Consisting of rapper/singer/songwriter Phonte and producer Nicolay, The Foreign Exchange came together via the online hip-hop community
Okayplayer.com in 2002. After trading files through Instant Messenger for over a year, Nicolay (living in his native Holland at the time) and
Phonte (a Raleigh, NC resident) completed their debut album before they ever met each other in person. The album, Connected, was released in
2004 to positive reviews, and was praised by legendary DJ’s such as DJ Jazzy Jeff, King Britt, and DJ Spinna for its inventive mix of hip-hop,
R&B, and electronica.
