Browsing Tag

8 Bit Hip Hop

Tahj McQueen broke boundaries with the bass-swathed beats and breaks in his trailblazing alt-hip-hop track, BMMY

Posted on 8 January 2024

Tahj McQueen’s seminal track, BMMY, from his eagerly awaited debut album, Bumm3P, is a striking showcase of his experimental flair and a cutting testament to his avant-garde edge which is set to carve out his legacy in the landscape of alt-hip-hop.

Between the Eastern-inspired rhythms, the 8-Bit Adjacent beats and the glitchy matrixes within the melodies, there’s an artfully pioneering propensity to BMMY, one that any fans of hip-hop which breaks boundaries will appreciate. In the midst of the instrumental chaos, McQueen keeps his flow mesmerisingly steady, allowing his bars to become the eye of a distorted storm.

Exotic yet familiar, nostalgic in the digital textures yet innovative enough to push revolutionary tides through the airwaves, McQueen’s dynamic and high-energy production is a paradox that will leave you at the edge of your proverbial seat as the exhilaration grips you.

McQueen, a young talent from Greensboro, NC, draws inspiration from experimental hip-hop and electronic music and his drumline experience. This diverse background is evident in BMMY, where the bass-heavy and flashy production reflects his bold and energetic style. Currently a student at UNCG and working alongside the 506 creative team, McQueen is not just a musician but a visionary.

Stream BMMY as part of Tahj MacQueen’s debut album, Bumm3P, via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Grab a hyper 8-bit of American drill with Slaywitme’s latest single, good guys

Posted on 27 February 2023

‘good guys’ is the latest feat of hyper 8-bit hip hop from the alt-rap artist, Slaywitme, who has had multiple viral hits since making his debut in 2020. His first single, morrigan, has racked up over three million streams on Spotify alone, and his latest collaborative hit with Dom Corleo is just as hype-worthy. Don’t take our word for it; delve into the galvanizingly polyphonic panache of the high-vibe earworm from the New York-born, American drill icon.

With the manga-esque motifs draped over the reverberatingly heavy bass lines and Slaywitme’s unfuckwithably playful bars, there’s no resisting the infectiously exhilarating propensities in this new wave trap anthem that is sure to splice even more accolades into the career of the luminary rapper.

Check out good guys on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Take a psychonautic trip with Dirt Cookie’s spacey synthwave rap hit, Word Vomit

Posted on 2 January 2023

After the success of his 2022 sophomore album, Peace in the Valley, the up-and-coming alt-hip-hop originator, Dirt Cookie, pulled a fresh antagonistically infectious earworm out of the oven with his latest single, Word Vomit.

After confessing that he doesn’t want to write about sex anymore over spacey synths and purposefully scratchy beats, the psychotropic feat of synthwave rap kicks into a melodic flow, led by his snappy rap verses that throw lyrical curveball after curveball.

There’s no anticipating the direction Dirt Cookie will take while he’s rapping through the droning synthesisers and 8-Bit style instrumentals, and that’s a major part of the experimental success of Word Vomit. The clue is kinda in the title.

As we have no idea what to expect from his next release, especially based on the indie folk hits in his sophomore album, we’re already stoked to hear it. He’s the GOAT of hip hop wildcards.

Word Vomit is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Steph Delz took urban Avant Garde to the extreme with ‘Lockjaw’

Posted on 6 September 2022

LA’s Steph Delz put the trip in trip-hop in his latest experimental track, Lockjaw; it isn’t music as we have known it before, but any fans of extreme urban Avant Garde will want to pay attention.

He’s a ghost in the machine in the hyper-warped 8-Bit production, which may be a little too out-there for most Trap fans, but the up and coming artist and producer has certainly carved himself an autonomous niche in the market; in 2022, that’s an achievement in itself.

Lockjaw was officially released on September 19th; it is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The hypersonic hip hop heavyweight, Chaz Matador, is back on his throne with ‘Bone Cage’

Posted on 5 July 2022

If you could imagine what it would sound like if Gary Numan veered into the arena of hypersonic EDM hip hop, you may get an idea of what is in store when you hit play on Chaz Matador’s latest single, Bone Cage.

The full-frontal production isn’t for the faint-hearted; the Albuquerque-born, Portland-based artist is one of the few bold enough to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. Forget giving Beastie Boys a run for their money; he challenges them to a sprint across the length of a futuristically warped stratosphere and holds them to ransom.

In his own words, he’s a “botched love spell eternally pregnant with imagination”, and his music channels perpetual dissatisfaction with nothing and everything into a mosaic of mediums typical of the attention-span obliterated millennial. We officially love him.

You can watch the official music video for Bone Cage on YouTube. Although, we’d probably advise against it if you’re epileptic. That probably goes for the soundscape itself.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

X-Man speaks for the outliers in his pioneeringly impassioned alt-hip hop single, Can’t Relate

Posted on 5 February 2022

If X-Man goes down in hip hop history as anything less than a pioneer, we haven’t done him enough justice. Immersive may be a word that gets bound around in music reviews, but there are few other ways to allude to the allure of the hooks in his recently released seminal single, Can’t Relate.

X-Man makes it easy for you to instantly find the groove in the smooth canter of the almost spoken-word rap bars that are just as magnetic as Snoop Dogg’s. When it comes to the beats, X-Man cooked up a concoction of hip hop and playfully melodic video-game-style electronica. With the harsh snares snapping against the dreamy beats, there is plenty of texture to sink into as X-Man makes being unrelatable relatable.

You can check out Can’t Relate for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast