Powfu

Originally from Mission, British Columbia, Isaiah Faber, known as Powfu, began developing in the mid-2010s an artistic identity as a rapper and singer that sits between lo-fi hip-hop, emo rap and indie pop, first released online from a very domestic setting. Marked by a family environment already connected to mainstream rock through his father, a member of the band Faber Drive, Powfu released a series of self-produced songs and EPs, including the some boring, love stories series, which established a style of half-spoken, half-sung vocals, slow rhythms and sounds akin to lo-fi playlists. His trajectory scaled up with the track death bed (coffee for your head), built around a sample of beabadoobee’s Coffee; its massive circulation on social networks led to a reissue in 2020 and the EP Poems of the Past that same year. Powfu’s lyrics address romantic relationships, doubt and the passage into adulthood directly, over stripped-back instrumentals that mix melancholic pads and acoustic touches. Firmly established on the digital scenes of melodic rap and lo-fi, Powfu went on to release singles and collaborations, notably the track snowflakes with Alec Benjamin and Sarcastic Sounds in 2021, while consolidating a regular presence on streaming platforms and social media.