Browsing Tag

90s Hip Hop

17thekid became the fieriest flow queen on the underground hip-hop scene with her latest single, Roll Call

Posted on 12 December 2023

Roll Call, the latest boom-bap hip-hop track from 17theKid, is a fresh nostalgic throwback to the 90s, infused with the artist’s fiery and larger-than-life energy.

The multi-talented indie artist brings her unique blend of skills as a rapper, drummer, singer-songwriter, producer, audio engineer, and dancer to the addictively electric track that is a testament to 17theKid’s intellectual prowess and sharp wit, as she weaves intricate lyrics that showcase her academic background and deep understanding of the genre. Her flow is impeccable, effortlessly transitioning between rhythms and rhymes, proving why she’s quickly becoming known for her conviction and creativity in the hip-hop community.

The beats are masterfully crafted, offering a rich and layered backdrop that complements 17theKid’s dynamic vocals. The track’s production, despite being self-recorded in a modest home studio, doesn’t lose any of its polished edge, highlighting 17theKid’s growing skills as an audio engineer.

Her ability to meld different aspects of her artistic personality into a cohesive and compelling narrative is a testament to her versatility and dedication to her craft. In Roll Call, she not only pays homage to the boom-bap style but also puts her unique stamp on it, making the track both a nostalgic journey and a bold statement of her place in the modern hip-hop landscape.

Roll Call hit the airwaves on November 25; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Black Silver is dark and disarming in his latest cinematic juggernaut of a rap track, Silver Linings

Posted on 20 November 2023

Black Silver dropped one of the biggest hip-hop collabs of the year by unleashing the gritty old-school rap track, Silver Linings, featuring Rakaa Iriscience, Griffen, Mykill Myers, and DJ Skilz.

With plenty of record scratching and wavily saturated distortion around the solid and steady beats in the dark and chillingly cultivated production, Black Silver (AKA the Navigator) and his band of lyrical alchemists paid a fitting ode to the 90s hip hop while showing they’re more methodical than Method Man, wittier than Nas with wordplay and boast all the cinematic charisma of Conway the Machine.

When Black Silver isn’t dropping his seminal solo rap tracks, the Las Vegas-hailing trailblazer is at the helm of his independent record label, Sterling World Records and contributing to hip-hop groups, including Analog Brothers, Tha Likwit Crew, 2000 Crows, and Black Ice with Ice T.

Silver Linings hit the airwaves on October 20th; it is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Push your perception in a rose-tinted direction with Marquis Storm’s latest single, Grateful, ft M Stacks

Posted on 3 September 2023

For his latest track, Grateful, the trailblazing rapper Marquis Storm collaborated with M Stacks to create a dualistically high-fire feat of hip-hop that prays at the altar of gratitude to definitively prove that life is little more than perception, and you can shift yours if you make blessed more than a hashtag.

The Cleveland Heights-born and raised rapper and songwriter always runs his rap bars through deep introspection to forge his hits with lyrical gold that will leave you inspired by his energy, wordplay, and insights; Grateful is no exception. As the instrumentals weave through the melodic grooves and spill colourful catharsis with every progression, Storm adrenalizes the mix with his fiery-with-soul bars that leave you with no choice but to soak in his wisdom.

Storm has been cutting his teeth in the industry since the age of 13 and he’s made major waves in the industry since. His hits have been picked up by international press, and he’s opened for everyone from Stevie Stone to Yelawolf. He’s also made appearances at the Grammy Awards and the NBA All Star Weekend in 2022.

Grateful hit the airwaves on August 25; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jfons proved pace is the trick in his soul-driven old-school hip-hop single, Can I Get a Minute

Posted on 22 August 2023

If you’re looking for your next 80s hip-hop nostalgia fix, don’t look past the slick with jazzy retro soul latest single, Can I Get a Minute, by the rap trailblazer, Jfons, who knows exactly how to push euphoria through his grooves to create perennial urban earworms.

The progressive structure of the lush with reverb hit ensures that with every beat, you will become deeper entwined with the smooth melodies and arrested by the sultry narrative that humbly captures the pure and innocent moment of attempting to catch someone’s eye. Even the staunchest romantic cynics won’t be able to proclaim that romance is dead after easing themselves into the grooves in Can I Get a Minute.

Can I Get a Minute has already racked up over 40k streams across all streaming platforms, and it doesn’t look as though the momentum driven by the hype around the track is going to falter any time soon. Get Can I Get a Minute in your ears by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Tampa’s premier hip-pop nostalgist Class Vee sent an invitation you won’t want to ignore with her latest music video, House Party

Posted on 24 July 2023

After sensing the contemporary inclination towards retro aesthetics and sonics, Tampa, Florida’s hottest hip-pop nostalgist Class Vee doused the airwaves in 80s and 90s hip-pop nostalgia with her latest single, House Party.

While the music video pays an ode to the 1990 film of the same title staring Kid N Play, the single brings a solid slice of 90s boom bap flavour for the ultimate aural escapism from the 21st century. The bass-drenched beats and earwormy grooves beneath Class Vee’s glassy-with-soul vocal lines creates the ultimate feel-good anthem, which reminds the listener that life is for living and parties are for attending.

Following the release of House Party, the singer-songwriter will release her Arianna Grande-inspired single, Wierdos, on the 30th of July and perform at New York Fashion Week in September 2023.

Class Vee said:

“With my latest single, I wanted to create nostalgia; a lot of people miss the 80s and 90s; House Party is high vibe hip-pop invitation back there.”

Add House Party to your Spotify playlists or watch the music video, which has already garnered 13k streams via YouTube.

To keep up to date with all of the strides Class Vee is making in the industry, follow her on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jeremiah Kingston has launched his infectiously dynamic hip hop debut EP, You’re Not Gonna Like This

Posted on 29 June 2022

Hip hop debuts keep charging onto the airwaves in 2022. Few appeared with as much style, energy, and sub-genre-melding distinction as Jeremiah Kingston’s debut EP, You’re Not Gonna Like This. From party rock hip hop to jazzy tracks, smoky enough to set off your smoke alarms through the sheer sepia-tinged luxe air; it is almost progressively dizzying.

Using reverse psychology in a debut EP title was a bold move, yet it sets a tone for the daring expression contained within. The Charlotte, NC hip hop newcomer created the EP after taking a look around at his life, hating the view and making a move to change it. No stone was left unturned.

Track 3, YNGLT, starts with the cutting lyric, “If my people found out what was going on in my head, they’d leave me in straits”, before launching into a frenetic admission of inner turmoil; that we can all probably relate to these days.

Jeremiah Kingston reminded me exactly why I fell in love with hip hop in the 90s. The larger-than-life personality, the wild energy, the eccentric instrumentals… Anything goes in Jeremiah Kingston’s debut and everything goes together seamlessly, making it one of the most promising we’ve heard this year. We hope there is plenty more in the pipeline.

You’re Not Gonna Like This is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link. Follow Jeremiah Kingston on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Kuya! Gave Indie RnB Pop a Fresh Lick of Soul with ‘What I Gotta Do’

Posted on 5 May 2022

The Floridian genre fusionist and 90s & 00s nostalgia peddler, Kuya! Is fresh from the release of his third single, What I Gotta Do, which takes you back to the bliss of old school while showing you the future of indie soul-pop. The unapologetically loved-up track would be exceptionally placed on playlists of fans of The Neptunes, Nelly and Gwen Stefani.

Through the Niles Roger-Esque guitars, Daft Punk dancey disco grooves, Kuya!’s effortlessly soulful creative charisma and the sonic curveballs with the rap verses, What I Gotta Do is an earworm that keeps on giving. It’s the fresh lick of soul that the airwaves have been crying out for. We can’t wait to eek the dopamine out of what follows.

What I Gotta Do is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Anomaly Da’ God brings GUCCI-level style to the airwaves with his old school hip hop revival, B.Y.P.T

Posted on 10 October 2021

The up and coming hip hop artist Anomaly Da’ God paid a lo-fi ode to old school New York hip hop with his latest soul-filling drop, B.Y.P.T (Before You Pearl That).

After a hazy chill-wave intro, the track grooves through the glitchy progressions that have been fed through plenty of tape deck saturation to get their old school feel. When the luxe track hits peak momentum, Anomaly Da’ God’s lyrical canter picks up to a smooth yet rapid pace; any fans of Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, Kanye and Dre won’t want to hang around on this nostalgic yet paradoxically fresh track.

B.Y.P.T is now available to stream on YouTube

Review by Amelia Vandergast

LaurenAsh evokes 90s hip hop nostalgia with her latest release, Where is the Love.

Posted on 9 October 2021
LaurenAsh

Right from the first verse in her latest single, Where is the Love, LaurenAsh starts laying down spoken word lyrical gold around the instrumentals that take you right back to the golden age of jazz hip hop.

The NYC-based poet and artist known for her stylish fusions of RnB and hip hop has been on a mission to bring her spirit and soul to the world through music through tracks such as Where is the Love; which finds a succinct way to remind you that love makes the world go around, so you may as well start giving a little. It’s a stellar track that any fan of soul-infused hip hop will want to delve into.

Where is the Love was officially released on October 8th; you can check it out for yourselves on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Edword Evwrit wants to talk to us ‘Right Now’

Posted on 17 May 2021

Hailing from the Bay Area, California, Edword Evwrit is a solo hip hop artist, as well as a member of both Liquor Mouth and Lunaclick; ‘Right Now’ then is a delicious slab of old-school hip hop, funky and grooving, with a deep, deep pounding bass and a pretty little closed hi-hat pattern keeping everything ticking. At times it’s reminiscent of De La Soul, at others that questioning call-and-response rap style that Eminem does so, so well. There’s moments of ‘The Real Slim Shady’ here, mixed with little bits of ‘Three Feet High and Rising’ and Cube’s ‘Today Was A Good Day’.

Evwrit’s got some gorgeous flow, little double-rhymed couplets, some of the syllables cut up and spat bullet-like, others drawn out and rhythmic, with multiple rhyme patterns and a cute little semi-psychedelic drop at around the two-minute mark making ‘Right Now’ a cut above the average modern hip hop release; Evwrit’s rhyme patterns and intelligent wordplay, coupled with cracking backdrop instrumentation and arrangement, make this a stand-out track. You should check it out. Right now.

Hear ‘Right Now’, and the rest of Edword Evwrit’s album ‘My Brothers And Me’, on Spotify. Follow Evwrit on Facebook or here.

Review by Alex Holmes