Browsing Tag

High Vibe Hip Hop

MARC.MADE is good for it in his subversively seductive rap track, CA$hAPP

After his discography racked up over 700k streams, the Detroit-born, Atlanta-raised indie rapper, MARC.MADE is here with his subversively seductive summer track CA$hAPP.

By running his funk-grooved prelude through plenty of warm tape delay, you instantly feel the heat in the expressively dynamic track that allows digital transactions to resonate as affectionate proclamations. If that isn’t a striking mark of ingenuity, I don’t know what is.

The surprises when it comes to MARC.MADE don’t end there either. The full-time scientist, entrepreneur and crypto investor has also co-starred on VH1’s Dating Naked S1-E5 & S1-Wedding Special & CBS’ Face the Truth S1-E12.

Although, the visceral chemistry that breeds between his charisma-dripped bars and the female vocals in CA$hAPP starts to make infinitely more sense with his profession in context.

CA$hAPP is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

JoeJas unveiled the hottest hip hop single of the summer with ‘Sally’s Last Dance’

It’s all in the vibe in the London, UK-hailing rapper and producer, JoeJas’ latest single Sally’s Last Dance. His charisma has always been unapologetically his own, but the endearingness of it knew no bounds in this cute and nerdy music video, which sells exactly what sets JoeJas apart, his infectious glass-half-full attitude that is contagious enough to start a new pandemic of optimism

If Andre 3000 and Daft Punk hit the spot for you, JoeJas will hit it even harder with his colourfully urban art-conscious instrumentals and honeyed RnB hip hop vox.

The official music video for Sally’s Last Dance officially premiered on the 30th of May. You can check it out for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

BHM NONO severed tribal ties in his latest hit, DESTINED 2 WIN

Hostility and hip hop have gone hand in hand since the Bronx inception, but here to prove that nothing is in trend forever is the trailblazing conscious rap artist, BHM NONO, with his latest single, DESTINED 2 WIN.

After an extended spoken-word prelude that puts you in the perfect place to feel the weight of the following bars, the instrumentals bring plenty of dramatic minor-key atmosphere into the mix. And that is all before BHM NONO’s fiery convicted bars prove that motivation doesn’t have to be synonymous with others’ destruction.

BHM NONO has exactly what it takes to become one of the most essential artists of his generation. We can’t wait to watch him get there.

The official music video premiered on April 22nd; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The UK’s most promising name in trap Ocean Stokes affirmed his viral potential in his bitter-sweet earworm, Reason

Here to put Southampton, UK on the trap map is the up-and-coming trailblazer Ocean Stokes on his collaborative track with LC, Reason.

The hooky effect of Reason, especially on the smoothly distorted trap and harmonised vocals, was no happy production accident. Stokes knew how to get the hooks razor-sharp in his charismatically confessional hit that proves that romance isn’t dead; it’s just taken a brand-new walls-up form in 2022.

At 19 years old, Ocean Stokes is already proving that he’s got viral potential with his guitar loops, intricate piano melodies, trappy 808s and vulnerably unfuckwithable high-vibe vocal style.

The official video for Reason premiered on February 25th; you can check it out by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Slow down to L!FE’s meditatively high vibe hip hop single, Take Your Time

On February 18th, the Philippines-hailing alt-hip hop artist L!FE released his most introspectively sweet single to date. Take Your Time instantly affirms that the up and coming artist’s sphere of influence stretches far past hip hop with the prominence of the piano melodies in the lo-fi mix and his hooky vocals which canter through the invaluable wisdom bombs. It takes an insane amount of humility to admit, “I’ve been doing it wrong in all of my songs”; from that point onwards, you greet his vulnerability with your own as you drink in the sound of birds chirping around the lush sun-bleached reverb.

With the chorus “take your time, you don’t want this to go away”, the damage that hustler hip hop has done on the psyche is instantly reversed. In essence, the track delivers a reminder that your worth can’t be reflected by your bank account and there is infinitely more to life than chasing status. It is all too easy to get onto the same zen prophetic page as L!FE, who started producing beats in 2017 before releasing his debut single in 2020. Fast forward to 2022, L!FE has seven stellar singles under his belt; it is only a matter of time before the rest of the world is as infatuated as we are.

Here is what L!FE had to say on Take Your Time

“Take Your Time is for everyone in the same situation as me, who feels driven towards their success and leaves themselves at risk of burnout. In this day and age, “motivational speakers” drive us towards it and away from our passion.

The track counteracts their holier than thou tropes while reminding the listener that we’re not one-dimensional beings, we deal with a great number of things in our lives, and sometimes, for things to work in our favour, we need time.”

Take Your Time is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get psyched with JaeEss’ latest mantra-filled high vibe alt-hip hop hit, Celebrate

JaeEss’ latest single, Celebrate, is the ultimate testament to the fact that everything the Lawrenceville GA-based artist and producer creates is made with purpose. The single is just one of his hits that wouldn’t be out of place on your motivation playlists.

It’s one thing for artists to flex their own success; it is quite another for an artist to commit themselves to connecting with their fans while galvanising them and inspiring them to strive for greater heights. In Celebrate, JaeEss fuses RnB with trappy hip hop textures to create the perfect platform for his wittily visionary lyrics that prove that there’s always an alternative to downtrodden apathy.

The official music video to Celebrate premiered on January 14th. You can watch it for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

JODDY has made his debut with the ultimate grounded feel-good hip hop track, TRISHA

Californian rapper and singer-songwriter JODDY has dropped his hook-filled alt hip hop debut single, TRISHA, featuring Hoe Hunna and Maggie Kiing. While some rap artists release music as a means to fame and notoriety, the striking sincerity in JODDY’s debut proves just how invested he is in the life-saving culture of hip hop. After experiencing poverty, gang violence and losses of love, JODDY found solace in music and became inspired to extend that solace to his fans.

The sun-soaked beats, mellifluous cadence and nuances of RnB and Afrobeat in the gorgeously layered vocals ensure that TRISHA runs through as the ultimate grounded feel-good hip hop track.

TRISHA was the first single released from his debut EP, Punch Drunk Music, which promises to deliver relatable substance. Punch Drunk Music will be available to stream and purchase on all major platforms from January 21st, 2022. If you appreciate fresh hip hop talent and dopamine, get him on your radar.

JODDYs debut single, TRISHA, is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

C.h.a.m.p brought the high vibes in his dynamic rap bars with ‘Baby Dedo’, featuring Eta Phi Nupes.

This summer, the up and coming American rap artist, C.h.a.m.p, went viral shortly after the release of his single, Baby Dedo, featuring Eta Phi Nupes. The jazzy, trappy, high-vibe track melds the old school with the new wave of hip hop and comes alive through the passion that the dynamically talented artist poured into the mix.

After a near-death experience when a bullet pierced his skull in 2019, C.h.a.m.p (Change Happens at My Pace) found purpose in music. It might sound corny to call it his calling but given his ability to mould clever wordplay into unique rhyme schemes and that he’s only just getting started, his rap career holds plenty of promise and commercial potential. If you could imagine what it would sound like if Busta Rhymes took on Snoop Dogg’s attitude, you’ll get an idea of the magnetism in Baby Dedo.

The official music video for Baby Dedo is available to stream on YouTube. Or the high fire single can find its way onto your playlists via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

L-SLY reached the pinnacle of lyrical dynamism with his seminal track, ‘The Way It Goes’.

Regina, Canada born, world-raised rap artist, L-SLY has made a name for himself in Canada since making his debut for being one of the most diverse lyricists and well-rounded artists. Based on his seminal sun-soaked high vibe track, The Way It Goes, it is easy to see how L-SLY became the pinnacle of hustler hip hop in so many eyes and ears.

Familiarities to contemporaries and OGs are more than scarce in the elevated feat of bass-riding hip hop that instantly reels you in and locks you into the frankly genius rap bars. Out of all the rappers we’ve heard this year, no one’s lyrical form comes close to L-SLY’s. He goes beyond the usual tropes to deliver motivation and dopamine in a way like no other.

The official music video for The Way it Goes is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Daniel Foster brings the hazy high vibes in his latest single, So High

New Jersey-born, LA/Las Vegas-raised hip hop artist, Daniel Foster, has released the ultimate hazy high-vibe hip hop playlist staple with his single, So High.

The melodic grooves wrap around the snappy 808s to prop up Foster’s vocals which run under just enough effects to synergise with the beats, but not enough to strip any of the emotion or soul from the earworm. While the lyrics bring the fire, the new wave hip hop beats provide the catharsis; it’s a vibe.

So High is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Follow Daniel Foster on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast