Connected by The Foreign Exchange

Connected is the first studio album by the Foreign Exchange, a hip hop group consisting of American rapper Phonte from Little Brother and Dutch producer Nicolay. It was released on BBE on August 24, 2004.Their group name comes from how they produced their songs: Nicolay would produce a beat in the Netherlands and send the beat to Phonte through instant messaging, email, and traditional mail to lay down the vocals. Phonte would return the product, so Nicolay could then master the track; they did not meet until after the album was completed.Pitchfork placed it at number 22 on the "Top 50 Albums of 2004" list. In 2015, it was ranked at number 86 on Fact's "100 Best Indie Hip-Hop Records of All Time" list.