Konyon Ca$h

Like many aspiring musicians, Konyon Jallah AKA Konyon Ca$h started out in high school. “We were all hanging out, and always wanted to be famous, that’s how they all start,” says the affable Jallah, of his once-equally aspirational friends. “I was making some songs with them. They all already quit, but I am a committed person. They don’t rap anymore, I’m the only one that raps now.”

Walking the line between earnestness and real talk—“I spent my whole childhood in the civil war back in Liberia,” notes Jallah, who turned 19 last month—Jallah’s Vevo is full of endearingly homemade videos for each of his songs. He buys the beats and records his flows at two Gottingen Street studios, sometimes working with DJ IV. He’s currently making a full-length that he estimates will have up to 20 songs. “I’m not sure what it’s called yet,” he says, “because it’s my first album and I wanna make it great.”

In addition to tracks about cute girls and bullying, “I also make songs sending messages to people like to not give up, always follow their dreams,” says Jallah. “I’m a dancer—I also make party music too.”