Browsing Tag

US Hip Hop

iluvmali, Philly? & Michael Liriano get luxe in their collab, Saks Fifth

Posted on 10 June 2022

Let your speakers feel the heat in the sun-soaked summer hip hop single from the collaboration between the rap luminaries iluvmali, Philly? & Michael Liriano.

Saks Fifth melds pockets of deep reggae groove with indie vibes and, for instant arrestive appeal, the snaking sonics of Eastern rhythms. The shimmering instrumentals almost pour as much dopamine into the mix as the optimism breathing rap bars, which deliver hook-y lines on a very 2022 brand of luxe romance.

If iluvmali, Philly? & Michael Liriano stay on the underground after this infectious hit; there is something decidedly wrong with the industry. The sheer satisfaction from the first hit of Saks Fith is beyond words.

Saks Fifth is now available to stream on all platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lyrical hip hop gained a new laureate with the drop of Dayo’s single, Eat You Alive

Posted on 6 June 2022

Taken from his latest EP, Sui 3: Man in the Mirror, Dayo’s seminal stormer of a single, Eat You Alive, delivers devilishly sharp wit, luxe West Coast hip hop textures, and vocals that will force you to feel every ounce of vehemence thrown into this upraising single.

Ultimately, Eat You Alive proves that pain is your enemy; you should no sooner get into bed with your archnemesis than swallow the self-defeating lies fed to you by your suffering. Do yourselves a favour and make Eat You Alive a playlist staple, it is the perfect reminder that only you can remove the teeth of torment. He’s gone beyond one to watch. He’s one to get fanatic about.

Check out Eat You Alive now on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Its all in the vibe in 2Dope.Ty’s latest infectiously dynamic feat of hip hop, Picture Perfect

Posted on 4 May 2022

Perfection doesn’t exist, but 2Dope.Ty, came pretty close in his latest bass-dripping darkly timbered rap track, Picture Perfect. It is a scathingly revealing snapshot of everything we want to project into the world. The razor-sharpness of the lyrics that bring you into the ludicrousness of our current status-obsessed reality is a testament to the North Carolina-based artist’s vernacular and wit that was formed through dabbling with poetry.

Stylistically, 2Dope.Ty staked his dynamic claim that allows his music to appeal to everyone, from Kendrick Lamar to Juice Wrld, without leaning on assimilation. There is something all too immersive about his laidback delivery of aggressive bars. While Picture Perfect is running through, it becomes a new gritty source of gravity. And we’re pretty sure that there isn’t a vibe check in the world that 2Dope.Ty couldn’t pass. He’s firmly affixed to our radar from here on out.

Picture Perfect is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Break the habit with G.Pari$’s melodic hip hop track, Patterns

Posted on 21 April 2022

With chill melodic beats, mic-drop lyrical lines that make the metaphors feel endless, and a sense of expressive compassion, the G.Pari$ sonic experience leaves little to be desired.

His latest single, Patterns finds an immersive way to prove that we are all just creatures of frantic habit, and we will all end up in neurotic ruins if we don’t take a step back to intersect our emotions and actions with mindfulness.

That mediative sense of self-awareness effortlessly reads through the ambient old-school-meets-new-wave grooves that effortlessly synergise with G.Pari$’s matter of fact but evocatively charged bars.

G.Pari$ is exactly the kind of artist you need on your radar if you’re always looking for artists to spill as much wisdom as they do catharsis.

Patterns is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Imperial M.B. Ran with Luxe Old School Style in His Latest Alt-Hip Hop Track, Ignorant

Posted on 21 April 2022
The Imperial M.B

The Imperial M.B. brought back the luxe style of Tupac and Biggie in his latest single, Ignorant, which serves the straight out of Compton grit along with nuanced alt-rock elements in the instrumentals through the buzz saw guitars and searing oscillating effects.

It is probably safe to say that not many up and coming hip hop artists in 2022 succeed when it comes to arresting production, vocal conviction and emotionally charged lyrics, but notably, The Imperial M.B. is a triple threat. At the very least, he is one to watch.

Ignorant will be available to stream on May 6th; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ace Da King featuring Xavier Thomas – Bentley Truck; prepare your summer trap playlists.

Posted on 1 April 2022

For his latest fiery yet smooth single and music video, Bentley Truck, the hip hop trailblazer, Ace Da King collaborated with the featuring artist Xavier Thomas. If you like hip hop that speaks as much to the soul and your rhythmic pulses as it speaks about late-stage capitalist gains, the vibey and downtempo new wave trap track has all the makings of a playlist staple.

Ace Da King defiantly stamped down his mellow sonic signature in the track that allows you to lose yourself in the shimmering reverb and the light and bright texture of the keys that amplify the high vibes under Ace Da King’s envelope-pushing lyrical wit.

Since the official music video premiered on March 24th, it has already racked up in excess of 24k streams. You can check it out for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Henry Franck defines the laws of attraction in his exotically mellow hip hop track, Insane

Posted on 17 March 2022
Henry Franck

The Florida-residing Haitian American music producer Henry Franck’s latest single, Insane, transcends the contemporary hip hop curve with its indie-meets-country vibes and vocal lines that are nothing short of melt-worthy.

Insane is for anyone that likes their hedonism with a side serve of chill and mindful positivity. As the hooky yet mellow choruses make an earworm out of the track that features Mickey Factz, the lyrics define the laws of attraction in the context of intimate affection.

The artist and US army vet’s sound is the kind that is powerful enough in its sweet catchy sentimentality that it could even appease no great aficionados of the genre. In other words, Henry Franck more than has what it takes to make it in the mainstream.

Henry Franck’s single, Insane, will officially release on April 8th, 2022. It will be available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Isaiah Sweh stays ambiently humble in his 2022 EP, Far from Perfect

Posted on 16 March 2022

Isaiah Sweh brought a brand-new depth to the hip hop genre with his resilience encompassing EP, Far from Perfect, which explores motivational themes, gets up close to the grit of modernity and covers the very real reality of never being able to keep our demons subjugated forever.

The 4-track downtempo release experiments with trip-hop, RnB, pop and trap textures, but the definitively hip hop release never veers all too far from the roots of the genre. The smooth and ambient vibes in the EP, especially with track 2, TAT (Time After Time), is what vibe out playlists are made for. As a whole, the EP is a much-needed trip away from the frantic pace of our external lives. It’s a chance to pause, reflect, and drink in Isaiah Sweh’s smoothly outlaid introspection.

Far From Perfect is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dioneesus delivers a heavy dose of dystopic realism in his latest Avant Garde hip hop single, COVID-23

Posted on 16 March 2022

Dioneesus (Dennis McGrath) is an Avant-Garde hip hop pioneer that sonically pushes the envelope into obscurity with each new release while dissecting what it means to be human in his fiery old school hip hop rap bars. His latest single, COVID-23, plays on the fear that we’ll never see the back of the virus that has cost some of us our sanity and cost others infinitely more.

I couldn’t help but draw parallels between COVID-23 and Insane Clown Posse’s ‘The Great Milenko’; it carries the same eerie atmosphere atop of the bare-bones 808s and around Dioneesus’ bars that lull you into introspective subjugation.

The Long Island-born artist spent a decade in Nashville before he made his way to Pittsburgh in 2021. If your Ancient Greek history is rusty, his apt moniker plays on the Greek God, Dionysus, the god of ritual and ecstasy. He’s got a lot to live up to, but he’s well on his way with his subversively stylish flair.

COVID-23 is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ron A.P. gets paranormal with the past with his candidly edgy hip hop track, The Ex-Files

Posted on 15 March 2022

After a stint away from the recording studio, the South Jersey-raised, Philadelphia-based hip hop artist Ron A.P. is back on edgy and imaginative form in his latest single, The Ex-Files.

The clever ingenuity of the track title sets the bar high, but the lyrics and spacey atmosphere in The Ex-Files leaves nothing to be desired. Of all the hip hop tracks on the airwaves mused by ex-girlfriends, The Ex-Files is easily one of the most evocatively charged and complex for the way it navigates a myriad of contrasting frustrations while leaving no intimate emotion off the table.

Ron A.P. almost exudes Jekyll and Hyde vibes for the number of transitions in evocative nature. That’s just one of the facets that take this dynamic earworm to the next level. He may have taken influence from Nas, Jay-Z and Kanye, but Ron A.P. is well and truly standing in a league of his own.

The Ex-Files is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast