Browsing Tag

Alternative Hip Hop

Sample-soul hip-hop gets cerebrally mischievous on tea with friends’ ‘what’s mine is yours’

Posted on 29 August 2026

Bars as hypnotic as the melodiously cadenced verses of pure lyrical wit in what’s mine is yours by UK rapper tea with friends are tragically hard to come by, but this mischievous hit more than makes up for the shortfall.

Returning older, wiser and clearly still amused by the absurdity of it all, lyricist and producer T. Trueman brings his eponymous comeback LP into focus with a track that lets fans of frayed-at-the-edges, soulful-at-the-core hip-hop find a cornucopia of tongue-in-cheek mantras.

Following a hiatus that allowed his cerebral muscles to stretch further around even juicier metaphors, tea with friends sounds gloriously awake inside the architecture of sample-based production. Old-school soul vocals heighten the celestial vision of the arrangement, while the spoken-word verses lock you in, feeding you enough imagery to construct a whirling dervish of feverish charm.

There is jazz-infused warmth in the production, nodding to the past while blundering blindly into the future with the grin of someone watching a house of cards wobble in the breeze and deciding to enjoy the spectacle anyway. Having once moved through Edinburgh’s club scene, shared stages with Skitz, DJ Hype and Nicky Blackmarket, recorded for BBC Radio One and earned Channel 4 Talent recognition, Trueman carries history without sounding trapped by it.

what’s mine is yours is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Waxed-raw bars cut across Weezer-coded guitars in Marcus Christ’s alt-rap single, ‘You Hate Me, I Hate You’

Posted on 17 August 2026

Emo must have felt a sharp shock of transgression when LA rapper Marcus Christ dropped his latest single, You Hate Me, I Hate You. Known for street-rooted storytelling and bars that arrive waxed raw, Christ dragged his rap identity into a snarling alt-rock frame, turning emotional fallout into a bruisingly bratty hit charged with volatility and serious replay appeal.

The LA luminary may predominantly move through hip-hop, but You Hate Me, I Hate You carries enough bouncing, offbeat rhythm to make Weezer fans perk up for all the wrong, brilliant reasons. His synthesis of trap, 90s melodic rock and pop-punk lands with a Machiavellian sense of damage, hyping up meticulously metric bars that ricochet through the arrangement like a row with the bedroom door kicked open.

In that collision, Marcus Christ delivers one of the stickiest earworms in alt-rap we have heard. His ear for a bitingly infectious cadence feels perceptibly sharper than ever, especially as the hook captures the shifting tides of passion once love has locked us in, then burned our naked vulnerability.

Hit play; it is better than your ex living rent-free in your head.

You Hate Me, I Hate You is now available on all major streaming platforms, including YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

AWAKECONTRA Turned Lost&Found into Alt Trap for the Digitally Haunted

Posted on 31 July 2026

The fever-dream-esque atmosphere of AWAKECONTRA’s latest single, Lost&Found, feels as essential as the confessional emotivity of the lyrics. As the words pour into the warp of cloud rap and 8-bit-adjacent alt trap, the wavy aesthetics that swathe the instrumentals in hazy soft hues begin to depict the psychology of AWAKECONTRA with the same force as his bars.

The production moves with woozy precision, letting polyphonic keys flicker through the mix while the 808s rattle beneath the vocal phrasing. His cadence never fights the beat; it drifts, snaps, sinks and resurfaces, turning the track into a lucid transmission from the edge of emotional overload. There is a diaristic intimacy to the writing, but the delivery keeps the record from collapsing into self-pity, allowing the vulnerability to feel strangely and stylistically addictive.

To regard Lost&Found as a trippy feat of experimentation would be an insult to the ingenuity of the release. It’s a call from inside the void. It allows you to drift into a psyche that delivers more spectacles than a twisted carnival, while still retaining enough hook-driven gravity for underground playlists and late-night algorithmic obsession.

AWAKECONTRA may keep their cards close to their chest in terms of identity, but through this discography, you will discover more about him than a biography can ever relay. Keep the enigma on your radar.

Lost&Found is now available to stream on all major platforms, including SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sams Beatz – Blue Lights: Hip-Pop Cinema for Anyone Outrunning Their Demons

Posted on 29 July 2026

As the ultimate renegade of genre fusion and beyond-contemporary crystalline production, Sams Beatz makes every feat in his discography feel like a cinematic session in pure emotion-driven scintillation. His synaesthesia-dripping mash-up of 90s pop, trap and ahead-of-the-curve hip-hop, Blue Lights, is hauntingly evocative, with every production choice sharpened until the atmosphere feels nocturnally metropolitan and psychologically scarred.

Under all of the modernistic touches and luxe urban aura of the release, the central narrative of feeling lost, alienated and dogged by insecurity and inadequacy remains sharp. The beat never overpowers the confession; instead, it gives the pain somewhere stylishly lit to breathe. The low-end lands with velvet pressure, the melodic details glimmer through the mix, and the vocal treatment gives the track its disembodied, late-night transmission of intimate spiralling.

After years of producing, collaborating and contributing to the Norwegian music scene, Sams Beatz has returned with a self-contained creative vision, writing, composing, arranging, producing, mixing and mastering his own releases. His custom digital voice operates like an instrument inside the wider emotional architecture, giving Blue Lights its distinctive identity.

For everyone who knows how it feels to try and outrun the devil and inner demons, Blue Lights is salvation in the form of communally acknowledged pain, a testament to the fact that suffering is no anomaly in the human experience.

Blue Lights is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lost at Sea’s Blood Debt Is Baroque Hip-Hop with the Resolution of Shakespearean Street Theatre

Posted on 12 July 2026

https://on.soundcloud.com/0oUDdNVW4po2RSNEcU

Lost at Sea storms across classical strings in their latest artfully flourished drop, Blood Debt. The Atlanta artist has always carried the weight of introspection through hip-hop and melodic rap, but here, the emotional excavation is dressed in orchestral grandeur, giving reflections on environment, loss, identity and rebuilding the kind of scale usually reserved for theatre.

The symphonically baroque score creates the perfect platform for the trailblazer as they wax lyrical across bass-heavy neo-classical instrumentals, using every chameleonic shift in vocal delivery to amplify the impact of the lyrical poetry. If Shakespeare could throw down in a rap battle, Lost at Sea, with their street-level histrionics, would give him a run for his money.

Blood Debt tears through decades of hip-hop convention like a paper screen placed in front of pure volition. The track makes grandeur feel elemental and revolutionary, allowing every string swell, bass hit and vocal pivot to land with cinematic consequence. Lost at Sea’s songwriting often lands like a journal entry scorched by experience, but there is purpose in the pain here, the sound of someone facing themself while still moving forward.

Blood Debt is now available to stream on all major platforms, including SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Psychedelic Hip-Hop Fusion Became Summer-Ready Tranquillity in TC-EP’s ‘Taking’ ft. TenTac

Posted on 26 June 2026

Zimbabwe-born, Essex-raised hip-hop fusionist TC-EP’s aura is an arsenal of charisma, magnetism and pure soul. His latest single, Taking, created in collaboration with TenTac, gives you the sense that even if he was giving you directions to the train station, you would still be hypnotised by his presence. Pair that with instrumentals that lull you out of lucidity as they oscillate into transcendence, and the result is multi-sensory immersivity.

His bars become a mantra through the steady, psychedelic electronica track. Lyrically, Taking stands as a motivational hip-hop release, but without drippings of excess or angsty energy; TC-EP takes a laid-back, almost spiritual approach, lending the summer-ready hit a sense of tranquillity. The production feels sun-stretched and body-warm, letting TenTac’s contribution fold into the atmosphere with enough subtlety to keep the focus on the track’s meditative pull. Everything lands with effortless, humid assurance.

TC-EP writes as an artist shaped by African diaspora perspective, hip-hop foundations and a hunger to test new sonic routes without losing emotional clarity. Taking feels like an expression of someone recording their short time on earth with presence, patience and rare composure.

Taking is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

DEPRESSION by BULLYY GREY Refined Raw Self-Exposure Through A Cinematically Candid Dream Trap Spiral of Truth

Posted on 20 May 2026

BULLYY GREY captured the thickness of the malaise of depression with DEPRESSION, his latest heart-on-sleeve hit of melodic trap. From the prelude of tentatively delicate guitar strings resounding in an ethereal atmosphere, the single refuses to pull any punches as BULLYY GREY lays it all on the line and exposes the raw reality of depression.

The inertia demands that you remain in stasis under the black cloud, while the dreams you once held start to feel too heavy to carry adds to the weight of the track; DEPRESSION understands that state with bruising precision, letting its cinematically ambient indie dream-trap production open up like a room where the air has become difficult to breathe. Each switch-up serves to expose another raw nerve as BULLYY GREY attempts to find the light away from the swamp of sinking self-esteem.

There are contours of cloud rap through the curves of the production, yet the independent artist refuses to land cleanly in one given territory. He stays in his own lane by exploring the wider urban spectrum, pulling melodic vulnerability, trap pressure, ambient haze, and raw confession into a single emotionally loaded transmission.

DEPRESSION is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Interview: AntwanWonka Opened a Sugar-Rushed Trap Portal into Sobriety, Stage Nerves and Underground Permanence for antwan_nawtna

Posted on 20 May 2026

antwan_nawtna made an iconic return to A&R Factory with AntwanWonka, a surprise 4/20 EP that drips with candy-coated trap surrealism, cloud-rap looseness, 8-bit colour, and the kind of strange imagination that feels ripped from a Wonka tunnel after midnight. In this interview, he reflects on how Mango Flavoured Lips came together through dreamy beats, sticky-sweet memories, and city nights while opening up about the calmer headspace that separates this release from the darker circus-world of his previous album. He also speaks with raw honesty about his first live show, creative burnout, sobriety, underground promotion, future mixtape plans with Marek, possible collaborations, and the hard-earned certainty that his flag is planted for good.

Welcome back to A&R Factory, antwan_nawtna, it’s brilliant to have you here again, especially after AntwanWonka landed as a surprise 4/20 EP and pushed your universe into even stranger, sugar-rushed territory.

I just wanna start off by saying hello and thank you again for this opportunity, I truly do appreciate it.

A surprise 4/20 release already feels very on-brand for the playful eccentricity around your music. What made that date feel right for the EP, and how long had you been sitting on the idea before you dropped it?

It’s funny that you said it feels on-brand because Noble (my go to mixer) had said the same thing when we were discussing the effects & ideas for the other tracks, that each track sounded spot on for a 4/20 release date.

Everything kinda just happened fast when it came to the EP. Honestly, it was around the end of March going into April when everything started coming to fruition, so I wasn’t sitting on the idea that long. I had written Mango Flavoured Lips in a day, recorded it the next day and sent it out to get mixed; in-between that I was writing the other tracks as well, so everything was getting done day by day pretty much. I was gonna just release MFL as a single & then do the same with the other tracks, but it had been awhile since my last major drop (August 2025), so I figured just make an EP and drop it randomly.

What made the 4/20 date feel right was just the sound and vibes behind each track honestly. Each track just sounded dreamy and had this Wonka/Rainbow Road typa feel behind it; it just sounded 4/20 coded. From the start of the project you can just hear that “high” like sound on the EP. From Kirby Cup all the way to Dreamin, that sound is there from the jump; so, naturally 4/20 was hella more fitting in my eyes to release the project. To be honest, I don’t think it would have that same “magic” if I had released it on a regular Friday or any other day for that matter; again, that “Wonka World magic” just made what the EP is, and it just fit with the 4/20 vibe is… just dreamy and pure imagination.

Shoutout to Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory for helping create this project; loved that movie since I was a kid.

Since our last interview, you’ve gone from the dark carnivalesque world of Cirque du Ghoul/Antwan’s Circus into this dreamier, trappier, more psychedelic AntwanWonka zone. What changed in your headspace between those two projects?

I think what changed this time around with this project is I just feel happy honestly, like my headspace is more clean and clear and everything was just flowing naturally. I also didn’t put too much pressure on myself this time around, like how I did with the album. When I was making Cirque du Ghoul/Antwan’s Circus, I was still navigating the whole sobriety stuff, was still trying to get my head and mindset right (which almost felt like an eternity, but it got done) was putting tremendous pressure on myself to “get better” and to just make that album fucking perfect; so there was just alot going on when it came to that album, whereas making AntwanWonka, I just felt very calm and relaxed; I wasn’t in my head too much, I wasn’t doubting myself, I wasn’t overthinking each track, I just wasn’t a big mess this time around, I’ll put it like that lmaoo. This time around everything just felt right and I was capitalizing on the moment basically; from the music itself to how I as a person was feeling too; again, everything felt right, so I was just taking advantage of the moment before it slipped away and I couldn’t recreate that feeling again. If you go back and listen to Cirque du Ghoul/Antwan’s Circus and then AntwanWonka you’ll definitely hear that huge difference in my headspace, no ifs ands or buts about it.

Mango Flavoured Lips feels like this 8-bit sugar rush with a woozy late-night glow running through it. What helped shape its surreal, game-lit atmosphere?

That’s such a sick description for Mango Flavoured Lips, hell yea man. There’s a few things that helped shape this track to become what you hear. The first and most important thing is what I was listening to when making this track; I was just listening to a lot of Thaiboy Digital, ThouxanbanFauni, dedwrite, and LUCKI; like those artist were just on heavy rotation when making the track and as well as the whole EP just because of the whole dream like cloud like rap essence in the music.

Another thing that helped shaped the track was just looking back to my 2021-2023 days, when it was just bar hopping, drinking like crazy, endless substances, and so on; just going through old photos and videos, that way I can pull any ideas from whatever I had saw/did and make a song out of that. Mean also, I was going out as of recently and just being back in that space was somewhat interesting again; I had wrote some ideas in my notes and was saving them for new music, so somewhat of what you hear is coming from those little experiences; all that can be applied to the whole AntwanWonka project as well, not just to the track alone.

Also, I had based it off this one girl I can’t even lie lmfaooo. The beat off the bat is just hella dreamy, and when I look at this girl, it’s like looking at walking dream itself, you see where I’m goin here? She got like these different flavored lip glosses (Mango my favorite, as you can see) so, I figured why not make a track around it and name it after that flavor, plus it also has that antwan flavor to it, so it all just worked out real well in the end I gotta say.

Feels like I just rambled on, so to sum up the track, the idea just came from ‘Wonka

Nights”, endless music on replay, and a girl. SHOUT-OUT MAREK for the beat man!

The title AntwanWonka instantly suggests candy, distortion, imagination, and something a bit unhinged. What does that world represent for you creatively?

Shit, honestly it’s a love/hate relationship with that world truthfully; well because for starters I feel like there’s just endless ideas…. and that’s the thing, just endless ideas brewing 24/7, so I do my best to write everything into my notes or a notebook before I lose out on what could be a great song/project. It can become very tiring at times too because I think I try too hard to make these ideas very jaw-droppin, very out this world, while trying to make it realistic as possible and I just end up getting burnt out, and everything just spirals out from there; that’s why I write every idea down & organize them for future drops. It’s ironic cuz I just said I try too hard, and on the track Joe Montana I drop the line “I don’t even try hard”, I don’t know that’s kinda funny I guess.

Now the good thing about that world is the endless ideas that just always brew up constantly; now I know in the beginning it had sounded like I hated that, but as I mentioned from the jump as well, it’s a love/hate relationship. The constant ideas flowing around is such a blessing honestly because that just means nothing is ever a drought in my world; there’s music ideas that just need to get out and it’s my job as the artist to jot them down and make something out of em- mean shit, even if it ain’t mind-blowin or chart climbin, as long as that idea was brought to life that’s all that really matters to me man, just bringing the music to life. It also means ENDLESS creativity, no limits, no censorship- basically no holds barred, just doing what I feel like doing while also still keeping it real and personal like how I always envisioned it.

Also, it means making something people can escape to when life feels draining, just wanna feel up, or something relatable; my world got everything for everyone, I just don’t make the music for me, I try my best to throw some relatable in the music & if there’s a few that can relate to certain tracks or lyrics that’s fucking cool man, kinda brings me joy.

You’ve always had a knack for making hip-hop feel theatrical, strange, and emotionally raw. How do you decide when a song needs to lean into humour, darkness, softness, or full-on left-field energy?

Well there’s not really too many factors behind it; it all depends on how I’m feeling, how the beat is sounding, or what music I’ve been indulging in. With this EP I was just in a good headspace as I stated earlier, so it was nothing but pure good energy vibes, whereas with the album I was all over the place and that’s what you hear; it had the up-beat/go hard tracks in the beginning, then had the sad clown energy towards the end of it.

WordsFromCircusClown/2Hearts, Drugs Make The Circus Go Round/R.I.P A 2, and Shadow Gang x Ghoul Boyz, are prime examples of that sad clown energy I just mentioned- those two tracks I was just opening up more on real life experiences & was just feeling depressed at the time, so I just had to capitalize on that moment and the final product of that is what you hear.

Kirby Cup, Left Right Left Right, Club Space, PLUS ULTRA, Oh Man, and Heavy Metal Chain (PLUS ULTRA 2) are examples of when I was in a good headspace and everything was just flowing at the right moment; I was just living live as the rockstar I was born to be; again, just had to capitalize on that energy before it was lost.

Dreamin, Joe Montana, and December Silver Chains are tracks when I’m just laid back and coasting honestly, I feel like Snoopy chilling on top of his dog house. I can sit here and say “it was the right moment and had to capitalize”, but I think the reader is already getting the point and knows where I’m gonna go with this.

It all circles back to what I said at the start, it all depends on how I’m feeling and how that beat is sounding; mean imagine Mango Flavoured Lips lyrics on the 2Hearts beat, it’d be somewhat wonky and just wouldn’t work well lmaoo. Also, another somewhat big factor that I didn’t mention yet is like if I been outside hanging out in the city- it plays a small part because that’s where some big ideas stem from.

You played your first show back in March. What was going through your head before you stepped on stage, and what did that performance teach you about your music?

A lot of emotions where just going through my head that day; during rehearsal it somewhat hit me a bit that this is actually happening, but not too much because the crowd wasn’t there yet, so I was calm; once they started to pile in one by one, I think that’s when the nerves started to creep in slowly, but I still wasn’t fazed; everything hit me all at once soon as Marek started performing, like “ah shit this is really fucking happening”. As soon as I stepped on to perform I was a nervous wreck I won’t lie, but I think as soon as the beat dropped from PLUS ULTRA I was in control of all those emotions. It was definitely a fun experience tho and I think for the next show I got a better lockdown and strategy on to calm the nervous before stepping on the stage.

That first performance just taught me that my music has had a lot of growth over the years; usually I play my own music when I’m at home or doing errands or whatever and I didn’t really hear it as much, but hearing everything live and over those loud speakers was honestly just ear-opening; I went home that night and re-listened to my whole discography again and I was just a little blown away by that growth. I mean shit, listening to AntwanWonka over and over again right now, I can hear it clear as day now, and that’s somewhat a win in my eyes, again, just hearing that growth is rewarding.

Looking back at everything since our first interview, what feels different about antwan_nawtna now, creatively, personally, or even in the way you move around the underground scene?

Truthfully, everything feels the same if I’m being honest, but the one thing that changed would just be my headspace honestly. I know I’ve mentioned that a bunch of times during this interview, but it’s the one thing that’s honestly been making a difference right now from what I can see and I’m just tryna enjoy that as much as I can before something happens and I’m back in the dumps feeling like that sound clown again & I just spiral out of control.

Creatively everything is still the same, I just write in my notes and go with the flow. I don’t try too hard to make a track, I just write the hook and take it from there; maybe throw on a movie, a show, or some wrestling PPV’S and see what inspo I can draw from either option. Also just doing wordsearches still when I feel like I’m getting writer’s-block, something to clear my mind; some meditation here and there when I feel like I overworked myself.

Moving around in the underground scene I still feel like I got a lot of work to do; I’m doing what I can to promote each track and each project, it’s just I gotta have more consistency with it because I start off good and then I just slowly fall back from it, and I’m not sure why. My main goal is just to post as many TikToks or Instagram Reels to make that mark in that scene, mean fuck man, they don’t even have to be Chirstopher Nolan level videos, as long as I post to get the people’s attention, that’s the main goal when it comes to this, and especially when trying to move in that Underground scene.

As far as the personal question goes, I really don’t have a complete answer for that; I’m still navigating & doing what I can to achieve personal goals when it comes to the music, but to answer that, I’ll just say, I want to have as much music out, just wanna up the numbers in my discography, and just continue to grow as an artist each project.

After AntwanWonka, your first show, and the new attention around the EP, what are you planning next, more releases, more shows, collaborations, or another strange new world entirely?

I’m currently working on the next project and it’s either gonna be a mixtape or the 2nd album, I’m just not sure which I’m leaning towards yet; maybe a few more singles and then I’ll just take everything from there. I’ll be real though, it’ll probably be the mixtape route because right now I’m working with rapper/producer Marek right now, he producedMango Flavoured Lips and the new single I dropped called Frisco Fitted (which is out now by the way, be sure to stream), so if I do the mixtape it’ll be exclusively produced by him.

I do wanna do another album no doubt about that, it’s just personally I feel I have to have something in the middle before I drop that 2nd album, so again, mixtapes, EP’s and just singles before that comes to light; also just wanna make sure me and the team are on the same page when it comes to production and ideas.

I’m always up for a collaboration with whoever, working with more artists is on my list fasho, whether it be someone from Chicago, or California, the only thing I would say is as long as we are on the same page , I really don’t care who it is. A collab project with my homie Vizzy is on the list, probably a lil EP or some just to pass the time, but right now just finding the right beats and then it’s time to rock n roll man.

I do wanna do a Cali typa style project, but that one is gonna take some time because I feel I have to go back out there for a few months or some just so I can capture that vibe and essence to a tee; I’m sure ohei8ht would be down to produce since we had talked about a collab project since 2015, so that is also on my list.

Another show is something I really wanna do again; when and where? That’s to be determined as of right now, but maybe something in the city on a weekend, shit maybe in the summer; I would have the same lineup from the first show tho, just maybe add like two more artists, but like I said, it’s to be determined as of right now.

There’s just a lot of things I wanna do this year as an artist, but I’m just gonna take my time and not rush anything; the main thing tho is just releasing music for the love of the game and making sure my headspace is in good health.

I’m just gonna keep doing what I’m doing; if people not down with that, then that’s tuff man. I’ve been doing this shit since I was 14, feel like I’ve been in the game for awhile and now I’m just starting to get somewhat of the recognition, that’s cool and all, and I’m grateful for that, but I just wanna say I’ve been kicked the door in, fixed it, and kicked it in again; what I’m saying is I’m here, flag is planted and I ain’t goin nowhere man. I built this from the ground up, a lot of blood sweat and tears was put into this, a lot of sleepless nights, lots of highs and lots of lows, etc etc; so I’ll be damned if I stop now; like I said, the flag is planted and I’m here to stay.

My bad if that sounded too aggressive or like I was mad, I can assure you I’m not; it’s just when it comes to the music, I just get real passionate about it.

Thank you once again for this wonderful opportunity, it’s always a pleasure working with the A&R Team.

Thank you!

–

Stream AntwanWonka on all major platforms, including Spotify, now

Interview by Amelia Vandergast

Ju-Lion The Voice Delivered Secular Gospel and a Mortality Reality Check in the Seminal Hip-Hop Sermon, ‘After You’re Gone’

Posted on 25 April 2026

Ju-Lion The Voice threaded a conceptual current through his latest run of releases, and it all culminates in the versatile vibe check of After You’re Gone. Lock into the lyrics, and you’ll be left sobered as this tour de force of rap gives your mortality a reality check, putting everything in perspective instead of charging forward on empty motivation. Reaching out to remind us of the value in building a legacy through the perspective of an interconnected soul, he turns reflection into something communal.

After You’re Gone is secular gospel at its most cutting; Ju-Lion The Voice blazes through his bars with a grounded sense of conviction, letting the deep reverberance in his timbre and the infectious cadence slam more weight into a track that unravels as a mantra of mindfulness. By constantly mixing up his flow, blurring the lines between old-school and contemporary hip-hop, and setting a new high bar in lyrical wisdom, it’s impossible not to hear the potential in his voice.

There are shades of Kendrick Lamar in the introspection, J. Cole in the plainspoken weight of the message, and a touch of Nipsey Hussle in the legacy-minded focus.

The single lands as the closing statement in his In the Deepend series, a trilogy rooted in hard-won insight and the search for peace. Brooklyn-born and now based in Georgia, Ju-Lion has spent over a decade honing his voice, earning recognition from industry figures, editorial platforms, podcasts and playlists while building on his own terms. Whatever he does next, we’re as invested as the bros are in crypto.

After You’re Gone is now available to stream on all major platforms, including SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Malak Shalom Interview: A Lyrical Gunslinger Balancing Counterculture Truth and Cross-Genre Firepower

Posted on 8 March 2026

Few artists treat hip-hop as both a spiritual pulpit and a political loudspeaker quite like Malak Shalom. In this A&R Factory interview, the Texas-born rapper reflects on the influences that shaped his worldview, from the lyricism of Black Star and Nas to the unexpected pull of metal guitars and Christian rock. Our conversation moves through the gritty persistence required to keep creating while feeling overlooked, the genre-fluid philosophy behind tracks such as Belly Jelly, and the cinematic cowboy mythology that fuels his Hip-Hop Wrangler persona. Shalom also unpacks the political motivations behind The Undocumented Alienz and explains how alternate identities such as Shavirus allow him to express different facets of his voice. The result is a candid discussion about faith, protest, storytelling, and the restless creative mindset driving his music forward.

Great to have you here at A&R Factory, Malak Shalom — your eclectic discography has us absolutely hooked. We’d love to start by asking about your hip-hop origin story; how did it all start?

Much gratitude. Hip-Hop has always been a counterculture or subculture for many, especially inner-city populations predominantly. For me personally it engulfed my upbringing. Music in general has surrounded me. Hip-Hop was the popular trend! Black Star showed me wordsmith ability and the depths of lyrical construction. Common gave me postive vibes and more social insight. Especially the specific song he did called “Assata.” Nas lyrical skills mixed with that New York Queens grit was a strong influence indeed. Lately I been really bumping “Promise 2 God” by Sevin. I enjoy Aviyah. I really like Aviyah’s music. So if she ever reads this, please keep creating! All praises!! So in more direction towards your question it all started with a karaoke, mic, and some tapes!

What hurdles have you had to overcome to deliver the hits that are racking up tens of thousands of streams?

Thank you for labeling them hits. Unfortunately, I dont fill the adoration and still feel like Im an overlooked ghost. Not that I desire attention. But this is a business, a purpose, and gift meant for the masses. A gift is meant to be given. And numbers do determine success to a large degree in this industry. I still feel like I haven’t yet conquered the hurdle of getting the right exposure to help push the brand further. But hey, all it takes is one well positioned person to see the vision and help get things in real motion. The main hurdle i circumvented is the motivation and discipline to keep going. Keep creating through it all. That hurdle I believe I trounced.

You’ve built a reputation for pulling myriads of genres into your sound without ever losing your core identity. When you think back on your early years, what shaped that instinct to treat genre as raw material rather than something fixed in place?

Great question! I love great questions! My saying goes: the mind is open but the path is narrow. Im a fan to all, well most, music objectively. Just like I would study any autobiography/biography with open mindedness. In order to do this one must be pensive with a solid foundation. Know how to filter information and take or borrow what you need. But your core character has to be solid to not loose what makes you you. When you walk in Truth with God all things are tools at your disposal. You have access to the knowledge and information but the wisdom oversees it all if you know what I mean. Today music in general, even Hip-Hop, is evolving to be more flexible or experimental without loosing its signature. Travis Scott was kicking something like that in his latest Rolling Stone interview. Signature sound has its place yet you dont want to be a rigid artist. Breaking the monotony is beneficial.

Where did the whiskey-soaked imagery and moody attitude of The Hip-Hop Wangler originate for you, and what personal experiences fed into its world-building?

Another good question. I was born in Texas. So a great part of me has always been fond to Cowboys. Cowboys to a good extent are a fun part of Americas history. I love western novels. I enjoy Buffalo Soldier history. Don’t get it mistaken, I absolutely pull much enjoyment from large cities and can be a real social butterfly, but its nothing like a small town and riding through the country side blasting “Hometown Girl” by Josh Turner. The Hip-Hop Wrangler came after vibing to the beat. The concept came naturally along with the sister songs that followed afterwards. “Heeler Rope” “Belly Jelly” and dont forget to check out the newest one hopefully it will come to Spotify soon, called “Whats Your Local(455).”

Your most-streamed track, Belly Jelly, brings rock licks snarling into the production in a way that felt completely natural. What’s your relationship with rock, and how did those textures become part of your sonic signature?

Oh yea im definitely a Rocker dude! Especially Christian Rock. Bands like Chevelle, Five Finger Death Punch, Bad Omens, Three days grace, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Likin Park, and Nirvana have caught my ear. Atleast a few of their songs have. Different people and different walks in my life journey have exposed me to different genres of music. We all crossed paths for a reason just like intersections and four way stop signs. Most people find it funny that for me, being a so-called African American, my favorite musical instrument is the metal guitar. I was kinda bugging out when I found out that the lead vocalist for the band Sevan Dust was a black guy with dreadlocks at the time lol As dark as he was I was even looking into Ozzy and Black Sabbath. Reading a little into his autobiography I can see what caused him to turn away from religious faith. That same point of contact discourages many. But yea, I definitely digg some rock just not the real dark demonic stuff. That type I can’t even listen to objectively due to the sound and subconscious mind, that we do have to be careful in warding. A true artist in my opinion cannot be categorized. A true artist has many layers and textures.

On the other end of the spectrum, The Undocumented Alienz satirises a brutal political reality through red hot EDM beats and post-modern lyricism. What pulled you toward tackling the US immigration system, and why through that particular sonic lens?

Such a hot topic isn’t it! I mentioned the word counterculture earlier. Artist have always been the true influences to challenge or encourage political change. Using our music as a vanguard to convey impactful messages is what its all about even in the face of controversy or criticism, and sometimes even death. Conspiracies are a real thing in many cases, and just because we use words to demonize our group people or ideas dosent change a matter of truth. And the truth is immigration is defined by the true ones that called themselves pilgrims that came with violence, false treatise, and shrewd tactics to take something in the name of settlement. Then once established as a nation you then create policies to bring back the same people you destroyed and kicked out from the surrounding countries to work in your factories and agricultural for cheap, with no legal process, to turn around and victimize them for the same thing. Almost like creating the problem then offering the solution. And obviously this is not the case indefinitely. I mean it can get deep. For me overall immigrants in this case means the indigenous. The so called white immigrants, although some isolated incidents and other labor struggles and forms of discrimination did accure to them as well, but collectively most of them did, and can, absorb easily into the white population. Automatically you naturally associate immigrants with black and brown people. So thus was the song inspired. Next question…

You work under multiple artistic identities, including your Shavirus moniker. How do those different personas help you express the full scope of what you’re trying to say as an artist and as a human being living through chaotic cultural conditions?

I know right. Good question. I fell like Christ when He turned to His disciples and basically said I am called many names but what do you call me…

Like the villian Bane on Batman Dark Knight Rises said: “It dosent matter who we are. What matters is our plan.”

Names posses meanings obviously. The persona of Shavirus is lyrical potent sickness. I desire to plague the game beyond lyrical wordsmith but with TRUTH!! And speaking of culture conditions, as gloomy as it may sound, i personally think they will be releasing a second strain of the Corona virus. Or in other words another plandemic. I know. I know sounds like another conspiracy; eitherway it has truth, cause THE SHAVIRUS iz coming soon!!!

What moments in your real life have pushed you towards this ethos of refusing sonic conformity?

Revolutionary iz in my blood and teaching. Many X Black Panthers Party members have taught me lessons and recommend literature for me to consume. Im not a rebel without a cause. For Satan himself was a rebel. Im down to conform to true justice, true liberty, and true equality with fairness. Neither am I a communist. I see the flaws in all government systems and believe they have to be living, adjustable, quick, and flexible to work for the majority of the people. And overall they must not oprress its poor or minorities. I guess its like Henry Thoreau “Civil Disobedience” or Martin with “Militant Nonviolence.” However, soon it may have to evolve into “any means necessary” by Malcolm. Even Christ stood to deliver the brokenhearted, poor, and oppressed. Not just Spiritually but it was an actual movement. A big reason why He was crucified.

Looking ahead, what emotional or cultural threads are you planning on bringing into your sound next?

More of what I been doing plus touching on more real-time affairs in the world. Im always down to mix it up a bit. Keeping it positive, introspective, political, social, and overall Spirtual. I desire to be an artist to make a song for the occasion without overly compromising. Flexible and multifaceted. Artist are storytellers and journalists news reporters. Let us bring the good news along with fun entertainment; for it is a business at the end of the day. But sometimes its the business mindset that currops uz…. Thanks for the interview.

Stream Malak Shalom on Spotify.

Connect via Facebook & TikTok.

Interview by Amelia Vandergast

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