Explicit Version. Four years after the release of their critically acclaimed debut album, Connected, The Foreign Exchange are back with the highly anticipated sophomore set IN 2008 with Leave It All Behind. Consisting of singer/songwriter Phonte and producer Nicolay, The Foreign Exchange came together via the online Hip-Hop community Okayplayer.com in 2002. After collaborating and building a rapport online via 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 actually having met each other face to face.