Just in time for DONDA season, Haitian-Canadian hip hop artist City Fidelia is serving up an anthem for every creative chasing their dreams. Inspired by Ye’s classic debut, The College Dropout, The Ottawa-native’s new single “College Dropout” is a universal theme song for hustlers who are carving their destiny on their own terms. Swapping paper degrees for stacks of paper, City Fidelia is levelling up and redefining failures as successes.
The first single off of his upcoming debut album Painkiller, “College Dropout” is a sinewy trap banger that, quite literally, shouts its manifesto from the rooftops. With a heavy-hitting Khamali Jordan-produced beat and an even more powerful message, “College Dropout” serves an important reminder: there isn’t one correct roadmap to success. “When I dropped out of school I thought I was a failure. Looking back now I realized class for me was everywhere. I learnt from drug dealers working corners in the streets to single mothers finding ways to make ends meet,” City Fidelia details in a press release. “They taught me as much as my professors did when I was studying and working late in the library completing assignments. My life experiences define me, not a degree.”
An ode to every graduate of the school of hardknocks, “College Dropout” reminds us that success isn’t found in the opinions of others, but deep within. In addition to the new single, City Fidelia has also launched the accompanying College Dropout Grant to provide financial assistance for BIPOC youth looking to go back to school or start their own business venture. City Fidelia is leading the way in chasing his dreams and investing back into his community, encouraging us to realize the dream regardless of the opinions of others.
