Browsing Tag

US Hip Hop

Spotlight Feature: all is fleeting but the hype around Current’s sophomore alt-hip hop album, It’s Just Temporary

Posted on 4 March 2022
https://soundcloud.com/currentmusicofficial/sets/its-just-temporary/s-FsgdWvHAbYl?si=4f8a937f72344af8969aafaaf7d9dca1&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Here to remind us that all is fleeting is Kansas City’s hottest hip hop act, Current, with his 2022 sophomore album, It’s Just Temporary. If there was ever a point in our history that we needed that affirmation, it is now.

With the candid and epiphanous spoken-word pieces in between the mindfully lyrical lo-fi trap tracks, Current makes it all too easy to get on a level with him and his polished craft that always cuts close to the bone with the lyrics and hooks.

Even though it is an unskippable vibe of a release, the standout tracks include the stormer of a trap track, Like Me, the trippy, glitchy and angsty hit, Glow Up, and the ethereal dream-like closing single, Dreams / Demons. The concluding single is slick with delirium in the first half before Current breaks into urgent howls, depicting how we all feel from time to time while struggling for an outlet. In the second half, Current’s dynamic and primal expression makes the resonance hit infinitely harder for anyone that can sympathise with insidious racing thoughts that trigger when your head hits the pillow.

In his own words, here is what It’s Just Temporary encompasses:

“It’s Just Temporary is a project that tells a story, my story. Over the past six years, I have experienced positives and negatives; there are some days I can’t believe I am where I am. What I learned from all these experiences is that everything is temporary. I learned how to take lessons from the bad times and cherish the good. This is what I convey through my album. That there is no time not to do what you love, no time to give energy to what does not give back to you because everything is temporary.

The first half of the album shows themes of anger and resentment. There are songs filled with ego and frustration. It takes a turn through the last half, where I am focused on the depression and anxiety that I have experienced. The interludes include my thought process towards these emotions. As an artist, I always want to be vulnerable and show who I am in my art.”

It’s Just Temporary will officially release on March 4th. Check out the independently produced LP for yourselves via SoundCloud or Spotify. Connect with Current via Instagram and TikTok.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

MTV Mozey is blazing in his sun-soaked trap track, Designer

Posted on 27 February 2022

Instead of making you wait until summer for a sun-soaked trap drop, the luminary hip hop newcomer, MTV Mozey dropped his high-fire earworm, Designer, while the bitter months were still biting to deliver a much-needed potent dose of aural dopamine.

At 19-years-old, MTV Mozey is already proving to be a force to be reckoned with in the Connecticut hip hop circuit and far beyond. Designer is a riotously infectious track that uses xylophones to deliver the shimmering melodies that arrest the rhythmic pulses as they pop against the trap beats and create a vibrant platform for Mozey’s mellifluous mumble rap bars. He is more than worth the room on any hip hop fan’s radar.

Introduce yourselves to the luxe high vibes in Mozey’s latest single, Designer, by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

YH Sound waxes lyrical with the truth in his latest lyrical storm ‘it is what it is’

Posted on 25 February 2022

The title of YH Sound’s latest single, it is what it is, may sound pragmatic and matter of fact, but you would be hard-pressed to find a better hip hop track that cuts to the core of the darkest facets of society with such precision.

With the energy that YH Sound pours into his rap bars, he could make versing on any topic visceral and galvanising. But with his merciless social commentary and introspection skills, it is what it is unravels as the ultimate vignette of modern urban culture. Turn off Jordan Peterson and into YH Sound.

The vocals take up plenty of room in the mix, but there is still just enough room for the rattle of the 808s and the minor-key notes to bring atmosphere to the dark yet enlivening track that is unforgettable from the first hit.

You can check out it is what it is by heading over to Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nlsderrixk*! has released his vindicatingly infectious hip hop track, Aint My Fault

Posted on 24 February 2022

The luminary hip hop artist, Nlsderrixk*!, has exonerated himself in his latest single, Aint My Fault, which fuses the new wave with the old school, creating universal appeal to hip hop fans in the process. With justxrolo at the mixing desk, Aint My Fault is as gritty as it is lush with luxe style.

The jazzy noir effects atop the bassy boom-bap beats create a solid platform for Nlsderrixk*!’s playfully dominant rap bars that carry all of the personality of Jay Z and all of the edge of Ghostface Killah.

It isn’t every day that you come across an up and coming hip hop artist that pours this much energy into their tracks; if you are serious about keeping posted on the hottest talent, save a spot on your radar.

Aint My Fault is now available to stream on Soundcloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Teddy J pulls bruising punches in his latest hip hop track, 100’s

Posted on 14 February 2022
Teddy J

The competition in underground hip hop is fiercer than ever, but the up and coming artist, Teddy J, pulled all the right punches in his latest old-school inspired single, 100’s.

The dynamic rap bars flow just as naturally as the ethereal and light melodies that are bolstered by the bass-heavy kicks of 808s, and the lyrical narrative won’t fail to reel you in after a noir lullaby-like prelude. Teddy J proves that if you want motivation, ignore Jordan Peterson and Jocko Willink. Tune into artists, such as Teddy J, who create neoliberal tracks that don’t take the pain out of adversity but use it to get you galvanised. His born an underdog, living as a force to be reckoned with in all avenues is instantly infectious.

100’s is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

There is ‘No Stoppin’ Cashflow Colly in his latest seminal hip hop single

Posted on 7 February 2022

No Stoppin’ was just one of the nostalgically sweet hip hop singles found on Cashflow Colly’s debut album, Mind of a MelanColly. The witty wordplay in the album title is just a taste of what you can expect from Colly’s dynamically zealous rap flows.

The South Jersey-hailing rap artist’s magnetically humble and almost criminal level of charisma makes getting hooked in his tracks non-optional. No Stoppin’ runs you through the adversity that led him to his talent when spilling raw emotions and allowing them to take form as breezy, hooky urban earworms. All things considered, he is the ultimate hip hop package. We can’t wait to hear what follows.

You can check out No Stoppin’ for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Current shows us the meaning of conviction in his latest alt-hip hop single Under Pressure featuring STBtheDon

Posted on 1 February 2022

For his latest emotional firestorm of a release, Under Pressure, the breaking rapper, singer, producer and DJ, Current teamed up with the equally as luminary artist, STBtheDon. The Birmingham, Alabama-born, Kansas City-based artist has spent the last eight years fine-tuning his authentic sonic signature that includes elements of Lo-Fi, hip hop, electronica and RnB – and it certainly shows in Under Pressure.

For new fans, Under Pressure, is the perfect introduction to Current’s experimental production style. The track explores the pressure we feel from people’s expectations. The conviction in the track is the ultimate proof that pressure is even harder to bear when the expectation is for us to fail. For anyone who knows how exhausting yet vindicating it is to succeed despite condescending cynicism, there’s almost an infinite amount of resonance. Lyrically, each verse hits harder than the last. By the outro, you won’t fail to be blown away by the full-frontal emotion.

Under Pressure was released on January 21st, 2022; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get psyched with JaeEss’ latest mantra-filled high vibe alt-hip hop hit, Celebrate

Posted on 29 January 2022

JaeEss’ latest single, Celebrate, is the ultimate testament to the fact that everything the Lawrenceville GA-based artist and producer creates is made with purpose. The single is just one of his hits that wouldn’t be out of place on your motivation playlists.

It’s one thing for artists to flex their own success; it is quite another for an artist to commit themselves to connecting with their fans while galvanising them and inspiring them to strive for greater heights. In Celebrate, JaeEss fuses RnB with trappy hip hop textures to create the perfect platform for his wittily visionary lyrics that prove that there’s always an alternative to downtrodden apathy.

The official music video to Celebrate premiered on January 14th. You can watch it for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

FrayGo brings the ‘LOVE’ in his latest single, featuring JST. PRAH

Posted on 25 January 2022

Jamaica-born, Maryland, US-based artist FrayGo (Kerzan McKenzie) is known for pushing the envelope with his impassioned sound and boundless experimentalism. His latest single, LOVE, proves just how all-in he is when it comes to both expression and affection.

He didn’t leave his hometown roots far behind in the RnB-laced track that delivers smooth harmonies in arresting cadence and full-bodied instrumentals that leave plenty of room for ample soul in their progressions.

It’s tracks like LOVE that serve as the perfect reminder that finding passion is only the start of what is often a cat and mouse game where we’re contending with our desires and insecurities as neither of them is afraid to pull punches. You’d be seriously hard-pressed to find an artist delivering such nuance in their lyrics as FrayGo. He goes beyond the superficial to pay ode to a love that you can actually believe exists. Through the power of his humility and candour; we actually have an RnB-inspired track that encompasses true love where no one is perfect and no one is toxic. Instead, devils and angels wear the same faces under cupid’s bow and FrayGo’s witty wordplay.

LOVE is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

West Philly rap artist Jus NBL hits all the right notes in his album ‘Fine Wine’

Posted on 2 January 2022

West Philly rap artist, Jus NBL, dropped one of the freshest hip hop albums of 2021 with the release of his lyrically driven LP, Fine Wine. In the title track, the minimalist beats create the perfect platform for his high-energy rap bars as they grind through the gritty lyrics and the resilience that allowed him to find the light regardless.

Right from the first verse, Jus NBL proves how grounded he is in his lyricism. There’s none of the usual ego-fuelled grandeur, just an honest and direct lyrical delivery that is more than easy to connect with. The Jay Z reminiscences are strong, but they do little to dampen the intoxicating hit of Jus NBL’s authenticity in Fine Wine. Every rap fan should have room for him on his radar.

Jus NBL’s 2021 album, Fine Wine, is now available to purchase on apple music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast