Nicolay busted on to the US scene with Phonte of Little Brother, and they released their album “Connected” under the name Foreign Exchange in 2004. A native of Holland, Nicolay had to launch his production work over seas to get it into the hands of American MCs that would compliment his beats. Linking with Phonte through the message boards at The Roots own Okayplayer.com, the two were an automatic unit, and let loose on their release with a fury that turned heads.

Fast forward to last year, Nicolay had linked up with Houston resident Kay, once again through the Okayplayer message boards. Kay had been busy in Houston rhyming in groups Example and, more recently, The Foundation.

After linking up, Nicolay and Kay entered a period of intense one-upsmanship, Postal Service-style: Nicolay would send beat after beat, each different then the last beat. In turn, Kay created rhymes and flows that were each different than his previous ones. What’s emerged from this tug of war is “Timeline”, an album that has a clear ebb and flow, and a complete conceptual feel. Tracks are all over the map, from feel-good, R&B hook-laden tracks, to funky Dilla-esque neo-soul ones, to broken beats with live instrumentation… As for lyrics, they’re on point and on track, which is quite impressive, considering the press release claims that Kay is prone to improvising in the studio. Overall, this is that rare, excellent find — a solid album throughout, worthy of all the praise it receives.

Learn more about Nicolay and Kay at www.nicolaymusic.com or on myspace.

Better yet, download their album sampler here. Goodness guaranteed.

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