Vanessa Tha Finessa shares new single "Top Notch"
Ghanaian-American rapper Vanessa Tha Finessa is back with a vibrant new single, “Top Notch,” available today at all DSPs and streaming services HERE. Her first single since last fall, “Top Notch” is just a preview of what’s to come from her EP, which is expected later this month.
“This one is so special to me,” says Vanessa Tha Finessa. “It was the first time where I felt like I could lean into the Afrobeats sound and make it my own. It’s one of my favorite songs I’ve ever done because it expanded my creative brain and how I viewed myself as an artist.”
ABOUT VANESSA THA FINESSA:
Vanessa Tha Finessa is not your typical rapper. Born and raised in Accra, Ghana, Vanessa had a unique and eye opening upbringing. As early as she can remember, hiplife (pre-contemporary Afrobeat) music was played in the home. Her uncle regularly listened to dancehall and reggae music, and she was exposed early to American pop music through TV and regular pop culture discourse. This amalgamation of sounds and genres heavily influenced her ear and later helped inform her own personal artistry.
When she was 10 years old, her family moved to Mount Vernon, NY and later to Pittsburgh, before eventually returning to New York. It was during this time in her life that she became exposed to a wider range of American hip hop and rap, specifically the burgeoning indie rap mixtape scene that included greats like Mac Miller and Wiz Khalifa.
After attending college in the states, she began a young adult stint in modeling, after being discovered by the influential casting director Sarah Benjamin. Throughout her time as a model, she covered numerous magazines including 10 Mag & WWD, and was featured in campaigns with Nike, Coach and Milk, amongst others.
Vanessa eventually moved across the country to Los Angeles, where she is currently based. It was in LA where she met her closest and most consistent collaborator, the DJ/producer Smiles Davis. It was Smiles that encouraged Vanessa to bring her witty personality and dynamic style to music, and in 2019 they recorded her first ever song “Run it” (which was later released in 2022, and featured in the TV series Flatbush Misdemeanors).
“Run it” was later followed up with the Bollywood-influenced electro rap track “Talk Tha Talk” (produced by Falcons) and freestyle “Bad Bitch Steppin’” (produced by Karats). Both tracks were accompanied by dazzling visuals shot in Los Angeles.
Already having made a bold and explosive impact on the Los Angeles music scene, Vanessa is ready to take her career to global heights and reach new audiences, just like the artists that were able to reach the speakers in her childhood home in Accra.
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