Browsing Tag

UK Hip Hop

Christopher Nagle – Lamborghini Livin featuring Saskilla and JamKvy

Posted on 14 August 2022

If Christopher Nagle is a name that has evaded you until now, it’s only a matter of time before you get caught up in the London-based singer-songwriter, rapper, and producer’s hype.

His standout single, Lamborghini Livin, featuring Saskilla and JamKvy, has already racked up over half a million streams on Spotify alone. With the experimental and almost delicate atmosphere holding up the bars as they mellifluously switch between vocal harmonies and the style of rap that the streets of London are infamous for breeding, the immersive hit keeps on rhythmically giving.

Far from your average capitalistic lust-focused track, Lamborghini Livin is a deeply humanist release that almost allows you to see behind the scenes of the archetypal desire for excess.

Lamborghini Livin is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Makh turned the heat up in the UK EDM hip hop scene 100 degrees with his debut, You What

Posted on 20 July 2022

Makh broke the monocultural hip hop mould in his urban EDM debut, You What; the anthemic production begs to be played at max volume for total immersion in the adrenalized hit, which more than deserves placement in the charts.

After a sample of definitively British football chants, Makh uses fiery Bhangra beats and exotic electronic textures in place of the usual 808s. It’s a rhythmic masterpiece, heightened by the Bradford-based artist’s playful lyrical flow, which somehow simultaneously is as sharp as it is smooth.

Honestly, I haven’t been this psyched about UK hip hop since Scroobius Pip emerged. We didn’t need his bio to tell us that he’s a well-versed poet, that kind of canter doesn’t come easy, but with You What injecting personality into a rapid flow is second nature to the artist & producer. Who also runs the Music X Mindset podcast that examines the lives and mental health of artists. Could we love him any more? Absolutely not.

You What is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link

Review by Amelia Vandergast

UK Hip Hop Got Hotter Through Dalts’ Latest Collab, ‘No Time’, featuring Jez, SK1NT and Charla Green

Posted on 21 June 2022
Dalts

Sheffield’s most infamous producer, DJ, events promoter, and label runner, Dalts, has contributed more than most to the UK music scene in the past five years. Now, he’s here with his latest single, No Time, featuring Jez, SK1NT and Charla Green.

The garagey hip-hop track uses old-school grooves, oscillating bass and skippy beats to keep the flow kicking under the clever vocal layering, which merges the originality of every featuring artist. From deadpan rap bars to distorted and transcending vocal samples, No Time is a hypnotic vibe tapestry which reminds you how great and gritty UK hip hop can be.

Check out Dalts on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

UK Rapper, Nosa outlined the line of good and evil in us all with ‘bad moods’

Posted on 15 June 2022
Nosa

With an intro of jazzy hip hop nostalgia fed through warm saturated tape delay, slipping into Nosa’s latest single, bad moods, is easier than breathing. While the melodicism of the instrumentals lulls you into catharsis, the Dartford-based rapper’s tranquilising vocal timbre pulls you deeper into the dreamy production which wraps itself around admissions of vulnerability.

Nosa used bad moods to remind his listeners that we’re all fallible, but that should never be a source of shame; it should be the cause of our own accountability. After the globe glued itself to the Johnny Depp trial in complete denial that the line of good and evil exists in all of us, bad moods couldn’t be more of a timely drop. Any fans of George the Poet and Kae the Tempest will undoubtedly want to make a playlist staple out of bad moods.

Bad moods will officially release on June 15th on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

JoeJas unveiled the hottest hip hop single of the summer with ‘Sally’s Last Dance’

Posted on 4 June 2022

It’s all in the vibe in the London, UK-hailing rapper and producer, JoeJas’ latest single Sally’s Last Dance. His charisma has always been unapologetically his own, but the endearingness of it knew no bounds in this cute and nerdy music video, which sells exactly what sets JoeJas apart, his infectious glass-half-full attitude that is contagious enough to start a new pandemic of optimism

If Andre 3000 and Daft Punk hit the spot for you, JoeJas will hit it even harder with his colourfully urban art-conscious instrumentals and honeyed RnB hip hop vox.

The official music video for Sally’s Last Dance officially premiered on the 30th of May. You can check it out for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Twivee – GODLIKE feat Jay Will: Hip Hop to Get Pious To

Posted on 29 April 2022

For his latest release, hip hop writer, mixer, and producer, Twivee, collaborated with new wave pioneer Jay Will to create a stormer of an impassioned alt hip hop hit. GODLIKE is enough to leave you feeling pious to the aggravatedly experimental talent.

The bass is just about enough to rival the wild energy that carouses through Twivee’s rap bars that are rampant with hook-filled cursive. The UK artist’s intensity has already been lauded across the board, and he’s become a firm favourite of BBC Introducing with his truly authentic hard-hitting sound. It’s all too easy to see why.

GODLIKE feat Jay Will is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

South London’s MoHush broadsides us with every bar in his latest single, War of the Mastermind

Posted on 3 March 2022

After his latest single, War of the Mastermind, MoHush became one of South London’s hottest up and coming hip hop artists. In the same way that Kae Tempest’s and George the Poet’s music is matchless, MoHush delivers the hammering lyrical blows in a completely autonomous fashion.

I usually manage to write my reviews without profanity, but fuck me, MoHush’s emotionally-charged approach to hip hop is enough to broadside you with every bar. From the melodic-minor-key piano intro to the fragility in his harmonised vocals to the smoothness in his spoken-word rap style, War of the Mastermind is a flawless feat of hip hop, which deserves to put MoHush on the map. We can’t wait to hear what follows.

War of the Mastermind is now available to stream on Spotify.

You can also check out MoHush on Instagram, YouTube and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ease the Artist put the West Midlands on the UK hip hop map once again with ‘Go Off’

Posted on 15 February 2022

After 12 years in the industry, the trailblazing West Midlands, UK-based hip hop pioneer, Ease the Artist, has had plenty of time to find his signature sound. Based on the sheer charisma, grit and distinction in his seminal track, Go Off, you couldn’t ask for a brighter luminary.

Rather than solely relying on his rapid cadence – which alone is dizzying – he also finds plenty of space in his dynamic bars to lay down vocal hooks in the chorus and plenty of charismatic personality in the verses.

Go Off finds the perfect balance between convictive Grimey motivation and playful high vibes that allow you to embrace the true talent of Ease the Artist. So far, that talent has seen him featured on BBC Introducing and having one of his tracks selected to become the track of the week.

You can check out the official lyric video for Go Off by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

UK Rapper JPOW comes in with all guns blazing in ‘Socially Anti’, featuring Kirsty Clarke

Posted on 17 December 2021

For his latest release, Socially Anti, rapper and songwriter JPOW teamed up with Kirsty Clarke, who brought a breath-taking dynamic to this hard and fast hit. Her folkishly light vocal timbre and innocently soulful yet sharp style was the perfect contrast against JPOW’s dominant bars that affirm he takes no prisoners when he steps to the mic.

Without a doubt, the South Coast-hailing UK independent artist is one of the hottest new names in the UK rap scene. He takes the usual lyrical rap tropes and runs them through his scathing wit. As for the instrumentals, you would be hard-pressed to find a bolder mix of tone and texture. With the melodic reminiscences to Cosmo Shelldrake and the quivering classical notes around the snappy bass-drenched beats, Socially Anti is as cinematic as it is galvanising.

Check out the official lyric video for Socially Anti via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

East London’s Muzuri announced his arrival in the music scene with his debut single, 0127

Posted on 4 December 2021

East London rap artist, Muzuri has garnered plenty of hype with his debut release, 0127, which premiered on BBC Radio Essex on October 5th before officially releasing on October 15th.

The French rapper and songwriter takes influence from the likes of Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Static Major, but he left plenty of room for his own catchy sonic style in his debut which announces his arrival to the music scene and creates a vivid vignette of his life as an artist and hedonist.

With the arresting bounce of the snappy beats and the reverb around them, it is impossible not to get hooked into the atmosphere of 0127 which merges French and English hip hop culture. It’s a stellar track that succeeds in establishing Muzuri as one to watch.

0127 is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast