Browsing Tag

Cloud Rap

Adrian Jose has delivered his prodigiously cathartic alt-hip hop EP, ‘Astronomical’.

Posted on 17 February 2021

‘Astronomical’ is the debut EP from up and coming Chicago-residing alt artist, Adrian Jose which takes contemporary hip hop to evocative new heights. Any fans of Big Sean, Kendrick Lamar and Lil Baby are going to want to pay attention to the psychedelically spacey release which is waiting to wrap you in colourful catharsis.

The 5-track release is less of an expression of emotion, and more of an invitation to find meaning and relatable resonance within the release. The first track, ‘Astronomical Freestyle’, is the perfect introduction to Adrian Jose’s celestially stinging production style. With digitally layered classical strings cutting across mellow trappy beats and under the smooth wavy rap bars, Astronomical Freestyle sets the perfect tone for the release which picks up momentum with the following tracks.

The distinction within the instrumentals is one thing; the candid ingenuity within the meta lyrics is quite another. With tracks such as ‘Rocket Ship’, you could run through them a hundred times and still be able to pick out new wordplay clever enough to shift your perceptions.

Astronomical officially released on January 22nd, 2021; it is now available to stream via Spotify.

Follow Adrian Jose via Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mookie helps us ‘Through it All’ with his deeply compassionate pop trap single.

Posted on 14 February 2021
https://soundcloud.com/alexmookie/through-it-all

Up and coming artist, Mookie, started out as an EDM producer, but if his latest pop trap single ‘Through it All’ is anything to go by, it would have been criminal to carry on leaving his melodies unpaired with his unfiltered heartfelt lyrics.

If lyrics as raw as ‘sometimes I get emotional but it’s all I have’ don’t leave a lump in your throat, you can safely assume that your soul checked out a while ago.

Lockdown may have inspired plenty of uninspired songs, but Mookie adds a unique voice to the conversation which allows you to see the beauty in the sadness. Through it All may have come from a place of deep isolation and longing for normality, but it’s impossible not to let yourself be consoled by Mookie’s sweetly affectionate slightly reverb-tinged vocals as they run in synergy by the deftly mastered beats..

Any fans of Lil Peep, Lil Xan or Juice Wrld will want to make room on their playlists for Through it All which is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Yung’Cid left the pill un-sugared in their feisty new wave trap track ‘Loved You Better’

Posted on 10 February 2021
Yung’Cid

‘Loved You Better’ is the latest single from Bedford, UK-hailing Alternative artist, Yung’Cid, their combination of Pop Punk, Trap and RnB grinds with the tides of New Wave luminaries such as Juice Wrld, Lil Xan and Lil Peep while flowing with Yung’Cid’s own authentic expression.

Crank up the volume and feel the full force of the aggressive rock elements, lock into the lyrics to appreciate the raw gritty romanticism which inspired Love You Better which drips with visceral angst, but if you read between the lines, you’ll find that it’s an emboldening track.

We often place the blame on ourselves when people fail to love us properly, Yung’Cid highlights the pain of that experience while serving the reminder that other people’s inability to love is not our problem.

You can hear Yung’Cid via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Independent Artist T22 releases “Svddnly I Just Can’t Breathe”: Southern Comfort a loop!

Posted on 3 March 2020

T22 excels in this particular style of hip-hop and his southern drawl lends no end of charm to an already classy production. To call this track only hip-hop seems slightly disingenuous as he has used a number of creative sounds within the mix of the song including a classic rock distort on the electric guitar as a riff, and it is hypnotic. His lyric, and the performance of it is gut-wrenchingly real and honest, reminding me of musical influencers like Lil Nas X, blurring the lines of popular genres with ingenuity and boldness. Using youth and vitality to break down walls and bring audiences together through relatable, familiar topics.

Tracks like this blow our minds but they shouldn’t. Music, like language is ever evolving, ever changing, ever morphing just as our societies do. Trailblazers like T22 are leading the charge, is on the cutting edge of what is hot right now, and is worth keeping a close eye on.

Tell us what you think about “Svddnly I Just Can’t Breathe” which is available to listen to now via DISTROKID. Enjoy!

Review by Susan Harriott

Metay Brings Us into the Age of Cloud Rap with Latest 2019 Single “Real Friends”

Posted on 12 April 2019

Sitting right on the contemporary Rap curve is up and coming artist Metay’s latest single “Real Friends”. The single which was released in March 2019 offers a candid introspect from Metay which happens to be a strong theme throughout the hits they have produced so far in 2019.

For many people, vocal distortion is the marmite of the Hip Hop genre, but with Real Friends you can appreciate the way that the vocal reverb allows the vocals to sit tightly against the melodic Trap beats which have been produced to perfection. To make Real Friends anything but archetypal, there are also layers of R&B found in the dreamily light downtempo arrangement which still offers plenty of energy and emotivity.

You can check out Metay’s latest single Real Friends for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast