ESSENCE.com’s “New and Next” column spotlights the brightest new talents we think you should know. This week we meet singer/songwriter Kellylee Evans.
She’s already won a Juno (The Grammys equivalent) in her native Canada, and now jazz and soul vocalist Kellylee Evans is ready to make her American debut.
Evans has released two albums in Canada, and on her latest, I Remember When (out today), she re-imagines songs by some of her favorite rappers, including Kanye West, Eminem and Snoop Lion. Here, she performs the song “Built to Fly,” a revamp of “Big Ego’s” by Dr. Dre.
“One of the traditions of hip hop that really marked me when I was growing up was the nature of a rapper’s first entry into the market,” Evans tells ESSENCE.com.
“It generally seemed to be made with a track describing how amazing they were. The title, ‘Big Ego’s,’ while not Dr Dre’s entrance song, really had that feel to it. Dre lays down his supremacy in his chosen realm. I wanted to make a song for the rest of us, us normal, every day folks, that spoke to the superhero within.”
Watch Evans perform “Built to Fly” and let us know what you think.