Browsing Tag

Experimental Hip Hop

ESize’s Sonic Adrenaline Shot Lacerates the Loop of Perpetual Striving in ‘We Are Winners, We Got the Juice’

Posted on 17 April 2025

With We Are Winners, We Got the Juice, Chicago’s genre-morphing producer, ESize, tears through the tendency to think the next goalpost will always be greener. The hyped-up hip-hop anthem doesn’t settle into predictable territory for a second. It’s a sonic adrenaline shot for anyone who’s done bending backwards for unreachable goals and is ready to soak up the energy of their success.

ESize knows how to build something from the raw materials most would overlook. With an academic background in music theory from UIC and a professional portfolio spanning R&B chart-toppers, top-ten dance hits in the Midwest, and international licensing deals, he’s not short on accolades. He channels that experience into forward-motion rather than backward-gazing brags, giving We Are Winners, We Got the Juice its pace and punch.

After the harsh and caustically reverberant bass-drenched prelude, the track flips the script. Pop-soul vocals lift the production into unexpected choral territory before ESize delivers his signature gruff gravitas. His vocal force melds with instrumental layers that defy any textbook on hip-hop structure—rock guitar riffs crash against slick funk-charged synths, as the energy swells and contracts with eccentric precision. One ESize doesn’t fit all, and that’s exactly the point.

With four patents to his name and a mission to create music that cuts through the static—whether for sync placements or sonic statement pieces—ESize puts that inventive momentum into every beat.

We Are Winners, We Got the Juice is now available to stream on all major platforms, including SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast.

Del Shawn Armstrong’s ‘You’ is a Boom-Bap Love Letter Dripping in Cosmic Sou

Posted on 14 April 2025

Del Shawn Armstrong keeps an enigmatic profile online, but his latest single ‘You’ is all the identity he needs, with bars that boom just as boldly as the beats dragging hip-hop straight back to the boom-bap golden days. With plenty of soul and rhythmically salacious grooves woven throughout, Armstrong sets himself apart from typical lyrical waxers, refusing to play in anyone else’s league.

Armstrong’s lyrical persona exudes sheer presence, confidently carrying his verses through experimental electronic textures. Those instrumental touches deliver hypnotic cosmic kaleidoscopes infused with urban innovation, pushing beyond typical hip-hop conventions without ever losing sight of the genre’s roots.

The emotional narrative of ‘You’ cleverly refreshes the humble love song, draping it in stylistic swagger and rhythmic sincerity. Rather than succumbing to sentimental tropes, Armstrong delivers his affection through vivid wordplay and magnetic flows, crafting an impassioned earworm that demands repeat attention.

With ‘You’, Armstrong proves he’s comfortably outside convention, using lyrical dexterity and cosmic-inspired production to carve out a soulful lane of his own.

‘You’ is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Afton Wolfe – So Purple (feat. Brian Brown, Jack Vinoy Remix): A Blues-Rinsed Trip Through Psychedelic Hip-Hop Alchemy

Posted on 2 April 2025

Afton Wolfe’s latest single, So Purple, was never made for the skimmers, the distracted, or the easily satisfied. It’s a track built to grip your brainstem and hold it under a hazy, hallucinogenic spell. In the Jack Vinoy remix, Wolfe, alongside Brian Brown, brings a soul-soaked, genre-scrambling opiate for the audiophiles who don’t want their boundaries respected.

Wolfe’s vocal delivery alone is enough to trigger an inner chemical reaction. Gruff and thick with Southern blues nuance, his timbre never fights for dominance. It lounges. It drips. It carves through the synth-drenched backdrop like molasses sliding off a neon-lit glass. The production doesn’t bow to any one style—hip-hop is the main artery, but the heartbeat throbs with experimental jazz-blues fusion, swirls of soul, and psychotropic layers that wouldn’t feel out of place in a track built for a Lynchian lounge.

When Brian Brown’s rap bars slide in, they don’t disrupt the equilibrium—they challenge it. The cadence is sharp, the diction is clean, but it’s never ornamental. Brown brings the punch while Wolfe bathes you in smoke.

Vinoy doesn’t phone in his role either. His touch is the hallucinogen. Every snare, warped synth swell, and backmasked flourish is precision-placed to hypnotise. This isn’t your standard producer flex—this is a psych-laced sermon served on a vinyl platter made for the hedonistic and the heartbroken alike.

So Purple is a lucid dream on loop. It welcomes you, intoxicates you, then leaves you wondering if the high came from the sound or the space it created inside you. Wolfe is pushing past what’s comfortable, and it’s about time the rest of us caught up.

The remix is now available to stream on all major platforms, including SoundCloud. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Manchester beatmaker Mankub broke the mould with his unbroken wave of immersion, ‘Fly in the Ointment’

Posted on 24 December 2024
Fly In The Ointment (GOTM062) by Mankub

Manchester-based beatsmith Mankub broke the mould with his bold decision to release ‘Fly in the Ointment’ as a single 30-minute track rather than chopping his mix into separate cuts. It’s an ingenious move to keep the album format alive, providing an unbroken wave of immersion for hip-hop fans craving a continuous flow of classic boom-bap, breakbeat, and lo-fi edges. Every sample and beat is meticulously placed to weave a narrative through echoes of hip-hop’s golden era, letting the vibes steer the momentum of this instrumental LP, which was put out by Gold on The Mixer Records, and is now available on cassette and digital download.

Compiled from fresh material and unreleased beats, it merges skits, loops, and fragments of gritty vocal samples to form a loose concept that resonates with cinematic force. Strings, piano, guitar, and jazz motifs drift alongside hard-hitting drums, illustrating Mankub’s skill for building sound constructions that land somewhere between laid-back downtempo and era-defining breakbeats.

Every progression is a revelation—be it a deep, resonant bassline or a mellow section of lo-fi bliss—the release is all hits and no misses.

Fly in the Ointment was officially released on November 18; stream and purchase the single on Bandcamp now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Orizon waxed lyrical on the distorted gospel of twisted faith in ‘thanks/sorry/fuck you’

Posted on 20 December 2024
Orizon

With thanks/sorry/fuck you, a seminal single from Orizon’s sophomore album Unchrist, the Melbourne-based experimentalist crafted an Avant-Garde symphony of conflicted thoughts and chaotic cohesion.

It’s an invitation to stare into the sonic abyss of a mind wrestling with a triality of contradictions and witness how the track builds on drill foundations, brashy boom-bap beats, and jagged synth lines that buzz like electricity sparking between frayed nerves. The track mirrors the unrelenting tension as gospel vocal samples surface intermittently, a warped and distorted reminder of the artist’s roots in Catholicism, where sin and salvation continually collide.

As the track evolves, Orizon’s steady and scarred bars hold their ground amidst unpredictable turns. Breakbeats tear through the production like the rapture battering stained glass windows, while moments of erratic electronica ensure the listener never settles into comfort.  The crescendos may be cinematic, but there’s little resolve to be found here as Orizon stands as a Lynchian figure in the experimental hip-hop sphere.

While his previous projects—Stories of the Supreme and RADIO (INPINK)—toyed with loneliness and love, this final instalment tackles religion with raw introspection. Each note feels like an exorcism, but Orizon doesn’t stop at self-purging. He challenges listeners to confront their own faith and struggles with belief.

With thanks/sorry/fuck you, Orizon redefines what experimental hip-hop can achieve—not by neatly slotting into a niche, but by allowing unfiltered creativity to dominate. This is what happens when an artist lets the truth cut deep.

thanks/sorry/fuck you hit all major streaming platforms on December 20th; find your preferred way to listen and connect with Orizon via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Naakz broke beats and through the monotony of sonic hegemony in ‘Turn Around’

Posted on 11 December 2024

With Turn Around, the concluding single from his sophomore LP, Reparations, the icon of the underground Naakz detonated the obsession with convention in contemporary hip-hop.

The Māori artist, steeped in the philosophy of his iwi heritage, cast the first stone in the resistance against the sonic hegemony with his break-beat-driven production which sinks listeners into an introspective headspace where wavy lines of funk ripple into the chaotic shimmer of avant-garde psychedelia. The glossy luxe aesthetic is bent almost beyond recognition, leaving a warped yet magnetic invitation to question the systems we’re complicit in.

Rooted in experimental abstraction, Naakz’s work resonates with the influence of legends like D’Angelo and MF DOOM while channelling the beat-smith genius of Madlib and J Dilla and leaving room for his own sonic blueprint, which is amplified by the raw pulse of his SP404MK2, or as he calls it, his “Decolonisation Device.” If you want to break away from the mediocraty of the modern music industry, hit play.

Stream the Reparations LP in full on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Loose Change 10k became an unreckonable force in the Floridian hip-hop scene with their trippy hit, Haters

Posted on 19 October 2024

The Floridian hip-hop duo Loose Change 10k has once again proven its unreckonable mettle with the latest single and music video, Haters. The wavy and melodically trippy track instantly sets a mind-bending tone; once you’ve sunk into the saturated reflections of old-school hip-hop roots, the bars kick in and push adrenalized momentum into the hit with every syllable flexed.

The juxtaposition between the energy injected by the two MCs, O-Head and Danny Duke, and the catharsis of the experimentally catchy melodies leaves you cascading through a vortex of Loose Change 10k’s ingenuity.

With a sound that’s as fresh as it is fierce, they’ve reserved a space in the hip-hop pantheon with Haters, which vindicates anyone who has collected their fair share of haters simply by succeeding. If any track is going to convince you to take it all in your stride and leave them to stagnate, it’s Haters.

Stream the self-shot and produced video for Haters, which premiered on October 8th, via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Slip into the dark hip-hop abyss with my•escy’s latest harbingering hit, Fallen Fruit

Posted on 30 March 2024

my•escy’s latest single, ‘Fallen Fruit‘ is a gateway into the nefarious underbelly of dark alt-hip-hop. The track stands as a formidable force in the genre, showcasing a blend of jarring reverberation, aural annihilation, and lyrical aggression that captivates and cuts deep.

The sonics of ‘Fallen Fruit’ are akin to synthesised war horns resonating over a trap beat, creating an atmosphere that is both oppressive and exhilarating. It’s a soundscape that plunges listeners into a nightmarish landscape, yet there’s an undeniable allure in its darkness. The vocal hooks in the track are a masterstroke, evoking a sense of what might have been if Andre 5000 had ventured into the darker realms of hip-hop alongside Saul Williams.

Despite its artfully intentional disquietness, ‘Fallen Fruit’ is undeniably infectious. The hard-hitting, visceral melodies linger long after the outro, haunting the listener with their intensity. ‘Fallen Fruit’ is a testament to the power of dark alt-hip-hop’s ability to convey complex emotions and create a sonic experience that is both unsettling and utterly compelling.

Stream the single on SoundCloud and Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

AR Jiggy followed a vibe into unchartered new wave hip-hop waters with ‘4U’

Posted on 21 March 2024

No one rides the new wave of hip-hop smoother than AR Jiggy, as exhibited through the hypersonically hot standout single, 4U, from his new LP, Ratchet Melodic 2, which strangely enough, delivers everything it says on the tin. The scintillating synths mimic the twilight as they glisten in the melodiously wavy production that will instantly get you in the genre-fluid groove of the synthesis of hip-hop, pop, and RnB.

Instead of ticking all the right hip-hop boxes with this seminal release and pandering to antiquated parameters, the East London rapper and singer followed a vibe into unchartered waters and ensured any urban innovation seekers would want to take the plunge time after time. From the precision in his sharp lyrically rhythmic hooks to the instrumental odyssey AR Jiggy puts before you in his tracks, there’s no refuting that he has exactly what it takes to hold dominion over the hip-hop domain in London and beyond.

Ratchet Melodic 2 was officially released on February 15th; stream it in full on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

I AM Cricchi shared how he became a conduit of hope through his eclectically authentic discography in an exclusive interview with A&R Factory

Posted on 10 February 2024

Born in southern Maryland and now based in Texas, Tyler Cricchi, known as I AM Cricchi, presents a compelling narrative in the music world. His journey, transitioning from a typical suburban childhood to grappling with substance abuse in his teenage years, underscores the stark realities that shape his music.

With his vast, eclectic and always raw discography, Cricchi has independently charted multiple times, showcasing his ability to blend genres from hip-hop to country. His music is characterised by its authentic lyrics and versatile delivery, resonating with a wide audience.  In this interview with A&R Factory, we delve into the world of I AM Cricchi, exploring his journey from personal struggles to musical achievements.

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I AM Cricchi, welcome to A&R Factory! We’d love to know a little more about your most recent release, Weighted To Breathe featuring Caskey. What’s the story behind the single?

“Weighted To Breathe was written at a time when I wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing chasing my dream in music, most regular people usually call it or consider a dream as such, ‘crazy’. The purpose behind this record was to remind myself and anyone else in a similar spot that if we waited or chose to give up, we’d be right back where we were, at a place where most wouldn’t want to be. Some might say at rock bottom. It quickly became one of the biggest solo songs of my career and shortly after I was blessed with the opportunity of having Caskey feature on it. That really proved my point and made everything come full circle because an artist with a much bigger influence and resume thought it was as dope as I did! NEVER GIVE UP!!”

Your upcoming project, The Road Back, talks about overcoming addiction; can you tell us more about the project and the inspiration behind the release?

