Photo courtesy of Orienteer
“LIFES AS VIOLENT AS YOU MAKE IT” WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kmNFc1pmuI LISTEN: https://10k.ffm.to/tigrayfunk
(January 27, 2026) - Today, Tigrayan artist Sideshow announces his new album TIGRAY FUNK, out February 27th via 10k. His forthcoming full-length is a capstone body of work, representing two years spent honing his craft, delivering on the burgeoning reputation he’s quietly built as one of rap’s prominent new voices. Alongside the album’s announcement, Sideshow is also sharing TIGRAY FUNK’s lead single “LIFES AS VIOLENT AS YOU MAKE IT”, with an accompanying music video directed by Juan Nieto. The new single is a quintessential introduction to any Sideshow project: an earnest and omniscient stream of consciousness straight from his head that traverses violence, drugs and harsh realities spread over colorful production from Alexander Spit. The announcement of TIGRAY FUNK coincides with Sideshow joining Earl Sweatshirt on a run of European dates for his 3LW tour, which began on January 20th in Helsinki and concludes on February 6th in Zurich.
TIGRAY FUNK pulls no punches in Sideshow’s unflinching, poignant observations of the world around him, combining fragmented memories of terrors, heartbreak and the haunting ambition to chase the American dream into a clear-eyed document of life as he sees it. Sideshow’s harsh honesty always has purpose, whether addressing the atrocities that have affected him personally in the Tigray War in Ethiopia, or addressing the state of being a Black person in America. The album is framed by a parable that is interspersed throughout the album, telling the story of how animals became predators and prey, serving as a metaphor for Sideshow’s weathered wisdom, sharpened by his own experiences. The album features lively production from the likes of harrison (Surf Gang), Laron, Tony Seltzer, Anysia Kym, and Popstar Benny.
Having spent time between Virginia and LA in his early years after moving to the US from Tigray, Ethiopia, Sideshow’s dexterous rap style is a direct byproduct of those years spent immersing himself in American culture through movies, art, fashion and the music that was played around him. Sideshow’s career as a rapper has been colored by continued growth and honing his craft, introducing himself with two EPs in 2020 (Farley and Ginger Shot) before taking time away to refine his first full-length, 2021’s Wicked Man’s Reprise, which featured collaborators and friends like MAVI, Na-Kel Smith and Navy Blue. Several full-length projects have come in the years since, including JAM, a collaborative album made with Alexander Spit in 2023. Pitchfork praised his most recent release 2024’s F.U.N. T.O.Y., saying “There’s a thick air of inevitability in Sideshow’s work, the kind of malaise that comes from always –unfortunately– being proven right about the world.”
Check out “LIFES AS VIOLENT AS YOU MAKE IT” above, see below for more details on TIGRAY FUNK, and stay tuned for more from Sideshow coming soon. | 
EMAIL me at AlexLaurence @ AOL (dot) com "If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, inf...
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