and doesn’t want to leave either of them at the risk of losing them both.”

While a studio rendition like this shows off what Claudio is like as a performer, it’s not the same as getting on stage in front of a crowd. However, we know she thrives in that setting, too: Uproxx’s Caitlin White saw her live in 2019 and noted, “Silky, effortless voices like Claudio’s don’t come around that often, so when they do, seeing a performer like her live is the way to go.”

Watch Claudio perform “Better Version” for The Eye above.

Sabrina Claudio is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Mahalia Strips ‘Whatever Simon Says’ To Its Lovely Core With An Acoustic Performance On ‘The Eye’

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The Eye features music’s best rising artists in a minimal studio space to perform renditions of their top songs with only one camera, one microphone, and one take. Featured on the latest installment is Mahalia, who in many ways has already risen.

Mahalia is a familiar figure in the R&B scene thanks to her two albums, 2016’s Diary Of Me and 2019’s Love And Compromise. The latter fared well on the charts, as it was top-30 in the her native UK and came close to topping the R&B chart over there, too, with a peak at No. 4. She’s made some powerful friends in recent years, as she’s collaborated with people like Rico Nasty, Burna Boy, and Ella Mai. One of Mahalia’s collaborations even landed her her first Grammy nomination in 2021, as Jacob Collier’s “All I Need” featuring Mahalia and Ty Dolla Sign was up for Best R&B Performance.

Now, Mahalia has earned a different sort of honor: performing on The Eye. For her performance, she busted out the recent single “Whatever Simon Says,” which she just released last week. Here, she strips away the lush R&B production of the studio version in favor of an acoustic guitar-led rendition. The new aesthetic works well here, which is a testament to both the quality of the songwriting and the beauty of Mahalia’s vocals in a more minimal context.

When Mahalia shared the song last week, she explained its background on Instagram, writing, “there’s only one thing i have to talk about today. and that’s individuality. uniqueness is beautiful. it’s a superpower, in fact. ‘Whatever Simon Says’ is my gift to all of you reading this who are over ppl telling you what to do .. how to speak .. how to look. It’s for all of you who are no longer compromising your happiness for the benefit of somebody else.”

Watch Mahalia perform “Whatever Simon Says” for The Eye above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

IV JAY Brings Her Silk-Smooth Vocals To A Special Medley For ‘The Eye’

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The Eye features music’s finest rising artist in a stripped-down studio performance space to deliver renditions of their best songs with just one camera, one microphone, and one take. The latest to step up to the plate is R&B singer IV JAY, who combined a couple highlights from her discography into one medley.

JAY, who is also a trained dancer, first developed her interest in music upon hearing some beats from her producer uncle. Then, she got herself a keyboard and used to power of social media to help fuel her ascent. She’s approaching 400,000 Instagram followers now, and between the start of her account and today, her covers have helped her gain a lot of traction. A 2018 cover of Billie Eilish’s “When The Party’s Over,” for example, has hundreds of thousands of views and one like from Eilish herself.

She managed to generate so much buzz for herself online that she found a label home with Atlantic Records starting in March 2018. In late 2020, she dropped her debut album, 5th Element, which includes a feature from Don Toliver. She has followed that up this year with some more new songs, including a Pink Sweat$ collaboration, “Vibrate.”

Speaking of “Vibrate,” that’s one of the songs JAY performed on The Eye. Instead of giving it a standalone rendition, she combined it with “Tweakin’” (a collab with Luh Kel from his 2019 album Mixed Emotions) for a minimalist medley, on which she is accompanied by just a piano. Really, though, she could have taken the tracks on a capella, as her vocals have a smoothness, comfort, and warmth that would still sound world-class if she was singing the phone book.

Watch IV JAY perform “Vibrate / Tweakin’” for The Eye above.

IV JAY is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Masked Wolf Shows Off His Verbal Dexterity With Performances On ‘The Eye’

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In The Eye, music’s most intriguing up-and-coming artists take to an intimate and sparse studio space to perform their best songs with just one microphone and one take. Next up is somebody whose music you’ve almost certainly heard before: Masked Wolf.

The Greek-Australian rapper is best known for “Astronaut In The Ocean,” which he originally released in the summer of 2019 and which saw some success in Australia at the time. The track blew up on a global scale, though, when it started gaining traction on TikTok in late 2020 and was subsequently re-released by Masked Wolf’s new label, Elektra, in January of this year. The track was more than a passing fad: In TikTok’s recently shared slew of year-end data, it was revealed that the song was the platform’s most popular track of 2021 worldwide, beating out hits by artists like The Kid Laroi, Megan Thee Stallion, and Cardi B. Furthermore, it ended up rising to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Since “Astronaut In The Ocean” took off, Masked Wolf has been able to leverage the success into some big-time collaborations: His recently released singles include the X Ambassadors-featuring “Razor’s Edge” and the Bebe Rexha collaboration “It’s You, Not Me (Sabotage).”

Now, he finds himself in The Eye. While most artists in this setting tend to strip down their songs to the core elements, Masked Wolf instead kept the full instrumentation intact for “Astronaut In The Ocean,” which, as the original song does, allowed the rapper to flex his verbal dexterity with his rhythmic and often rapid-fire lines.

He took the same approach for the other two songs he performed, “Pandemonium” and “Paper Planes,” a couple of album tracks from Astronomical, which was just released back in September. While “Pandemonium” has a swaggering and aggressive tone, “Paper Planes” is a more vulnerable and less in-your-face tune in which Masked Wolf gets candid about his struggles with depression. All in all, the three performances show that the rapper is capable of more than just his one massive hit.

In an interview with The Eye, Masked Wolf explained why he thinks his debut single “Speed Racer” was a “breakout” moment for him and how it led to “Astronaut In The Ocean,” saying, “It was really where I found a way to describe what I’m talking about in a song, have an actual storyline of what I wanted to speak about. The most important part was the listeners being able to grab that, not about me just writing it. And then from that, ‘Astronaut In The Ocean’ came, and that’s when I started writing and rapping at the mic with a story and imagery.”

Watch Masked Wolf perform “Astronaut In The Ocean,” “Pandemonium,” and “Paper Planes” for The Eye above.

Masked Wolf is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.