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Top Hip Hop Music Blog & Promotion

KiDD Crash hit hard with his hyper-trap earworm, Fuck with Some Bitches ft Res YaxX

Posted on 6 January 2025

KIDD Crash’s seminal alt-rap track, ‘Fuck with Some Bitches’, featuring Res YaxX, obliterates genre boundaries. This high-octane track from the 2024 LP Partycrasher strikes like a sonic wrecking ball, merging hyper-trap tempos, polyphonic production, and silky vocal lines that tether the chaos. In a frenetic mix teetering on the edge of over-facing, the melody pulls through like a lifeline, steering listeners through the trippy, neon-lit, 8-bit-adjacent soundscape.

Hailing from Cleveland but shaped by Toronto, Ohio, and Florida influences, KIDD Crash (Jamelle Lillard) proves he’s no ordinary upstart. Armed with an honours degree in music production and a grind-hardened work ethic honed since his 2015 debut, Crash fuses raw ambition with the technical chops to rival his idols—Drake, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, and J Cole.

His dedication has seen him crossing borders to film music videos in Negril and Toronto, yet his roots in Sanford, Florida, remain grounded. Having first recorded music in his stepfather’s home studio at age 10 and cut his teeth on an upright bass in his high school orchestra, Crash’s sonic evolution has been a lifetime in the making.

With its acerbic wit and blistering conviction, Fuck with Some Bitches doesn’t just slap; it commands attention. As we step into 2025, KIDD Crash may still be hustling for his chart-topping breakthrough as a criminally underrated artist, but if he keeps on producing hits in the same vein as Fuck with Some Bitches, justice will soon be served.

Fuck with Some Bitches is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alvin Dudley’s Alt RnB single, ‘Separate’, is a blaze of heavy emotional artillery

Posted on 28 December 2024

Alvin Dudley’s new single, Separate, wastes no time establishing a cinematically melancholic tone from the first throbbing beat within the disillusion-slick intro before the trap beat arrives beneath his harmonised bars, which keep one foot in the trap arena and the other firmly in RnB territory.

The way the melodies ebb, flow, and swell around his charged-with-emotive-artillery vocals as he lays it all on the line sweeps you into the centre of a heartbreak vignette. When the vibrato in his voice is introduced, prepare for the emotional weight to bear down, as he plaintively reflects on how the past became the present and obliterated a shared future.

Released by Soulstorm Music, Separate digs deep into the regret of being at fault and the sorrow of a relationship on the brink. Written at a time when the Chicago-based artist felt lost and directionless, it resonates with anyone who has yearned for the unreachable.

Alvin Dudley has been turning heads since his debut in 2019 by blending emotion with immersive sounds, and Separate stands as the epitome of sonic raw emotion. With this single and a forthcoming EP, he’s set to prove why he has every chance of becoming one of the biggest R&B hip-hop innovators in 2025.

Separate dropped on December 19th; stream the single on all major platforms, including SoundCloud, Spotify and Apple Music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Manchester beatmaker Mankub broke the mould with his unbroken wave of immersion, ‘Fly in the Ointment’

Posted on 24 December 2024
Fly In The Ointment (GOTM062) by Mankub

Manchester-based beatsmith Mankub broke the mould with his bold decision to release ‘Fly in the Ointment’ as a single 30-minute track rather than chopping his mix into separate cuts. It’s an ingenious move to keep the album format alive, providing an unbroken wave of immersion for hip-hop fans craving a continuous flow of classic boom-bap, breakbeat, and lo-fi edges. Every sample and beat is meticulously placed to weave a narrative through echoes of hip-hop’s golden era, letting the vibes steer the momentum of this instrumental LP, which was put out by Gold on The Mixer Records, and is now available on cassette and digital download.

Compiled from fresh material and unreleased beats, it merges skits, loops, and fragments of gritty vocal samples to form a loose concept that resonates with cinematic force. Strings, piano, guitar, and jazz motifs drift alongside hard-hitting drums, illustrating Mankub’s skill for building sound constructions that land somewhere between laid-back downtempo and era-defining breakbeats.

Every progression is a revelation—be it a deep, resonant bassline or a mellow section of lo-fi bliss—the release is all hits and no misses.

Fly in the Ointment was officially released on November 18; stream and purchase the single on Bandcamp now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

DAlcon threaded the resolve of resilience through his latest alt-hip-hop track, Keep Going

Posted on 22 December 2024

DAlcon, the London-based rapper who split his upbringing between the UK and Spain, isn’t waiting for permission to redefine expectations. After capturing headlines in May 2022 by setting a Guinness World Record for the Longest Rap Marathon (39 hours, 37 minutes, and 45 seconds) and drawing attention from outlets like the BBC and Sky News, he now turns adversity into artistry. Health struggles, home eviction, and mental conflict only sharpened his resolve, pushing him to blend natural ambience with hip-hop to form his own authentic signature.

His latest single, Keep Going, plays out as a collaboration with the raw textures of nature rather than another industry-dominating name. There’s almost a sliver of Crazy Town’s Butterfly threaded through the soundscape and a whisper of Linkin Park’s lyrical potency woven in, but don’t expect a simple homage. DAlcon channels these influences to deliver an anarchic twist of future-focused ingenuity. Amidst an era when so many wear victimhood like a safety net, his lyrical grit calls listeners to account, reminding them that self-responsibility trumps complacency.

Each note surges with resilience, each lyric challenges the culture of blame. The emotive orchestration consoles while the words ignite. It’s a bold testament to the idea that no matter how scorched the earth, new seeds can grow if you choose not to surrender.

Stream the official music video for Keep Going on YouTube now, or go further in your support for DAlcon by purchasing the single on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

GiNN 諸葛靖 Darkened the Sphere of EDM Hip-Hop with His Seductively Entrancing Hit, Dizzy

Posted on 20 December 2024

One hit of Dizzy— GiNN 諸葛靖’s biggest single to date, which has racked up over 141k Spotify streams—slams you straight into a dark intersection between EDM & Hip-Hop.

Fans of both genres have had no trouble clocking the ingenuity behind this dark, reverberant, pulse-commandeering anthem that drags you into rhythmic submission.  GiNN’s bars become a magnetic focal point in the track as they wrestle the thick, pulsative progressions into line, a feat few could pull off without buckling under their own ambition.

Every progression is a juggernaut, hell-bent on stomping its influence onto the dancefloor and sinking into your synapses. It’s seductive but never salacious. Instead, it’s powered by the raw magnetism of GiNN’s enigmatic presence.

As a Los Angeles-born, Chinese American starving artist who grew up drifting between East and West, GiNN 諸葛靖 channels House, Techno, DNB, and ATL influences into his own Electro Hop blueprint. The lyrics may be indecipherable at times, but who cares when the vibe slaps this hard?

Stream Dizzy on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

RNA KayGii is a conduit of cosmic charisma in his debut hip-hop hit, Boost Mine

Posted on 17 December 2024

RNA KayGii’s debut single ‘Boost Mine’ arrives with a vibe-driven aesthetic that feels more like a surreal sonic habitat than a standard hip-hop cut. Picture André 3000’s charisma colliding with the experimental impulses of J Dilla and RZA, and you’re halfway there. Metric precision in the beats holds it all together, while the lush, wavy textures seem to hover in a trippy, almost cosmic dimension.

The metaphysical imagery threading through the psychedelic motifs creates an unusual sense of intimacy as the track redefines the contours of the contemporary urban love song. The artist wastes no time pulling you deeper into the soundscape, with words that seem to drift through your psyche, stripping away defences to lay bare the emotional core. It’s less about grandeur and more about the raw nerve endings of feeling, all underscored by soulful grooves that swing between grit and silk.

‘Boost Mine’ doesn’t pander to the predictable. In under a few minutes, RNA KayGii proves that even a debut can possess a distinct edge, one that can expand horizons without ever feeling contrived. It’s a track that sets an unmistakable tone, letting you know this artist has something different to say—and the skill to say it.

Boost Mine hit the airwaves on November 28; stream the single on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

TEX entranced the airwaves with the lush lo-fi ambience in ‘Wolves on Pike Street’

Posted on 16 December 2024
TEX by TEX

Wolves on Pike Street by TEX allows lush lo-fi trip-hop ambience to place you in a sonic clearing where birds call amid syncopated beats, their gentle presence woven through ripples of reverb. There’s a natural stillness at the core, yet the pulsing rhythms lure you into a trance-like focus, making you feel every subtle shift in tone.

Just before the track settles into calm, sermon-like indietronica vocals rise. These hushed tones arrive before fresh scintillation refracts through the melody, dousing the arrangement in subtle luminescence. Vibes, soul, and euphony form the triadic pillars, supporting what almost feels like an extension of the universe itself.

Hailing from Cape Town, Johnny Tex—born in 1985—the family man who cherishes his own solitude, experiments with colour and sound alike, crafting music purely out of love, hoping to inspire at least one other soul to reach for creative release. Safe to say he succeeded in his mission with Wolves on Pike Street which constructs a sonic sanctuary for the rhythmic pulses.

Stream and purchase Wolves on Pike Street via Bandcamp now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Hard-Edged Synths Collide with Wit-Sharp Bars in Pretty Blicky’s Alt-Trap Speaker Slammer, RUN (v2)

Posted on 15 December 2024

RUN (v2) by Pretty Blicky (AKA Kami the Wolfboy) hammers through the streets with trap beats that bounce like rubber bullets against concrete walls. The track’s 00s hip-hop grit and warped, discordant synths charge each verse with a dark momentum that’s already rattling the mainstream, proved by tens of thousands of streams and its transformation from an urban underground secret into a speaker-slamming stormer.

Pretty Blicky, sometimes operating as the child-friendly persona Kami the Wolfboy, has carved a distinct space in a less diverse musical climate by blending humour, intellect, and genuine compassion. From highlighting socioeconomic and political issues with unapologetic authenticity to experimenting across multiple genres—culminating in what he dubs “Grunge Trap”—he refuses to be pigeonholed.

‘RUN (v2)’ sits next to tracks like JOYBOY—an upbeat pop and rap hybrid that disguises heartbreak beneath brighter tones—and SORRY NOT SORRY (#SORRYNOTSORRY), a viral sensation with over half a million YouTube views, revered for its sharp commentary and lyrical chops.

Beyond streaming figures, Pretty Blicky’s philanthropic acts, such as sending thousands of dollars to those in need while working at Chipotle, and earning verification on CashApp, amplify the authenticity that resonates through every bar.

With ‘RUN (v2)’, Pretty Blicky forced new fault lines through stale terrain, giving fans of trap something raw, resonant and hyped to the max to get psyched with.

Stream the official music video for RUN (v2) on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

LR – Red Dress: Hip-Hop From the Streets Into the Soul

Posted on 14 December 2024

The single ‘Red Dress’ from LR’s EP, It’s Late, locks you into a smooth, seductive groove with its Latin-tinged guitars after a wavy, trappy R&B intro which gives way to LR’s arresting cadence that hypnotises you into his marked with metric precision verses.

As the complete epitome of vocal charisma, the up-and-coming rapper ticks all the right boxes in this multi-dimensional, progressively exhilarating hit that radiates with so much more than lust; it’s a celebration of beauty that will make you question the perception filter you view the world through.

LR veers away from any sense of pretence and taps straight into the soul with his expertly stitched bars that give you a sense of the Bronx grit that has shaped the artist’s conviction. Rather than merely imitating the revered rappers he grew up listening to—those whose names still echo through New York streets—he channels their raw honesty into his own reflections. Influences from the likes of Aaliyah and Missy Elliot shape his fluid approach to melody and harmony, resulting in a style that refuses to settle into any one corner of hip-hop.

Red Dress is now available via Apple Music and Spotify with the rest of LR’s It’s Late EP, which dropped on December 2nd.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Naakz broke beats and through the monotony of sonic hegemony in ‘Turn Around’

Posted on 11 December 2024

With Turn Around, the concluding single from his sophomore LP, Reparations, the icon of the underground Naakz detonated the obsession with convention in contemporary hip-hop.

The Māori artist, steeped in the philosophy of his iwi heritage, cast the first stone in the resistance against the sonic hegemony with his break-beat-driven production which sinks listeners into an introspective headspace where wavy lines of funk ripple into the chaotic shimmer of avant-garde psychedelia. The glossy luxe aesthetic is bent almost beyond recognition, leaving a warped yet magnetic invitation to question the systems we’re complicit in.

Rooted in experimental abstraction, Naakz’s work resonates with the influence of legends like D’Angelo and MF DOOM while channelling the beat-smith genius of Madlib and J Dilla and leaving room for his own sonic blueprint, which is amplified by the raw pulse of his SP404MK2, or as he calls it, his “Decolonisation Device.” If you want to break away from the mediocraty of the modern music industry, hit play.

Stream the Reparations LP in full on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast