Browsing Tag

UK Hip Hop

JMP tore through the façade of fallacy with their latest rap track, Don’t Lie, featuring Zinc and Sofia Kafas

https://spotify.link/QgiVqnqW0Hb

JMP’s latest feat of genre-fluid alchemy, “Don’t Lie,” featuring Zinc and Sofia Kafas, seamlessly fuses trap beats into a melodiously mellow atmosphere. As the lush reverb ebbs and flows, it envelops the listener in a rhythmic embrace, guided by the unique chemistry each vocalist brings to the track.

Sofia Kafas’s soulful voice adds a layer of depth and emotion, contrasting with the grit of the grime-y bars. Their harmonies paint a vivid picture of the narrative at the heart of the song – the detriments of deception. What truly sets “Don’t Lie” apart is its cultural richness; the bilingual verses shatter the monocultural mould, adding an exotic twist to the RnB lyrical rhythms.

Don’t Lie was unveiled as one of JMP’s most dynamic releases to date. The trio of contributors, each with their distinct style, unite under the theme of sincerity and truth. The result is a compelling track that resonates on multiple levels and is a reminder of rap’s capacity for storytelling and emotional depth, making it a standout release in JMP’s repertoire.

Don’t Lie was officially released on February 26th; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tom Hutchcraft illuminated the stains on our systematically oppressive social fabric with ‘Venting’, featuring Dizzy Wright

Tom Hutchcraft’s entry into the hip-hop sphere with his single ‘Venting‘, featuring the accoladed flow king Dizzy Wright, is nothing short of a revelation. The Cambridge-based artist, previously known for his piano covers and classical prowess, has taken a bold leap, landing squarely in the realm of rap with a track that resonates with both rhyme and reason.

‘Venting’ is a striking blend of Hutchcraft’s sharpened with acerbic wit spoken word cadence and Wright’s seasoned Blackalicious-esque flow. The track stands out not just for its musicality but for its socially conscious heartbeat. Hutchcraft’s lyricism delves deep into themes of racial prejudice and systematic oppression, offering a narrative that’s as observationally astute as it is emotionally charged.

The beats in ‘Venting’ are a rhythmic catalyst, inducing listeners into a heightened state of awareness. It’s a call to consciousness that will stick with you for long after the outro. For a first venture into hip-hop, this track sets a high bar, not just for Hutchcraft but for the genre as a whole. It’s a testament to the power of music as a tool for reflection and change, and a sign that Hutchcraft is an artist to watch in the evolving landscape of rap music.

Venting will reach the airwaves on March 23rd; stream it here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

reubencmg looked beyond the surface level of scars in his compassionately raw rap track, Insecure

In his latest single, Insecure, the UK rapper reubencmg opened a narrative on how we can walk through life buried under the weight of our trauma which bears down on everything we do, from how we navigate relationships to what we will passively accept from life’s protagonists who bank on people being bruised enough to tolerate exploitation and humiliation.

With the soul in the backing vocals harmonising behind the George the Poet-esque spoken-word cadence, which adds to the melodiously wavy vibe of Insecure, reubencmg keeps it raw and real while delivering a gritty urban soundscape that people can seek solace within every time they need a reminder that every person you walk past in the street has their own demons to defeat and burdens biting down on their psyche.

Stream Insecure on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ard Adz & Sho Shallow sharpened the raw edge of London’s rap scene with ‘Still Windy’

Brixton’s biggest rap luminary, Sho Shallow, has another feat of innovative urban engineering in his discography, which is quickly becoming an unreckonable legacy in the London rap scene. Still Windy, created in collaboration with Ard Adz, is a deeply affecting synthesis of lyrical intimacy, gritty charisma, and melodious beats that pulsate luxe grooves into the release which doesn’t allow the essence of the track to be overshadowed and lost by excessive studio production.

In the span of 12 hours, Still Windy was recorded and the music video was filmed, ensuring the same fire that sparked the inspiration blazes through the fervent release, which juxtaposes the soul in the backing vocals with the sharp cadence in the rap delivery, which bleeds urgency and expressive candour.

The video has racked up almost 200k streams since its December 28th premiere, which debuted ahead of the Head Above Water LP, which is due for release on January 26.

Check out the official music video brought to YouTube by GRM Daily via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nick O charted new horizons with his debut rap track, Be There for Me  

Nick O, Surrey’s latest hip hop sensation, has unleashed a musical tour de force with his debut single, Be There for Me. The vibrant tapestry of sound, woven with the lyrical dexterity reminiscent of George the Poet and infused with a soulful essence, beats to the pulse of East Coast hip-hop while asserting Nick O as an orchestrator of originality.

From the first beat, the track sinks the listener into a  blend of modern storytelling and nostalgic 90’s soul. Nick O’s influences, ranging from the lyrical genius of Kanye West and Andre 3000 to the emotive melodies of Frank Ocean and Sampha, are intricately interlaced. His rhythmically flawless canter dances over the beats, painting vivid pictures of his inner world – a world filled with contrasts, from the peaks of joy to the valleys of introspection.

The ethereal female backing vocals in the track create a hypnotic juxtaposition, a delicate balance that complements Nick O’s robust and confident delivery. This unique combination sets Be There for Me apart, making it one of the most compelling hip-hop debuts of 2023. As we look towards 2024, it’s clear that Nick O is not just a rising star – he’s a force poised to take dominion over the UK hip-hop industry.

Stream Be There for Me on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lil Zino tore the stigma out of ‘PTSD’ with the drill debut of the year

After racking up over 206k streams on the official music video for his debut single, PTSD, and becoming a viral sensation on TikTok in the process, East London’s Lil Zino stormed into the rap scene with one of the strongest debuts of 2023.

With melodic minor key pseudo-trap instrumentals setting the cinematically melancholic tone, the atmosphere was set for Lil Zino to pour vulnerable candour into the track with his stonily steadfast vocal delivery which runs through in a magnetically paced cadence. While some rappers wear their trauma like a badge of honour, Lil Zino is adding nuance to the narrative by exhibiting the weight of scars, becoming one of the most authentic drill voices in the process.

There’s no understating the evocative pull of the track that projects an intimate vignette of the violent event, which led him to finding a necessary means of expression. By keeping his composure while painting a stark picture of the harsh realities of East London’s streets with his blunt bars, Lil Zino delivered a hauntingly affecting release, which will stay with you long after the outro.

Stream PTSD on SoundCloud or watch the official music video on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

_sicko narrated ‘A MODERN HORROR STORY’ in his seminally twisted boom bap track

Hip-hop’s darkest hour struck when the UK alchemist of boom bap, _sicko delivered his PLAY ME EP on Halloween. After a chilling horror score of an intro track, which sets the tone for the rest of the EP, the standout single, A MODERN HORROR STORY, kicks right into macabre gear, following an anachronistic haunted music box prelude.

By painting himself as a twisted protagonist to portray the sickness that breeds online when the worst impulses of the human psyche are vindicated by nefarious echo chambers, _sicko (AKA Aaron Terror) provided a spine-chilling exposition on the proclivities of perversion that are worryingly prolific.

With a twisted lyrical style that isn’t out of the ordinary in death metal projected through a rap flow, which makes it all too easy to lock into the sickness within the horror imagery, A MODERN HORROR STORY is plagued with sickness that will make you stop, shiver, and think.

While some would undoubtedly rush to cancel _sicko, we can see the ingenuity within his creativity, which is on par with some of the greatest horror writers out there.

Stream the PLAY ME EP via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The temperature dropped as the UK-hip-hop visionary GADZ reflected on our ‘Cold World’ in his sophomore release

GADZ let the UK hip-hop scene know the score with his sophomore release, Cold World, by laying it all down on the melodic lines in the choruses and holding no prisoners when it came to creating a vignette of our increasingly inhospitable world, which necessitates a backbone of steel the amount of resilience exemplified within the dynamic track.

Going by the bars, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the Luton-hailing artist had lived a thousand lives. The depth of his introspective musing is an instant affirmation that he’s worth his weight in lyrical gold. Sonically, expect to be put through the evocative paces as you follow the eclectically sublime urban track through its seamless transitions from fiery bars and beats to soulful harmonies.

The track’s catchy, melodiously progressive refrain is a testament to his superlative talent. But much like his debut single, Fadeaway, which dropped on Valentine’s Day, and was subsequently backed by BBC Introducing’s Theo Johnson, it’s the magnetism in the resonance that will keep drawing you back to the track.

From a young age, GADZ developed a passion for music, a flame that was kindled by his father, a music educator and enthusiast who encouraged his musical exploration across various instruments. GADZ’s musical expedition truly began in his teens, fuelled by nights immersed in drill beats and crafting freestyles, which he would present to classmates. His relentless pursuit of mastering his craft led him to record his first track in a studio two years ago.

His talent has since been showcased at the O2 Academy Islington, earned him a nomination for Best Performance by RBE, and opened the door to BL@CKBOCK’s U18s Cypher 2022, leading to numerous appearances across Bedfordshire and an international fanbase who revere his artistic autonomy and willingness to put his heart on his bars. With a rapidly growing following, GADZ stands out as one of the UK’s most promising talents, poised for continued success as his artistic journey unfolds.

Stream Cold World on SoundCloud or immerse yourself deeper with the official music video, which premiered as a courtesy of GRM Daily on November 3rd via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

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

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

UK Flow Queen, TAYLOR-LEIGH, Lit Up the Airwaves with ‘Jig Up’

By bringing witty brutality to her bars and an infectious sense of playfulness to her beats, the UK flow queen TAYLOR-LEIGH lit up the airwaves with her latest lyrically lascivious track, Jig Up.

To assert the authenticity in her sonic signature, TAYLOR-LEIGH kept her vox in the grime and garage arena while the keys almost brought a neo-classic touch to the RnB-esque melodies to deliver a boundary-less track that breaks down sonic barriers while ticking every hip-hop box.

There’s also a strikingly clever duality within the lyrics; when TAYLOR-LEIGH isn’t running through with tongue-in-cheek antagonism, she’s demonstrating her emotional intelligence that will undoubtedly embolden any woman who encounters this seminal track.

Jig Up was officially released on September 4; stream it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast