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Sharif Hassan

Sharif Hassan embraces the highs & lows in his soul-bleached hip hop single, Youtruth

Leaning on his early days as a slam poet, the Harlem, New York-born and raised songwriter and rapper Sharif Hassan wore his authentic heart on his sleeve in his standout 2022 single, Youtruth.

The intuitive percussion constructs fluid rhythm around the contemporary beats that solidify the sonic platform Hassan’s sweetly harmonic bars fall into.

Even though it only runs through for 1:48, the urban poet doesn’t fail to wrap you up in his infectious vibe, which balances optimism with realism. For those chilled summer nights, you couldn’t ask for a better hip hop earworm. If his vocals don’t make you recognise your soul as much as his, you can probably consider it defunct.

Youtruth is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lyrical assassin Sharif Hassan takes on gold digger culture with ‘Facetime’.

Harlem, New York-hailing rap artist Sharif Hassan points out the pitfalls in Millennial living in their soulful yet savage debut album, ‘Black Millennial’.

You scarcely need his bio to tell you that he started as a slam poet; each line in the standout track, Facetime, is practically a lyrical assassination for anyone with the audacity to buy into gold digger culture. Many rap artists may have enabled the culture by glamorising it, but Sharif Hassan paints a gritty portrait of just how insidious it is. With the dubstep style beats in place of the usual flat 808s, this high vibe vindicating track is well worth consideration for your summer hip hop playlists.

You can check out Sharif Hassan’s 2021 album for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sharif Hassan Releases New Hip Hop Track “Ghetto”

Sharif Hassan is a young hip-hop artist from Harlem, right in the most active music hub of New York. His latest single off “Dear Life” EP, “Ghetto,” is in fact an image evoking description of life and characteristic attributes of specific areas in his hometown. With an authentic sounding instrumental backdrop that literally captures the New York City life and a strong steady flow with punctuating accents throughout, “Ghetto” is distinguished with a natural delivery and a character that captures and translates the subject matter into sound.

The brassy samples, portraying hints of jazz and city life, in combination with a steady driving beat is not the only thing that makes the nature of this song so authentic. The way the lyrics are written and performed truly brings out the depiction and life style of a ghetto in a matter of factly and natural way, providing insight and intrigue to the listener. Apart from this, the delivery and rhythmic flow are also on point and keep providing interest and forward momentum throughout, making Sharif Hassan’s potential truly stand out from the rest.

-Sarah Marie Bugeja