Browsing Tag

UK Hip Hop

Grime icon in the making, Jacob Briggs, has released a dizzying drop with ‘Bothered’.

Posted on 17 December 2022

Amalgamating the fiercest elements of trap, grime and drill, the UK icon in the making, Jacob Briggs, created a juggernaut of a hit with his latest single, Bothered, which officially dropped on December 9th.

Proving that grime hasn’t lost its flavour since Wiley gave us a taste in the early 00s, Bothered exhibits Briggs’ dizzying flow, which doesn’t sacrifice the lyrical content which puts to shame the archetypes built in the industry since it dawned.

The electronic music producer and creative artist started his sonic journey inspired by RnB and hip hop acts before creating his own rhythm-riding sonic signature that packs enough fervour to make your head spin. Watch this space before Briggs tears through it with the force of a lyrical tornado.

Feel the heat simmer from Bothered by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mych reached the pinnacle of UK rap with the intimate candour in ‘Heart of Mine’

Posted on 22 November 2022

After a smooth neoclassic piano prelude, the beats and grimey rap bars in Mych’s latest single, Heart of Mine, kicks in. Finding the middle ground between George the Poet and Stormzy in his high-calibre performance that is locked and loaded with wit-rife deliverances of hard truths and bold introspective honesty, Heart of Mine makes no bones about being delivered from the soul.

It isn’t every day you hear of an up-and-coming rapper that opts for candour over ego and pretence. Slip into Heart of Mine and find comfort in the emotional complexity that absolves the guilt for not having it all figured out. I, for one will be staying tuned for more cutting expositions on identity.

Stream the official music video for Heart of Mine on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

BEKAH heated up the UK rap scene with her wit-deep single, Shots

Posted on 19 October 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6N2Dn6rKno

British-born artist Bekah was perceptibly also born to be a rapper based on the fluidity of her wit-deep bars in her latest single, Shots. As the daughter of a Montserratian father and Pakistani mother, she ensured the flavour of Eastern rhythms packed a punch in this serpentine-ly melodic mellifluous hit that sticks to the synapses like super glue.

Between the beats, her charisma and the intellectual wordplay that would leave any sane artist fearing a rap battle, she’s evidently a triple threat. The way she pulverises ideas of what women should be is nothing short of electrifying. She’s picking up where Lady Sovereign left off with her unapologetic defiance of normative feminine stereotypes.

The official music video for Shots premiered on September 24th. Check it out on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

CK LDN is all-in in his latest hip hop single, She’s for Me

Posted on 10 October 2022

There are few things sweeter than devout outpours of affection; prepare for the ultimate sugar rush when you delve into the up-and-coming London-based rapper, songwriter, and producer, CK LDN’s latest single, She’s for Me.

Realism and romanticism don’t often go hand in hand, but they have a tight grip on each other between the cheeky rap bars, the bouncy Afrobeat rhythms and the vocal delivery that takes you to CK LDN’s ‘whole other level’.

This sophomore release proves that CK LDN was true to his melodious word in his debut single, Moving On, which has picked up plenty of hype since its 2022 release. With his talent easily matching his charisma, CK LDN is definitely one to watch.

The official music video for She’s for Me Premiered on September 30th. Check it out on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

VANES speaks for the diehard romantics in his indie rock meets hip hop sophomore single, can’t feel your love

Posted on 6 October 2022

Indie rock, pop, and hip hop converge in the latest single, can’t feel your love, from the earworm raconteur, VANES. The Wolverhampton, UK-based British Caribbean poet and singer-songwriter is one of the few artists unafraid to wear their visceral vulnerability on their sleeve to enrich the emotional intelligence of their listeners.

The self-proclaimed unashamed embodiment of tenderness takes influence from everyone from Arctic Monkeys to N.E.R.D, but his guitar-driven indie sound is undeniably his own. The funk that permeates through the choppy licks made a radio-ready anthem out of can’t feel your love, which traverses the frustration of unfulfilling romantic dynamics that leave you reeling every time you extend affection only to feel idiotic for your diehard romanticism.

Can’t feel your love was officially released on September 30th; catch it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

MUNBOI walks us down Memory Ln. in his latest stoically philosophical hip-hop aural installation

Posted on 23 September 2022

With his philosophy-laced rap flows, the UK alternative artist MUNBOI is becoming one that an increasing number of fans turn to for stoic poetry. Fresh from the release of his 12-track debut album, EUDAIMONIA, the producer, engineer, and artist is well on the way to the 1-million streams club.

The standout single, Memory Ln. unfurls as an intricate organic amalgam of hip hop, pop, RnB, and experimental sonic textures while MUNBOI looks to the past for answers in the present. His vocal energy truly becomes the epitome of stoicism as he twists common tropes to deliver lyrical sanctity through lines such as “I was sitting on the edge, I just needed a little push”, and “nothing really matters so we be risking it all now”.  Update your chill indie playlists accordingly.

His debut album EUDAIMONIA is now available to stream in full on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Hardstyle meets hip hop in the Battery remix of DFlexXx’s Mus B

Posted on 20 September 2022

Feel the bass viscerally slam in the Battery Remix of DFlexXx’s latest release, Mus B. After becoming one of the most luminary names in the UK rap scene following his 2020 debut, the Welsh artist, inspired by the likes of Lil Wayne, Travis Scott, Tyga, Drake and Chris Brown, took his sound to the next level with this monolithic remix that will push your speakers to the limits and get your body rocking to the ferociously magnetic hardstyle rhythms.

DFlexXx set out to be as memorable as possible while staying in his own lane, based on Mus B alone, which hits as hard as Showtek’s biggest hits, he achieved it. That’s without mentioning the rapper’s ability to command a crowd of over 10,000 while supporting the likes of Sugarhill Gang, DJ Ironik and Lady Leshurr.

Check out the Battery Remix of Mus B on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

UK RnB Hip Hop Crooner SAMO Turned Up the Heat in ‘STEEL’

Posted on 9 September 2022

Slovak-born, Sheffield, UK-raised SAMO has given UK hip hop a brand-new indie RnB flavour with his sophomore single, STEEL. The short and sweetly melodic single starts with simple acoustic guitar strings before bringing in the bass-heavy beats that flow to the dynamic progressions under SAMO’s vulnerably crooned vocals.

With the anticipation of the producer, singer and rapper’s debut album that is due to drop later this year, there are few names in the urban UK arena that are as synonymous with commercial potential as SAMO, who takes inspiration from the likes of XXXtentacion, PARTYNEXTDOOR and Brent Fiyaz.

STEEL is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

BLKY shared the secret to karmic vengeance with his latest trap track, Price

Posted on 26 August 2022

Here to prove that Trap hits just as hard on this side of the pond is the up-and-coming lyrical trailblazer, BLKY, with his latest single, Price.

The reprise of ‘I get revenge with success’ rips up the usual trap tropes to deliver a narrative that shows you how to bite back at everyone that has underestimated and undermined you without disturbing the karmic balance.

The rhythmic indie instrumentals, which carry hints of eastern flavour, are just as energised as BLKY’s bars, which he’s been perfecting since the age of 10. With every BLKY track, there’s the guarantee of visceral realism. Few artists pull together art and raw narratives with as much finesse as this artist, utterly unafraid to lay it all bare.

Check out Price for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bradley Foster advocated self-love and responsibility in his hazily optimistic hip hop track, SOMEDAY

Posted on 24 August 2022

For his latest single, SOMEDAY, the UK hip hop luminary, Bradley Foster, collaborated with the sensational neo-soul vocal dynamist, Izzy Foster. The jazzy earworm is driven by Foster’s introspectively insightful bars that find the perfect position in the mix above the hazy hip hop beats, which will undoubtedly be a hit with fans of Kendrick Lamar, Little Simz and Loyle Carner.

Optimism may be in short supply these days, but Bradley Foster brought it by the smorgasbord in SOMEDAY, which makes a compelling case for self-love and eases you into the enlightenment through kaleidoscopic grooves.

With his debut LP, which flows in the same vein as SOMEDAY, in the pipeline, adding Foster to your radar is one of the best acts of self-care you can do for yourself today.

Here is Bradley Foster’s take on his latest release:

“SOMEDAY is the lead single from my album, expressing hope and self-belief. I was inspired to write this song after coming back from Sri Lanka, where my perspective shifted, and my mentality progressed into a state of wanting to address my problems and grow.”

Check out Bradley Foster’s latest single on Spotify & SoundCloud.

Keep up to date with all the new releases via Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast