Browsing Tag

Alternative Rap

antwan_nawtna is on Bay Area hip-hop brand with his reverb-washed alt rap release, Frisco Fitted

Posted on 10 August 2026

antwan_nawtna edged away from his signature brand of dark obscurity in his latest vibe-driven, reverb-washed alt-rap hit, Frisco Fitted. The independent rapper pulls closer to his Bay Area roots while staying loyal to his own experimental language, giving the track a sun-warped accessibility that still carries the odd glint of his stranger corners.

Painting across a wavy, warped canvas with swagger-loaded, luxe laid-back bars, antwan_nawtna exhibits his most approachable single to date. The production feels soaked in late-afternoon haze, letting the reverb stretch around his delivery while the rhythm keeps everything loose enough to cruise and sharp enough to cut. There is proper regional warmth here, the kind that nods towards Bay Area bounce while keeping his left-field identity intact.

Frisco Fitted feels like a gateway rather than a softening. It opens the door for new listeners through groove, confidence and replay value, then leaves enough shadow in the corners to guide them back into his more macabre, carnivalesque releases. The bars land with a laid-back gleam, but the atmosphere still carries that antwan_nawtna oddness, a little stylish, a little warped, a little too weird to behave.

If this accessible turn leads a wider audience into the darker rooms of his catalogue, that can only be a beautiful thing.

Frisco Fitted is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Zaya Sagittarius Brought Hyper Rap Whimsy, 808s and Underground Nerve to Hey, Mr Cloud Rap

Posted on 14 July 2026

You could explore the entire spectrum of rap and never encounter an artist as eccentrically uninhibited as Zaya Sagittarius. The proof lies in his whole discography, and especially his latest drop, Hey, Mr Cloud Rap. Formerly known as Zaya2427, the Alabama-born underground hip-hop artist has spent more than a decade building a massive catalogue across cloud rap, hyper-pop and emotional hip-hop, all while keeping his independence intact.

Cloud rap may never become the most esteemed sub-genre, but Hey, Mr Cloud Rap proves it can still hit all the right marks when the artist behind it has enough personality to make the form feel elastic. There is a slightly whimsical edge to the nerdy rap delivery as the synths lay out a cosmic atmosphere across the solid rattle of the 808s, giving the track the feeling of a bedroom transmission sent from somewhere much stranger than Earth.

The pull in Hey, Mr Cloud Rap lies in how you are exposed to an artist who is unafraid to expose his authenticity, creatively and lyrically. Operating through his self-founded label, Young Aspiring Musicians, and carrying the Sauce Dad moniker, Zaya Sagittarius has built his own lane without sanding down the eccentricities that make him memorable. If we truly value connection through music, we need to uphold experimental artists in this fearlessly posturing-free vein.

Hey, Mr Cloud Rap is now available to stream on all major platforms, including YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

‘It Was All Red’ saw Raf Jacobs crush cloud rap into bass-heavy trap

Posted on 6 January 2026

Raf Jacobs turned up the heat with It Was All Red, the seminal trap drop that proves no one brings the bass to the genre quite like him. Bass-swathed to the point of airwave-quaking distortion, the single enmeshes the aesthetics of cloud rap into a reverberant heavyweight hit that refuses to veer into anyone else’s lane. It’s pure firepower and finesse, wielded with the kind of confidence that doesn’t wait for validation.

Abrasive in all the right lyrical places, sticky-sweet in all the rest to catch you off guard, Jacobs clearly knows how to leave listeners hanging on the hook of his sonic signature. The rhythms convulse with the pressure of intent, while his voice slips between swagger and sincerity. The energy is addictive, but it’s the conviction that hits hardest.

The rising US-based hip-hop artist has already become known for weaving raw emotion into his atmospheric sound. While the lyricism cuts deep into identity, ambition, faith, and fallout, there’s never a sense of overexposure. Jacobs filters his truths through production that hits with the force of experience, not ego. His work resonates with those stuck between states, those navigating growth, silence, and the spaces where pain pushes transformation.

It Was All Red is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

NeoPagan by Hessian Renegade Shreds the Borders of Rap and Industrial

Posted on 12 September 2025

The Scottish alt-rap duo Hessian Renegade brought the firepower of Prodigy in their latest single, NeoPagan. By twisting industrial electronica around the parameters of nu metal, they proved merciless in their mission to surge adrenaline through synapses and bruise speakers with bass. Their most seminal track yet courses with visceral volition, engineered to hit as hard in the chest as it does in the psyche; if rave culture was on the brink of death in the UK, it’s all the rage now, literally.

Instead of relying on brute force alone, Hessian Renegade handed the aggression over to the synths and beats. They strobe and streak across the mix with frenetic urgency, spiralling into rhythmically infectious chaos. Over the top of this synthesised cacophony, the duo lash cheeky energy into the augmentation of instrumental collision, commanding attention with raw intent and feeding the NeoPagan hype, resulting in a rhythmically punishing, yet perversely irresistible, perfect collision of heavy sound design and sharp-witted rap.

Having already become a cult fixture in Scotland’s underground, Hessian Renegade are now primed to wreak havoc on wider hip-hop circuits. With tracks like NeoPagan, domination of the UK rap scene feels less like a prediction and more like an inevitability.

NeoPagan is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ror Materials Sparked a Lyrical Riot Against Digital Drudgery in His Waxed On House Hit, ‘Silent Mode’

Posted on 3 July 2025

Well, it’s a first for us, being given a YouTube reel to review, but that isn’t the only innovation that materialises in Ror Materials’ Silent Mode, which came to us live from a roof terrace. The future of house is here, and that future isn’t short of funk, euphoria or liberating messaging.

After the fairly archetypal female house vocals that stretch the production to the skyline, Ror Materials blazes in to wax lyrical on living in the moment instead of behind a screen. He holds few prisoners as he dissects how mindlessly numb we’ve become in our dopamine-chasing world that lives by the mantra, ‘pictures or it didn’t happen’ and has an endemic tendency to take things out of context and whip up unnecessary frenzies..

The track is pure lyrical gold, but Ror Materials never allows the lyricism to become a lecture on how to live. His cheeky charm will win the UK rap scene over and beyond. It’s an infectious hit that, for your own sake, you need on your playlists to remind yourself you don’t have to be a digital slave and submit to the melancholy of swallowing more tragedy than you can stomach.

With influences spanning The Prodigy, The Streets, Roots Manuva and Aphex Twin, Ror Materials crafts a sonic manifesto for anyone feeling caged by their phone screen, fusing breaks, alternative rap, and a taste of funk to spark a rebellion on the dancefloor.

Silent Mode is now available on all major streaming platforms; for the ultimate experience, catch the track on YouTube.
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Review by Amelia Vandergast

New Plague Radio went baroque with their folky hip hop hit, Devil Come, Devil Go

Posted on 15 January 2022

Fusion and hybrid sounds are pretty much the standard for new artists in 2022, but in a sonic shift that no one anticipated, bluegrass folk meets hip hop in New Plague Radio’s latest single, Devil Come, Devil Go.

With AJJ-style folk paired with the hypnotic structure of the rapid-fire deadpan rapped vocals, the experimental US outfit well and truly went baroque. Especially with the harmonic crooned deliverances of lyrics such as “a little dizzy all the time” (it’s not just me!!!).

After hearing their hook-filled Beastie Boys-inspired 2020 track, Methamphetamine Dance, in 2020, we were stoked to discover an artist so bold in their experimentalism. Methamphetamine Dance was the ultimate high-octane 90s-rock-tinged urban earworm, but Devil Come, Devil Go definitively proves that New Plague Radio doesn’t have authenticity at their disposal; artful gravitas is also in their arsenal. We couldn’t be more excited by the potential of New Plague Radio.

The official video for Devil Come, Devil Go is now available to stream on YouTube. Or, you can add the track to your Spotify playlists.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lofi Hip-Hop quickfire love statement from Spectacle with ”Hey I Won’t Break Your Heart”

Posted on 15 June 2020

https://soundcloud.com/arnrewroductions/hey-i-wont-break-your-heart-3/s-n5QUK5bv1Ic

In life words count but actions speak much louder. Are you simply saying things to get what you want or are you doing this for a deeper meaning?

US rapper Spectacle is back with a new song and this is a statement release from the young emcee. He is very clear here and wants his lover to know that in no way will he break their heart. These are the only lyrics in the song so he can’t be anymore clear. The beat is new school and will be popular while cranked hard and loud in cars this summer while cruising with the homies especially with that trippy ending. ”Hey I Won’t Break Your Heart” bellows from the rooftops as he states exactly how he feels. I believe him.

Ellensburg, United States in the home for Zachary Paul Wilson aka Spectacle. He loves making music especially with those that are excited about the artwork as a whole. Expect more music from this passionate emcee who is just getting started in the rap game.

Click here to listen to this emotional statement of love from this up and coming Hip Hop artist right here on his growing Soundcloud page of artwork.

For videos of this artist head right through to his YouTube page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Boston-based artist Buddha-Ty intrigues with debut single ”Middle Way”

Posted on 11 June 2020

https://soundcloud.com/buddhabladesmith/middle-way

Some artists are just wildly unknown. Their music somehow struggles to reach the cream of the crop without a big budget. I feel like this is one of those times where an emcee needs some love. Buddha-Ty is the name and he is a rapper from Boston in the USA.

”Middle Way” is the debut track from this young artist with loads of potential. His flow is consistent and he doesn’t try too hard to get his message across. Buddha-Ty has been waiting for this moment and he wades in deep here with a distorted bass bin blurry beat. He has come up from the basement with tales to tell of his new found confidence and creativity. This is a new emcee who’s flow will develop with time and it will be fascinating to see if his style changes in time. I love the beat and it has an extra electronic feel to it and this adds so much authentic energy to the debut. Freeing minds and sending his positive message is all this promising musician is after and he has succeeded without being arrogant about it.

Check out the debut from this innovative Hip Hop artist from Boston on his SoundCloud.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

ZeNith releases Rap track Diamonds ft SADI

Posted on 14 April 2020

Boston-based rap duo ZeNith has dropped their recent track ‘Diamond’ ft SADI a Rap and R&B infused single.

Pulling inspirations from Kendrick Lamar, talking about important topics to do with mental health, upbringing, love through their talent of creating meaningful lyrics as they turn it into their own style through their way of Rap. It’s a fairly short track, but you do get a taste of what they have to offer in that time, the pulsing beat that comes through the vocals as the lyrics are repeated in the background in a more distorted deep tone.

Incorporating the sound effect of a record being mixed, and the flow of the variety of sounds that intertwine into the overall rhythm of the track, the vocals are very much keeping it at that low-pitch, keeping it honest and explicit and having that fast pace to it keeping it engaging and upbeat.

If R&B is your thing and you’re looking for new music to listen to be sure to check this one out by ZeNith.

Check out ZeNith ft SADI’s recent single by heading on over to Spotify for yourself now.

Review by Karley Myall