Representative Albums: "Leave It All Behind," "Connected"
Biography
Representative of how the Internet can aid in creating music, the Foreign Exchange started when Little Brother rapper Phonte heard a beat on Okayplayer.com by Dutch producer Nicolay and asked if he could lay some vocals over it. Nicolay agreed, and the song "Light It Up" appeared shortly after as the B-side to "Whatever You Say" off Little Brother's 2003 album, The Listening. Relying mainly on Instant Messenger and email, the duo continued to work together, with Nicolay sending beats to Phonte, who would add vocals and send them back until they had enough tracks together to form an album. Not once during the entire process of making their debut, Connected, which came out in 2004, did the members of the Foreign Exchange speak over the phone or in person. ~ Marisa Brown, All Music Guide
The pair first made contact over message boards on Okayplayer.com and began recording and sending music back and forth. Soon after, Phonte and Nicolay formed The Foreign Exchange without having ever met each other in person, hence the name The Foreign Exchange.
The album, Connected, was released in 2004 and was a showcase for Nicolay's musical talents as well as an introduction to like-minded Little Brother affiliates who guested on the album. The album received strong reviews [1] and the single, "Sincere" featuring YahZarah, was released with a promo video.
In October 2008, the group released their sophomore album Leave It All Behind.
In June 2009, the group announced that Zo! and Carlitta Durand are now official artists on The Foreign Exchange Music imprint.
