Browsing Tag

New Wave Hip Hop

Take a nibble on Andy&Eddie’s latest new wave indie rap track, Cheese

Posted on 26 May 2022

The Ottawa, Canada twin brother duo, Andy&Eddie, are fresh from the release of their latest new wave rap album, The Count, featuring the standout release, Cheese. The high energy yet immersively paced seminal hit takes old school hustler hip to the next level of innovation with its indie mellifluous grooves and bass-heavy production. Hip Hop eagworms aren’t easy to come by, but any fans of distinctive urban talent will feel like they struck gold with Cheese.

The sweet harmonic vocals run in tight synergy with the melodic beats to keep the momentum flowing in the high vibe feat of self-expression, which easily becomes as therapeutic for the listener as it was for the two brothers who converged their talents in 2018. We can’t wait to hear what follows.

Cheese is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tana & Ava Like Lava are in vogue in their rap track Supermodel

Posted on 21 May 2022

After being championed by the likes of Sean Kingston, the revolutionary pop-rap originator, Tana is here with one of the hottest hip hop collabs of the year, Supermodel, featuring the South Africa-hailing artist Ava Like Lava.

With grooves and licks that are just as sultry as the honeyed vocals that know the perfect place to throw a little attitude, nothing about Supermodel feels superficial. It drips empowered decadence in a way that could put Grimes to shame.

Ironically, Supermodel is one of the most aurally aesthetic hip hop tracks to land on our radar in 2022. We can’t wait to hear what comes next from the Sony-signed and BBC Introducing lauded queer artist that is bringing swathes of style, culture, and attitude to the airwaves.

Supermodel is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Its all in the vibe in 2Dope.Ty’s latest infectiously dynamic feat of hip hop, Picture Perfect

Posted on 4 May 2022

Perfection doesn’t exist, but 2Dope.Ty, came pretty close in his latest bass-dripping darkly timbered rap track, Picture Perfect. It is a scathingly revealing snapshot of everything we want to project into the world. The razor-sharpness of the lyrics that bring you into the ludicrousness of our current status-obsessed reality is a testament to the North Carolina-based artist’s vernacular and wit that was formed through dabbling with poetry.

Stylistically, 2Dope.Ty staked his dynamic claim that allows his music to appeal to everyone, from Kendrick Lamar to Juice Wrld, without leaning on assimilation. There is something all too immersive about his laidback delivery of aggressive bars. While Picture Perfect is running through, it becomes a new gritty source of gravity. And we’re pretty sure that there isn’t a vibe check in the world that 2Dope.Ty couldn’t pass. He’s firmly affixed to our radar from here on out.

Picture Perfect is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Vatic keeps it raw and real in his downtempo emo hip hop track, 3 am

Posted on 26 March 2022

Vatic’s latest raw and honest single, 3 am, is an acknowledgement that nobody is always ok, and that’s ok. The slow tempo, heartbreak infused single takes new wave hip hop to an ambient and almost ethereal level. With the solemnly hushed vocals adrift over the simple minor piano chords, it is all too easy to find yourself at the heart of this plaintively meditative single that hammers home the depth of pensive pain that we all feel in our lives from time to time. 3 am carries no sense of ego or grandiosity; instead, Vatic paid homage to the reality of the true human experience. He’s a true artist, we can’t wait to hear what follows.

3 am was released on March 10th; you can hear it for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The future of hip hop arrived in Gud Cyrus’ spacey electro debut album, Until Next Time.

Posted on 5 February 2022

Mississauga, ON-hailing artist and songwriter Gud Cyrus is fresh from the release of his dynamic hotly-anticipated debut album, Until Next Time. For new fans, the standout single, Anomaly, is the best introduction to Cyrus’ evocatively spacey signature style that hasn’t failed to attract international attention.

After an ethereal prelude that feels like it has just crawled out of a David Lynch film (in the best possible way), Anomaly starts to unravel as an intriguingly experimental feat of urban ingenuity. Anomaly takes the evolution of hip hop one step further into the future with the glitchy and scattered effects that would be jarring if the grooves in the track didn’t cut so deep.

Gud Cyrus’ album is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Current shows us the meaning of conviction in his latest alt-hip hop single Under Pressure featuring STBtheDon

Posted on 1 February 2022

For his latest emotional firestorm of a release, Under Pressure, the breaking rapper, singer, producer and DJ, Current teamed up with the equally as luminary artist, STBtheDon. The Birmingham, Alabama-born, Kansas City-based artist has spent the last eight years fine-tuning his authentic sonic signature that includes elements of Lo-Fi, hip hop, electronica and RnB – and it certainly shows in Under Pressure.

For new fans, Under Pressure, is the perfect introduction to Current’s experimental production style. The track explores the pressure we feel from people’s expectations. The conviction in the track is the ultimate proof that pressure is even harder to bear when the expectation is for us to fail. For anyone who knows how exhausting yet vindicating it is to succeed despite condescending cynicism, there’s almost an infinite amount of resonance. Lyrically, each verse hits harder than the last. By the outro, you won’t fail to be blown away by the full-frontal emotion.

Under Pressure was released on January 21st, 2022; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

themoonmustset made new wave rap wavier in his latest release, Make It Home

Posted on 25 January 2022

From 80s goth to new wave rap, few sounds evade the fusionist style of the up and coming Dallas, TX-native, themoonmustset. His latest single, Make It Home, is a trippy-to-the-point-of-being-ethereal release that uses glitchy distorted beats under his urgent and visceral rap bars.

I’m fairly sure you would have heard the phrase “it’s a vibe” before; this track becomes the epitome of it with its spacey, wavey progressions and the full-frontal human element pouring into the mix through the tuned and effect-laden vocals.

The 22-year-old artist produces, records, mixes and masters every release put out under his name. We can only hope that there are more locked, loaded and ready to drop releases from themoonmustset.

Make It Home is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dark Pop Meets Hip Hop in Snapdibz’ latest single, Rivals featuring Rey Khan

Posted on 12 November 2021

There is nothing on the airwaves as raw as a hip hop artist throwing away every last shred of ego and pretence to show the softer side of their soul; case in point, Snapbidz latest single, Rivals, featuring Rey Khan.

When I hit play on what I thought would be yet another confrontational diss track, a stunningly pensive mash of RnB, trap, and pop started to pull me into the soul of the single that carries just as much, if not more, conviction as the harshest of rap hits.

The slight vibrato on Rey Khan’s trap pop vocals and Snapbidz animated bars over the minor key melodies is enough to test your soul’s capacity to feel as it climbs the charts.

Rivals is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jambon goes interstellar with his spacey new wave hip hop track, Beam Me Up.

Posted on 7 November 2021

Spacey hip hop pioneer, Jambon released his latest RnB-laced interstellar hit, Beam Me Up, on October 29th and created a brand-new trajectory in the evolution of rap in the process.

With new wave trap elements grinding alongside old school grooves and electronic textures that have never before found their place in hip hop beats, Beam Me Up is a refreshingly high vibe track that allows you to transcend with the psychy energy alone before you even take into account the meta poetry in the lyrics and Jambon’s cleverly distorted semi-harmonic pop-rap vocals.

Beam Me Up is available to stream on Spotify, or you can check out the official video via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Laura Tanifum smashes stereotypes in her RnB Trap track, ‘Sugar Cane’.

Posted on 21 May 2021

RnB Hip Hop fans will want to turn their attention to Laura Tanifum’s fierily melodious standout single, Sugar Cane. The Canadian singer-songwriter and rapper made her debut in 2019; in 2021, she’s coming into her own as increasing numbers of fans are scouting her out for her sweet yet subversive tracks.

With Sugar Cane, she plays around with the notion of female stereotypes and proves that there’s plenty more to women beyond the sweet and superficial facades while the trap beats grind through plenty of atmospheric reverb. It’s a stunning, almost-reminiscent-less release that puts Tanifum in good stead for her breakthrough from the independent underground.

You can check out Sugar Cane for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast