Browsing Tag

Emo Rap

TRELI waxed lyrical on the nature of perception in his trap track, LUX THOUGHTS

For his latest trap track, LUX THOUGHTS, the Washington DC up-and-coming luminary, TRELI went deep and dark with his introspection to illustrate how the inner workings of our mind can be our greatest enemy.

When we are at the mercy of our inner monologue, few prisoners are held; especially in the aftermath of a breakup that shakes you to your core and leaves you yearning for a brighter perspective. Written between the lines is a testament to the raw grief which manifests in the absence of someone who became a muse, confidant and the definition of the future.

LUX THOUGHTS is heavy on the melancholy with the production, which also fuses ethereal layers of old-school hip-hop, but with his deeply relatable distorted vocal lines and delicately ascending melodic motifs, TRELI ensured that the ennui doesn’t choke the atmosphere in the well-rounded hit that trap fans will want to jump on.

Stream LUX THOUGHTS on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jesus B. has unleashed his grittily twee emo love song, Love Means

https://soundcloud.com/jesus_b/love-means?si=7a223ab548a34f31860509338b3ea1d6&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

If two things on the airwaves never get enough respect or recognition, they are ukuleles and emo alt-rap; the up-and-coming alternative artist Jesus B. fused the two in his latest single, Love Means, which unravels as the ultimate scripture of bitter-sweet affection.

Bliss and agony are two sides of the same coin when it comes to love, and the diehard romanticism evolving into dejection in Love Means is the ultimate affirmation. Your breakup playlists won’t be the same without the gritty yet twee lo-fi single from the Alaskan artist, who is picking up where Lil Peep left off with his command over moody melodies. His authenticity is one thing. His ability to project intimate emotion so that it resonates with universal commonality is another entirely. We can’t wait to hear what comes next from Jesus B.

Love Means is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get swept up in the minor key momentum in P wE$t’s cinematically raw hip hop single, Smokin N Tha Rain

‘Smokin N Tha Rain’ is the cinematically melancholic standout single from P wE$t’s debut album, Permanent Timing. Despite the heavy sentiments vulnerably relayed through the rap bars, the up-and-coming artist was riding high on the new wave of hip hop in the wavey yet sharp hit which allows you to feel every ounce of urgency in the delivery.

Starting with a striking minor key piano melody and letting the atmospheric alchemy build from there, being consumed by the visceral emotion and intellectual instrumental layering is no option. P wE$t is easily one of the most underrated emo rap artists on the underground right now. Give him some love, and that will come back tenfold as you appreciate his ability to turn introspection and experience into universal resonance.

Smokin N Tha Rain is available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

BQpid throws away disingenuous pretence in his latest emo trap track, ‘Ceilings’

If there’s one thing that sets Ohio-residing artist BQpid’s sound apart from the rest, it is the depth of his lyrics that throw away any sense of disingenuous pretence. In his latest self-produced single, Ceilings, the atmospherically sallow indie trap melodies carry reminiscence to the likes of Post Malone and Mac Miller but with the dark undertone to Ceilings, he well and truly put himself in a league of his own.

For maximum evocative impact, the 18-year-old artist and producer worked elements of pop and RnB into the vocals in the emo-rap track that brings a brand new level of meaning to the word ‘candid’.

Ceilings is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Feeling Alone: Toronto’s Iain Grey is so numb to the heartbreaking pain on ‘Sulfate’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaVFXXGTIZg&feature=youtu.be

As he wonders where his life is going and tries to work out his next move, Iain Grey feels so lost in this strange world as he looks for inspiration to reach his goals on the deeply emotional new single ‘Sulfate‘.

Iain Grey is a Toronto, Canada-based music producer and indie musician who intricately fuses elements of emo rap, punk rock, grunge, trap and alternative rock into his unique hip-hop-based soundscape, that has you listening rather intently.

He courageously makes music to help his scarred soul recover from all the previous hurt, as his desire is to help others who have dealt with this unfortunate trauma that can really lock you into your own mind forever, if you aren’t careful.

I think its important for people to realize you can take your pain and make it into something beautiful. I mean, that’s why my name is Iain Grey. “Grey” is what I have called my demons for years because nothing ever made sense. There was never an answer to my madness. Alone, I spent a whole year questioning and destroying myself because I didn’t know who I was anymore. Nothing was black or white, I never had a concrete answer. Everything was just grey. I want to show people who are just like me — the lost, confused and misunderstood — that there is a place for us in this fucked up world. We just have to fight for it and that’s why I’m going to Die Dreaming.” – Iain Grey

Sulfate‘ from the Canadian emo/hip hop rapper Iain Grey, is an expressive journey that is meant to show you that so many people struggle and you are not ever alone. He performs with such a deep understanding of how he is feeling, as he uses music to help break free from the walls around him, whilst wishing that others follow his lead and find the strength to do the same.

Stream this new track on YouTube and check out his IG music page for more news on his career.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

808Riot – Hide & Seek featuring Jared Anthony and Project Zak

With an intro that holds reminiscence to Sweet Dreams by the fallen goth icon, the haunting dark indie tones in the prelude to 808Riot’s latest single, Hide & Seek, featuring Jared Anthony and Project Zak, makes no bones about immersing you in this evocative firestorm.

The Queensland, Australia-based producer and engineer takes inspiration from the likes of XXXTENTACION, Internet Money and Metro Boomin. Instead of following a path of assimilation, he’s paved his own and earned plenty of acclaim in the industry as a direct result.

Hide & Seek certainly isn’t without melancholy, but you can’t help but feel galvanised by the inventive contrasts between tone and texture in the track that paints all across the tonal palette.

Hide & Seek is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Blank666 exposes the dark side of hedonism with ‘Wasted’ featuring Nikki Vale.

Blank666’s standout single, ‘Wasted’, poignantly exposes the darker side of the hedonist lifestyle that many rap artists are quick to glamourise. But not many lyrics hit as hard as the deeply introspective ones you will find here that wistfully regret choosing escapism over affection.

To give you an idea of just how heartfelt a track Wasted is, if Simple Plan switched from alt-rock to rap, their sound would carry plenty of reminiscences. The lo-fi indie feel to the simple yet poignant offering of alt hip hop amplifies the intimacy but Wasted is so much more than your average emo melancholy-fest thanks to the grooves and four to the floor beats that allows energy to echo through the mix.

You can check out the official video to Wasted by heading over to YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Unique M.D. wants us to hear his ‘Last Words’

Opening with some delicious violin and piano, Unique M.D.s ‘Last Words’ is a slow, chilled, but powerful slice of old-school Hip Hop telling the story of the end of a relationship, M.D.’s flow tripping over the 808 hi-hats and laid-back bassline, all early-Eminem and Dre.

Following up his earlier singles ‘Let’s Take a Trip’ and ‘First Date’, ‘Last Words’ bookends the relationship with this breakup story, the American rapper’s prolific back-catalogue showcases his style; with ‘Last Words’, M.D.’s made an easy, relaxed-feel track that still has a potent lyrical message.

You can check out ‘Last Words’ on Soundcloud now, and follow Unique M.D. on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

SixPortalz shows us the melodic potential of cloud rap with their latest release, ‘YOUNG LUV’.

‘Heartfealt’ isn’t an adjective easily affixed to cloud rap, but East Stroudsberg-based artist, SIxPortalz left us with few other ways to allude to the evocative and all-baring nature of his latest single, ‘YOUNG LUV’.

With melodic piano keys introducing the track and still running between the 808s through the verses, YOUNG LUV possesses all of the rhythmic pull of a sad pop ballad, but there’s no compromise to the raw and honest nature of the lyrics and the delivery. He’s set the bar for emo rap artists with his soulfully bruising approach.

You can check out the official video to YOUNG LUV for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Sionis wants to take us ‘Swimming’

Sionis is a 21-year-old musician from Charlotte, North Carolina, with a back history of pop-punk mixed with hip hop and rap. ‘Swimming’ comes by way of artists like Mobb Deep, Havoc, Screwball, or Tyler The Creator. Lyrically, it’s all about a previous girlfriend, and it’s clear that that relationship didn’t always go as well as it might have, with lines like ‘if we fuck then you can scratch me ‘til I bleed/ then I’ll choke you out to gain more energy’ and ‘back and forth, back and forth/ the passive-aggressiveness, I’m sick of it’, but Sionis has some pretty smooth flow mixed with the classic T-Pain autotune vocal production. There’s a solid backing of beats, bass, and piano that bounces the track along in a chilled way, but there’s an underlying anger and aggression here too that fits the vocal message.

You can hear ‘Swimming’ on Soundcloud, and check out Sionis on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes