Browsing Tag

Lyrical Hip Hop

Money and Image blazed across the Texas hip-hop scene with their infectious track, No Smoke

Posted on 5 November 2023

Escape into the urban aesthetic of the latest single and music video, No Smoke, by the two Texan rap legends in their own right, Money and Image, and lose yourself within the infectiously feel-good lyricality of the track that definitively proves conviction doesn’t always need to be a by-product of the aggression.

While the instrumentals find the sonic middle ground between jazzy old-school hip-hop grooves and wavy RnB pop trap, the vocals constantly shift in tone and pace to create a fully rounded hit that is all too easy to melodically roll with as you drink in the charismatically prophetic message which advocates pacifism.

The official music video for No Smoke premiered on October 21; stream it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The urban oracle Yung Dread Da Prophet struck again with the introspective gold in his latest track, Stabilize

Posted on 22 October 2023

Stabilize is the latest wavy-with-soul, old-school-inspired drop of hip-hop from the artist, enigma and urban oracle, Yung Dread Da Prophet.

It is all too easy to get into the reverb-swathed grooves of the release as the melodies mellifluously run you through the verses which the 22-year-old South Jersey-born, NY-based rapper uses to wax lyrical on the ramifications of living in an epoch that is constantly finding ways to knock you out of cognitive kilter.

Clearly one to always see the bigger picture and project the universe’s parallels into his tracks that are as solid as introspective gold, Yung Dread Da Prophet is one to watch if you like instrumental catharsis synthesised with eyes-wide-open expositions that will make you stop, think, and press repeat.

Stabilize hit the airwaves on October 20; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Chiron Loxton rolled evocatively deep in his alt-rap track, The Importance of Incorporating Healthy Outlets

Posted on 22 October 2023

After delivering one of the hottest electro-house hip-hop drops of the summer with his single, Ibiza, the alt-rap trailblazer Chiron Loxton’s mood has changed with the weather in his introspectively raw single, The Importance of Incorporating Healthy Outlets.

Stunning, dark, and haunting in equal measure, the intricate instrumentals set the ambience and atmosphere for Loxton’s grimey rap bars to storm through, making it impossible not to lock into the candour and precision of the canter as the rap luminary attests to the necessity of creativity.

It’s a window into the experience of the artist, Loxton’s determination to keep his sanctity on the straight and narrow and perhaps most importantly, a manifesto on how to keep negativity at bay. If the Somerset, UK-hailing artist isn’t on your radar already, save space on it and await more hits which have the force to shift your perceptions into enlightenment.

The Importance of Incorporating Healthy Outlets dropped on October 13; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

NTHN versed vulnerability for Mental Health Day in his shoegaze-hip-hop mash-up, The Meaning

Posted on 16 October 2023

For Mental Health Day, the UK songwriter, cloud sampler, and producer NTHN debuted his most introspective shoegaze and hip-hop-influenced track to date, The Meaning, on October 10 and subsequently delivered the most compellingly dark single of the year.

It has been a while since a rap track hit so hard it made an impact on my tear ducts, but NTHN’s command over evocative ambient melodies and the intimate vulnerability within the lyrics and delivery proved that there’s power in dragging your demons out of the closet and vanquishing them for all to hear.

Rather than keeping his sound solely in the hip-hop arena, NTHN uses hip-hop composition, sampling, and percussion around his influence from emo, shoegaze and metal genres to keep his sonic signature scribing authentically absorbing and always emotion-driven atmospheric alchemy.

“I started writing it when I was at my lowest and I am now releasing it when I’m much more in control of how I feel, and I am in a much better place. It’s my journey to accepting my own mental health issues and learning to live with them, not just exist, by looking for the meaning in the everyday. I would like to raise awareness of the need to speak out and, by sharing my vulnerability, hopefully, connect with listeners who might be able to use the track as a way of relating to how I feel and not feeling so alone in dealing with things.”

The Meaning is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cali Ave Lo delivered lyrical wit so sharp you will get whiplash in ‘Way I Feel’ ft. Monie$

Posted on 15 October 2023

The lyrical wit in Cali Ave Lo’s standout rap track, Way I Feel, is sharp enough to tear a hole in the airwaves, even if the blows of the Machiavellian bars are softened by the jazzy and groove-deep old-school instrumentals, which allow the single to drip in luxe magnetism. He wasn’t playing when he warned he is a beast that can’t be tamed.

The single, created in collaboration with Monie$, is just one of the fresh-with-innovation-and-intellect singles found on Cali Ave Lo’s latest album, Untitled. Uncut. 3, which is already going down a storm with the Chicago-hailing artist’s legion of fans which is growing by the day thanks to his commitment to being one of the most thought-provoking artists on the underground. If your playlists are already filled with hits from Kanye, DMX, Lil Wayne and Jay Z, you will want to make room for Cali Ave Lo.

Way I Feel dropped on September 27; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Remmorii is visionary in his fear and faith-mused alt-hip-hop release, Before I Drown

Posted on 12 October 2023

Toronto’s most captivatingly introspective artist, Remmorii, used faith and fear as a muse in his latest organically electrifying release, Before I Drown, which lets candour cascade around the multicultural synthesis of style.

The experimentalism which breathed visceral life into the single to juxtapose the ennui in the lyrical delivery ensured that no one has a stronger stake in the claim of being one of the most authentically dynamic artists on any scene.

Before I Drown is beyond genre boundaries; it transcends them through the depth of the exploration of personal struggles. To balance the dark with the light, Remmorii infused incandescent optimism around the soulful hip-hop and RnB layers by sonically paving a path towards providence and hope for better days when you’re not treading water for survival, you’re making major strides towards personal growth.

Before I Drown was officially released on September 29: stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Emanuel Arzumanyan freed his listeners from the comparison trap with his hip-hop track, Gotta Get Mine ft Mr Maph

Posted on 10 September 2023

For his latest single and most popular hit to date, Gotta Get Mine, the Antwerp, Belgium-based beat maker, hip-hop producer, guitarist, and audio engineer, Emanuel Arzumanyan, collaborated with the London-based trailblazer of a lyricist and vocalist Mr Maph to deliver a high-octane rap track that will leave you adrenalized with inspiration.

The reprise “gotta get mine, gotta get yours” over the cinematically Grammy-worthy hip-hop orchestration is an efficaciously succinct way to veer listeners away from envy and the comparison trap and towards determination that doesn’t revolve around anticipating and facilitating the downfall of others.

Gotta Get Mine evades all of the usual tropes to unravel as a hit that delivers introspective gold over each of the expertly crafted hooks that will remain sharp enough in your mind to necessitate making Gotta Get Mine a playlist staple.

Stream Gotta Get Mine on Spotify and follow Emanuel Arzumanyan on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

SUNDIARA ran visceral vindication right through his seminal single, The Zipped Head

Posted on 28 August 2023

With rap bars that deliver as much vindication as the ones that flow from B. Dolan’s volition-driven singles and instrumentals that ooze contrasting upbeat tones under the gruff vocals that will be a hit with any fans of Busta Rhymes, the latest single, The Zipped Head, from SUNDIARA is a visceral Tour De Force that you will want to immerse yourself in time after time for the affirmation that you’re not alone in the contempt you feel for our sociopath-breeding social fabric.

The artist formerly known as DONNIENOTBRASCO, Young Don, and D.O.Nquixote has stepped into a new guise to bring in a new era of his creativity; with The Zipped Head, he perceptibly made his freshly honed new mark on the industry. For all too long, we were told that haters hate. We weren’t told how they can be the closest people to you and how they flip the narrative to attempt to desecrate everything you’ve built and gaslight others into seeing a maleficently fabricated version of you.  Thankfully, SUNDIARA has arrived to empower people into a position of affirmative action when it comes to cutting toxic ties.

Check out the official music video for The Zipped Head on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Brandon Blvd’s single, The Outcome, ft Mai Ty, is a melodically mindful revelation.

Posted on 2 August 2023
Son of David: A Tale of Righteousness by Brandon Blvd

Taken from his LP, Son of David: A Tale of Righteousness, the Memphis-hailing breakthrough rap artist Brandon Blvd’s seminal hit, The Outcome, featuring Mai Ty, is a melodically mindful revelation.

All too often, rap artists glamourise aggression and emotion-driven reactions in a bid to instil conviction in their hits; Brandon Blvd rose above it all to flood his single with introspective gold and soul that won’t just make you think twice; it will shift your entire perception in a positive direction.

Working with Mai Ty’s ethereally pure vocal timbre, Blvd offered direction and sonic solace in equal measure in The Outcome, which stands as a testament to his talent that is intrinsically entwined with his determination to shine lights on better ways of living and better the world while he is making his mark on the Memphis hip-hop map.

Son of David: A Tale of Righteousness was released via Problematic Nation LLC in April 2023; purchase the album on Apple Music or Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sweet Limb shattered the illusion that police brutality is a 21st-century novelty in his single, Relate

Posted on 1 August 2023

Sweet Limb took his latest hip-hop EP, NICE, right back to the old school and around the Bronx block to deliver an urban atom bomb of nostalgia.

With his standout single, Relate, the Austin-based flow king reigned supreme as he rode the steady rhythmic waves of the funky basslines and 808s, which become the centres of gravity in the minimalist polished track that shatters the illusion that police brutality is a new issue and the only one that marginal communities feel the forces of oppression from.

While many rappers rushed to contribute to the voices in the BLM movement, Sweet Limb bided his time to speak for everyone who can’t relate to the portrayal of the onslaught of police violence in the media, not because it wasn’t a barbaric travesty, because it was a tale as old as time and pretending otherwise is just another brand of injustice.

The NICE EP will hit the airwaves on August 1st; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast