Browsing Tag

Jay Z

Pee.Tzu redefined escapism music with his hip hop track, Jetplane Getaway

Pee.Tzu allowed his fans to peek behind the curtain of his mentality and music career in his latest single, Jetplane Getaway, which drips with East Coast hip hop luxe glamour in contrast to the raw spilt ink lyricism. It is escapist hip hop like you have never heard it before.

It is safe to say that the up-and-coming artist didn’t just speak for himself when he captured the claustrophobia that our hustle and daily lives can create around us. His wicked use of wordplay almost makes a sense of empathy redundant when you’re listening to Jetplane Getaway. There is no evading the visceral weight of the bars that run under inventive effect, allowing them to synergise with the Rakim-Esque beats.

Jetplane Getaway which features on Pee.Tzu’s 2022 album is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ron A.P. made true love a tangible phenomenon in Real Love Pt. II

Making true love a tangible phenomenon is a feat beyond most artists, not Ron A.P. in his latest music video, Real Love Pt. II. With full awareness that love is the most explored emotion in music, Ron A.P. went all in with this smooth jazzy hip hop track. Shakespeare may not have referred to how much crackheads love to chase the rock, and that may just be where he went wrong in encompassing the visceralism of the emotion.

After hearing The Ex Files from the US rapper, which went hard on retrospective romantic dissonance, we are stoked to hear Ron A.P. back on soulful form. Any fans of Nas, Jay-Z, Kanye and B.B. King will find a playlist staple in Real Love Pt. II.

The official music video for Real Love Pt. II will premiere on August 19th. Check it out on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Hip Hop icon in the making, Na8 has delivered his cinematically colossal debut LP, Past Present Future

The Nigeria-born, Nashville-based hip hop icon in the making, Na8, is fresh from the release of his debut album, Past Present Future, which recounts experience and introspection from the past, meditates on the present and rewrites the rules for the future.

The LP starts with the colossal hip hop anthem, Pisces, which drip feeds all of the glamour of Jay Z and all of the dark and chaotic flare of Saul Williams before Na8 moves with an old school style of noir soul in the following track, All In, which features some of the best earworm hooks on the LP. Track 3, Exotic Love, feeds the Lauryn Hill vibes, but Na8 made the soundscape his own with his massive production style that is quickly becoming his signature.

Track 5, Cash, stands as a testament to Na8’s experimental instrumental style; from harsh-rock guitar licks to orchestral strings to hard-hitting electronica, you will find all that and more in the hard-hitting hustler hip hop track. In track 11, Bond City, Na8 proves how well his panoramically cinematic production style melds with the definitively-luxe Bond film OSTs. It’s not every day we hear radio-ready hip hop. The fact that Na8 delivered it in his debut LP speaks volumes of his talent. Get him on your radar.

Here’s what Na8 had to say about his debut LP:

“My debut looks back on my life in Africa and Europe before I arrived in the USA. I wanted to express my past, present, and what my future could be in music.

The main message is that your past or present doesn’t define you. If you know what you want in life, you can focus and achieve those goals. Stay true to yourself.”

Past Present Future is now available to stream on Spotify.

Connect with Na8 on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Solo Star delivers deity-level hip hop in his single, ‘American God’

Solo Star

Ahead of the release of his highly anticipated 4-track EP, ‘The Ballad of Solo Star’, the up and coming artist has given us a taste of what’s to come by giving us a sneak peek of the lead track, American God.

Under the influence of Nas, Andre 3000, J.Cole, 2Pac and Jay-Z, Solo Star carries the same charismatic vocal magnetism. Instrumentally, he’s ascended to his own level and plateaued above most breaking artists. You can’t help getting hooked into the arrestingly rhythmic grooves in American God.

If you pride yourself on having the hottest names in hip hop on your playlists, you will want to make room for Solo Star.

Check out him out on SoundCloud and his website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

J Roy has released the ultimate power-couple hip hop anthem with ‘Forbes List’, featuring Jai Fears.

J Roy

If you’re looking for the freshest feel-good groves to add to your summer hip hop playlists, look no further than J Roy’s self-titled 2021 album, featuring the lead single, Forbes List, featuring Jai Fears.

There are some fairly obvious nods to Jay-Z’s luxurious sound in the mix, but between Jay Roy and Jai Fears, plenty of authenticity was brought to Forbes List; a single that shows that all that glitters isn’t gold, but it is still beautiful. Forbes List drips with extravagance, but at the centre of the mix is a fiercely romantic sense of soul that makes Forbes List the ultimate power couple anthem.

J Roy’s latest album is now available to stream and download on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Trevino Andre invites hip hop fans to follow his lead with ‘Chasing My Dreams’

Fairfield, CA-hailing hip hop artist Trevino Andre has an arsenal of hard-hitting tracks in his mixtape, ‘You Know That I’. The perfect introduction to his soul-laced sound is his old school jazz-laced track ‘Chasing My Dreams’ that keeps the tones rich and the lyricism raw.

Within that smooth and compelling contrast, you’ll find the magnetism which draws you into the essence of the track that paints a gritty image of the struggles we’re subjected to as part of our optimism-stealing mortal coil, then follows up by letting you know how to find the resilience to overcome them.

You can check out Trevino Andre’s mixtape, You Know That I for yourselves by heading over to ReverbNation.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Maryland’s Most Promising Breakthrough Hip Hop Artist MuhTeyOh Delivers on That Promise with Their Latest Single ‘4th Quarter Flows’

Maryland-based Rap artist MuhTeyOh has been on a steady ascension from the underground since the release of their breakthrough track ‘Summers Over’, with the release of their latest single, ‘4th Quarter Flows’, it’s clear that they’re on a mission to dominate the airwaves with their domineeringly indulgent flows.

4th Quarter Flows eclipses the East Coast Hip Hop sound, which will undoubtedly be of appeal to any fans of Jay Z, Kanye and Kendrick Lamar, but with hints of Drill ringing through the trappy hits of the 808s, there’s a dynamism to their accessible-from-the-first-hit-sound.

4th Quarter Flows is available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Canadian trailblazer SVLM offers a high-vibe Hip Hop playlist staple with ‘Six Speed’

SVLM has already taken the Canadian Hip Hop scene by storm, after the release of their latest track, Six Speed, he’s about to tempestuously dominate international airwaves.

The high-vibe grooves paired with their charismatically-energetic personality made an earworm out of Six Speed, which is anything but mechanical despite the romantically meta automotive focus of the track.

Their ability to infuse their endearing personality in the music video made it impossible not to warm to SVLM. Their commercial potential is undeniable. Don’t just watch this space, get behind one of the most eccentrically magnetic artists dropping tracks in 2020.

You can check out the cinematic official music video which dropped on October 30th for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Izze St. William offers salvation with his ghetto electric hymn ‘No Shackles’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LJlwCnkBHw&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=IzzeSt.William

‘No Shackles’ is a perfect slice of old-school R&B, a cry to love and longing and the need to belong. With an Antares, Auto-Tuned vocal reminiscent of the best style of Jay-Z, Lil’ Wayne, or the omnipresent T-Pain, and lyrics describing the lust for love – “Put Shackles over me/ Come throw away the key/ If I was in the crime of being lonely” –  ‘No Shackles’ grooves and winds through a hook-heavy with thumping bass and sequenced keyboards.

Izze St. William describes himself as ‘an artist-producer for the people’ creating ‘ghetto electric hymns’ and ‘sacred music within mystic stories of the human soul’. With ‘No Shackles’ he’s certainly created a track which will stick in yours.

See the video for ‘No Shackles’ on YouTube, and follow Izze St. William on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

East Coast Hip Hop got hotter with the release of Vior’s track “Stevie Wonder”

Feel the oceanic breeze of East Coast Hip Hop with Vior’s standout sun-kissed track, Stevie Wonder, from their 2020 EP, Presidential.

The Coatesville, PA artist has amassed plenty of hype for their ability to bring more than sound to the airwaves since releasing their debut single in 2018.

Hit play on any of their tracks and get lost in the immersive vibes which manifest through their meticulously dynamic lyrical flow and their larger than life personality which will leave you galvanized.

The conviction in Stevie Wonder practically makes the track a kiss with a fist. It’s viscerally hard-hitting. but soulfully sweet all the same.

With their clear Rap style and their mischievously hedonistic bars sitting seamlessly with the high-octane rhythmically arrestive beats, Vior offers the best of East Coast Hip Hop. We have no doubt that it’s only a matter of time before they achieve what they set out to do and put their name on the map.

You can check out the official video to Stevie Wonder which was shot by WizFx by heading over to YouTube.

Or you can listen to the Presidential EP in full via Spotify.

Vior

Review by Amelia Vandergast