“Addiction is a topic I hold close to my heart. I personally have been through the depths of hell while abusing drugs and running through the streets. This was my first project with The Lotto Tribe, and I wanted to make sure it was very special because I recognized that they believed in me, similar to the way I believe in myself. I reached out to a hometown producer Tilli Mack and told him I needed something to spill my pain on and thus this record was birthed. The writing aspect of it for me was just a matter of putting myself in the mindset of not ever wanting to go back to my old life. That’s why I’m so inspired after breaking away from it because I never want to go back to that life I used to be, stuck, in. In other words, I wanted it to be the music I wished I had when I was broken and hopeless

More than anything I wanted to create something that could save someone’s life or make a change for someone in a dark time and for me that’s what all this is about. The road back is never easy, but I hope this record gives someone, anyone, hope. It releases on May 3rd, 2024, worldwide, on the first Friday of National Mental Health Awareness month and is supported by the organization, To Write Love On Her Arms which supports mental health.”

How do your most recent releases compare to your past projects like; No Time, Runnin A Lot, I Gotta Grow, and Say Less Do More?

“I definitely don’t fit in any box. I make a variety of genres and I’m always exploring new sounds. The music I write is always dependent on the moment I’m in. Sometimes I’m happy and sometimes I’m not but that’s life and that’s what I put in my music. I don’t over-exaggerate or attempt to portray anything, I’m just me. If there is one thing that ties every song to the next it’s the authenticity of my story. Every song and every word was lived, meant and felt by me. In the end though, all my music is for everyone and anyone. I just want to bring awareness to my story, and my life and give others hope.”

How did you get into music, and where has your creative journey taken you?

“I got into music before I can even remember. My father is what I would call a “beast” on the guitar and loves to play. My dad worked a 9 to 5 for more years than I had been alive, and I never saw the same happiness he had when he was holding that guitar. That put a spark in me. It made me feel that maybe music was where he belonged, but he never tried or never could take the chance to be truly one with.

The ability to write started with my love for poetry in 2nd grade and continued through middle school. It wasn’t until I was in a juvenile youth center that I started to experiment with trying to rap on beats or write with a specific sound in mind. After that, writing music kept me alive through years and years of addiction and depression, almost daily wondering if I should live. It wasn’t until 5 years ago when I got sober that I started to clearly see the vision. Since then, I have hit the iTunes Charts twice independently. I’ve accumulated over a quarter million streams in 2023. I’ve done songs with legends such as Blind Fury, Caskey, Merkules, and many other amazing artists. Most of all I’ve been finding myself along the way and that’s something special to my heart.”

What role has the indie label The Lotto Tribe played in your career?

“That’s a chapter of my life that is just getting started, but something I’m really looking forward to. So far, it’s been nothing but love and solid continuous guidance from them. They continue to bring me confidence and opportunity. They have helped me align contracts with many industry partners and continue to put my name in the right places for growth. I genuinely appreciate them for their work so far and again, I’m very excited to see what the future holds with The Lotto Tribe!”

Which artists inspire you the most, and is there anything else that inspires you to create?

“Artist-wise, I’d say Caskey, Jelly Roll and LaRussell give me the most inspiration currently. The hustle and the constant innovation are something I respect and appreciate from all of them.

I’m inspired by different people at different times, but I often pull my inspiration from my own life. Whatever I’m feeling or whatever I’m dealing with at that moment is what I write about. Music is a way to cope and a safe space for me, so emotions often drive it. I’ll often base the lyrics, beat cadence and melodies off of just how I feel in the moment. Music is something that makes me feel alive and through it, I’ll continue to try my best to be my best.”

Can you tell us a little about your global distribution deal with Memphis’ Select-O-Hits? and being attached to The Orchard?

“This is another chapter of my journey that’s just getting started! Johnny Phillips has been extremely helpful in getting me set up over there at Select-O-Hits and I genuinely look forward to our future years together. They’re very well known from the days of his father Tom and uncle, Sam who founded Sun Records. They’ve also been influential in distributing Memphis hip-hop legends Three 6 Mafia and Lil Wyte. Even Jellyroll had projects through them in his early career. I’m just happy to be here in the now and be a part of something with such a history!”

What else is in the pipeline for you?

“This year will be my greatest yet. My biggest news so far this year will be the full rollout release for the single project with The Lotto Tribe, “The Road Back”. It’s one of my most meaningful pieces to date and I can’t wait to share it with the world. We also have shows lined up across the country including a SXSW visit here in Austin, Texas. I plan on dropping multiple singles and a possible full album once the vibe and timing feels right! There will also be more collaborations, big features and visuals but you’ll just have to follow me and wait to see what things I have in store! This is just the start for me.”

Stream I AM Cricchi on Spotify and discover more about the artist here.

Interview by Amelia Vandergast