Browsing Tag

Old School Hip Hop

jfons Turned Old-School Hip-Hop and RnB Gospel into Street-Level Testimony on Gospel Song (Tell Somebody)

Posted on 28 April 2026

Jfons made an altar out of his beats while taking gospel to the streets in his mash-up of old-school hip-hop and RnB, Gospel Song (Tell Somebody). Keeping the production raw and locked and loaded with emotion, there’s an urgency to the piety, giving the impassioned vocal harmonies an ensnaring presence and strength as boom-bap beats punctuate cinematic old-school hip-hop motifs.

That sense of devotional fire gives the single its intensity with jfons channelling the uplift of gospel through an urban contemporary lens that feels street-level and fiercely sincere. The groove moves with soulful confidence, the vocal phrasing carries smooth conviction, and the whole arrangement lands with the force of testimony delivered from the chest instead of the pulpit.

There are shades of Kanye West’s early gospel-rap ambition, Kirk Franklin’s communal spirit, and classic boom bap in the rhythmic backbone, yet jfons brings his own stamp through the warmth of the delivery and the clarity of the message. This is music built to reach people where they are, with melody, faith, and feeling working in close lockstep.

Gospel Song (Tell Somebody) is now available to stream on all major platforms, including SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Defiant Darius reigned as a hip-hop supreme with his dirty southern swagger in ‘Came Down’ 

Posted on 17 April 2026

Few rappers do more than Defiant Darius when reinventing old-school hip-hop for the modern era. There isn’t a vibe check his seminal single, Came Down, accompanied by a viral official music video, couldn’t pass; you’ll feel your rhythmic pulses soften into submission to the cinematic production, which cuts old-school soul samples around one of the most versatile vocal performances contemporary hip-hop has to offer.

Baton Rouge-born and Houston-raised, Darius comes from a lineage shaped by storytellers such as Tupac Shakur, Nasir Jones, Jermaine Cole, and Nipsey Hussle, and that grounding shows in the way he lets lived experience sit at the centre of the track without ever losing the composure of the delivery.

He has mastered the art of the seamless switch-up while never letting his grooves lose their grip. There’s just something about his laidback luxe aura that instantly envelops you into his world, rather than forcing you to stand back and observe the grind that got him here. You feel it in the cool, collected cadence, which dominates while creating a slick juxtaposition with the fervidly temperate production.

Following the momentum of his EPs 2 Defiant, Southern Hustler, and Mo City Soldier, and with stages across the States and even Japan behind him, Came Down lands as another reminder that Defiant Darius has the range and presence to beome a hip-hop icon in his own unshakable right.

Came Down is now available on all major streaming platforms, including YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Heat Simmered and Sharp Wordplay Sliced Through the Vibes in Techniec’s ‘Who Else But Me?’

Posted on 2 June 2025

With a pen as sharp as the Californian sun is relentless, Techniec scorched straight through the static in Who Else But Me?, the standout single from Patience of God Season 2. The Long Beach MC’s decision to pull scratchy, polyphonic boom bap back into mainstream view isn’t nostalgic indulgence, it’s pure assertion. The stripped-back beat doesn’t leave gaps, it gives his flow space to snap, burn, and command.

The Snoop Dogg reminiscences are no coincidence. After being discovered by Big C-Style and signed to Doggystyle Records, Techniec played a pivotal role in the West Coast dynasty’s foundations. His contributions to Doggfather, Retaliation, Revenge, and Get Back, and Da Hood weren’t footnotes. XXL made it clear. He stole the show.

That presence is still intact and impossible to miss. Who Else But Me? thrives on raw, sun-bleached heat and refusal to soften a single edge. The energy moves like waves off cracked asphalt, refracted through a vocal performance that is never anything less than commanding.

Techniec writes like he has nothing left to prove, only reasons to keep pushing forward. His cadence in Who Else But Me? doesn’t just ride the beat; it raises the stakes for every bar that follows.

Between his flow and presence when he steps to the mic, there isn’t a monolith on this earth that can stand in the Cali rapper’s way.

Who Else But Me? is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

UK Hip-Hop Icon-in-the Making Logan Taylor Scorches Nostalgia into Soul in ‘DANCE WITH YOU’

Posted on 10 May 2025

If you’re searching for hip-hop cuts that scintillate the soul, look no further than the fervently sweet seminal release, DANCE WITH YOU, by one of the UK’s hottest up-and-coming forces in the soul hip-hop sphere, Logan Taylor. With bars that are as melodiously luxe as the jazzy instrumentals that lick the melodies straight into your soul, DANCE WITH YOU throws away any sense of pretence while diving headfirst into sepia-tinged nostalgic tones that instantly make you feel at home. It’s a timeless release that demands eternal reverence; Taylor isn’t the type to paint by numbers; he’s the kind of artist to pull straight from the soul to connect with his audience through cinematically cosy vignettes.

The Worcester-based producer, songwriter, and rapper has never relied on bells and whistles to mask a lack of substance. Logan Taylor creates his own beats, plays every instrument, and carves truth through his lyricism. DANCE WITH YOU proves his focus has never faltered from connection and conviction. Built in D major with a cathartic tempo, soulful jazz grooves, and smooth vocal hooks, the track becomes the sonic equivalent of a backlit ballroom slow dance – half fantasy, half confession.

Taylor’s refusal to rely on autotune keeps the raw charisma of his delivery intact. It’s a high-fidelity snapshot of devotion without ego, chilled but emotionally charged, cut from the same cloth as the artists that shaped him, yet unmistakably his own. For a track crafted in an independent artist’s hands, it lands with the kind of emotional maturity many major-label acts never reach.

DANCE WITH YOU is now available to stream on all major platforms, including SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

INFAMOUS C-4 Fired Shots of Charisma in the Lo-Fi Swagger of ‘Michael Blackson’

Posted on 7 May 2025

INFAMOUS C-4 cracked a grin and lit a fuse with the radio edit of Michael Blackson—a cheeky, wavy, lo-fi, saturated ride through the rapper’s charismatic wit, which only seems to get sharper with every new drop. With over 14,000 streams on YouTube alone, the track is doing far more than moving numbers; it’s turning listeners into believers.

Born Frederick M. Jones, INFAMOUS C-4 came up between Albany and Atlanta before finding his edge in Paulding County. His voice carries the weight of lived experience, but it’s filtered through humour, defiance, and a melodic ease that makes even the sharpest bar slide down like honey with a kick. His jazzy, metaphoric, story-driven style takes centre stage here—but it never overstays its welcome. It keeps you locked in while his delivery coasts over the beat with the precision of a seasoned provocateur.

If you want to add flavour to your vibe out hip hop playlists, look no further than this melodious earworm that sinks you into its catharsis. INFAMOUS C-4 doesn’t rely on smoke or mirrors—just razor-sharp charisma, undeniable talent, and an instinct for timing that keeps each punchline airtight.

Michael Blackson (Radio Edit) is now available to stream on all major platforms, including YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Holy by Drew Drake: A Hip-Hop Sermon Lighting Fires of Liberation

Posted on 1 April 2025

Drew Drake’s latest single, ‘Holy,‘ blurs the sacred lines between gospel and hip-hop, crafting a lyrically waxed sermon that uplifts as effortlessly as it unsettles preconceptions. The rapper’s smooth, soul-drenched cadence carves an introspective space for listeners to reflect and release the weight of self-imposed restrictions. Drake’s words ignite with sincerity, opening the gates for perceptions to shift and barriers to crumble. ‘Holy’ provides sanctuary, regardless of religious affiliation—offering faith through music for anyone willing to embrace it.

The seminal track pulses with the warmth of gospel’s organ keys, yet Drake injects enough rhythmically smooth RnB echoes to keep it grounded in contemporary resonance. Ethereal backing vocals hover gracefully in the background, adding arcane textures reminiscent of old-school spirituals, crafting an atmosphere that haunts and heals in equal measure.

Drake, a Huntsville, Alabama native now based in Knoxville, Tennessee, uses art to initiate essential dialogue for people of colour. His versatile artistic voice, sharpened through acting roles like Lamar Cordell in Law and Order Season 22 and stage appearances from Bonnaroo Music Festival to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, lends depth to his message.

Holy is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Knife Edge of Clarity: Velly Marsh Channels Haunting Introspection in Vice Versa (Synergy)

Posted on 27 March 2025

Velly Marsh never raps from the surface. With Vice Versa (Synergy), created in collaboration with LethalNeedle and Andrew the Anomalous One, the Las Vegas-based artist invites you to the psychological front line and holds your gaze there. The hauntingly ethereal prelude, built on minor-key piano progressions and spectral-with-soul vocal textures, sets the tone for a track that doesn’t rush to land punches—it stalks your subconscious instead.

When the beat kicks in, it doesn’t undercut the atmosphere. It strengthens the spine of the track while Marsh delivers larger-than-life bars bathed in conviction and presence. Every word is locked in—deliberate, consolatory, and fine cut with lyrical candour. His introspective depth, honed from years of disciplined self-reflection and influence from artists like Mach-Hommy and MF DOOM, translates into verses that don’t seek applause—they seek understanding.

Vice Versa (Synergy) isn’t built for passive listening. It leaves your attention on an unnerving knife edge as Velly Marsh dares you to strip your mind down as bare as he lays his own. This is boom-bap realism as a soul-baring artform—constructed with care, executed with precision, and mixed with the kind of restraint only a trained audio engineer who knows exactly where to hold back can manage.

You can lock into it repeatedly and still find new lyrical details carved into its structure. It’s not about volume or visibility—it’s about clarity. Through this lens, Marsh doesn’t just tell his story—he holds a mirror up to yours.

Vice Versa (Synergy) is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast.

Bruised Knuckles, Clear Mind: Mystic Lovelle Fights for Peace in ‘Shadow Boxing’

Posted on 24 March 2025

Taken from The 3 EP, ‘Shadow Boxing’ is Mystic Lovelle’s melodic statement of intent. old-school hip-hop converges with even older-school soul in luxe layers that form a meditative introduction to the artist’s ethos and aura. Instead of indulging in fantasies of excess, Lovelle turns the spotlight inward to document the hard-won clarity earned through personal unrest.

Everyone loves a rags-to-riches narrative, but Lovelle brings something far more grounded. With steady pacing and meticulously metered bars, the verses map out what it means to move through adversity and arrive in a place where self-respect eclipses regret. The lyrical weight is matched by the production’s depth, where the soul vox weaves around Lovelle’s words like incense.

The track is a smooth reflection carved from strife, shaped into something close to spiritual resolve. Every lyric reinforces the idea that hardship can inform strength without becoming identity, and that mental sanctity grows from resisting the urge to fold beneath pressure. The message doesn’t preach—it presents. Without self-pity or inflated ego, Lovelle builds an atmosphere where wisdom carries more currency than ego.

Tonally, lyrically, and vocally, ‘Shadow Boxing’ is soaked in an affecting sublimity. The cinematic scale meets the intimacy of confessional writing, creating a track that lingers not just through its sound, but through its intention.

Shadow Boxing is now available on Spotify and Apple Music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

4KPHIL. Schools the Scene with ‘Truancy’

Posted on 24 February 2025

Truancy doesn’t start with a whimper—it kicks the door in with a bang of cinematic old-school hip-hop nostalgia, setting the stage for 4KPHIL.’s bars that never miss. Mellifluous yet sharp, his flow rides over soul-soaked syncopated samples with the ease of an MC who knows every syllable is worth hanging onto. His hypnotic cadence pulls you in, revealing his world inch by inch with every line cascading over motifs that pull you straight back to hip-hop’s golden era.

Phillip Mitchell is no stranger to reinvention. Raised in Connecticut by Jamaican and Grenadian parents, he soaked up the sounds of the East Coast, from New York to Toronto. His early years saw him juggle ambitions as an athlete and academic, but a bullet rewrote his path, leading him to pour everything into music. For years, he built his name under a different alias, crafting a reputation through freestyles and independent releases before feeling the need for something greater. In 2021, 4KPHIL. was born.

Now a key figure on Paperjack Productions’ roster, his evolution is undeniable. With Truancy, he keeps his streak intact, executively producing, refining, and expanding his vision with longtime collaborator RunnitBack. His ability to blend old-school soul with contemporary grit proves he’s not just looking back—he’s carrying hip-hop forward with every track. 

Stream the official music video for Truancy on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

SAINT tgw – ‘in darkness,’; Hip-Hop’s Firestorm of Authenticity and Emotive Artillery

Posted on 14 January 2025

SAINT tgw is etching his way into the annals of hip-hop history with his raw authenticity and trademark emotively cinematic sound, and his latest single, in darkness, sets his reputation ablaze. Influenced by icons such as Tupac, Nas, and Biggie, while standing shoulder to shoulder with contemporaries like Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Drake, the rapper is blazing his own trail to the top without missing a step.

in darkness doesn’t just hit hard; it hits in all the right places. The high-energy intensity is perfectly juxtaposed with the meticulously measured cadence of his bars, which command a layered track that transcends typical hip-hop beats. Bluesy guitars angularly cut through the polished production, while the rattle of the 808s and blasts of bass create a visceral foundation for his fervent lyricism and charismatic conviction.

The anthem is a soundscape that melts the mind into susceptibility, making it impossible not to lock into SAINT tgw’s unrelenting momentum. SAINT tgw isn’t merely riding a wave of hype—he is the hype. in darkness solidifies his place as an industry heavyweight in the making and confirms what fans of raw, unfiltered hip-hop already know: SAINT tgw isn’t just aiming for greatness—he’s claiming it.

‘in darkness,’ will be available to stream on all major platforms, including SoundCloud, from January 14th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast