Browsing Tag

Alt Hip Hop

Indie hip hop artist, PUre MX wore his heart on his dial tone in his seminal single, PHONE

Posted on 15 October 2022

Independent hip hop artist, PUre MX, has been racking up the streams with his melodic bitter-sweet feats of alt-hip hop since making his debut in 2020. His seminal single, PHONE, softens the blow of the raw confessionally introspective lyrics with the mellifluous indie guitars and gently jarring glitchy electronica motifs.

Evading the typical break-up tropes, PHONE gets right to the crux of the entropy and dejection by capturing the aching feeling of knowing a relationship has moved to the point when they only need you when they need to use you, but despite it all, you’re still a caring confidant. On the basis of PHONE, we all need a PUre MX in our lives; lucky for you, you can add him to your Spotify playlists.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

IAMJALEO sent the notion of genre further into extinction into his jarringly dark triumph of a sophomore single, Soul Food

Posted on 15 October 2022

Subversively to its title, IAMJALEO’s sophomore alt-hip hop single, Soul Food, throws you into an old-school melancholic orchestral score before the gruff distorted verses allow you to peek behind the curtain into a schizophrenic mind and a life that is rife with systematic injustice.

The intensity of Soul Food isn’t easy to swallow, but the sombre result of the dark rap bars meeting the emotionally heightened instrumentals is a testament to the up-and-coming artist’s talent as a songwriter. That is something that artists can go ten albums without creating, but pretty much straight off the bat, the DC-born, Maryland-raised artist proved his capacity for evocatively striking art. He’s definitely one to watch.

Soul Food is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ukrainian indie art-hop duo, Polyvoda meets perpetual torment with unfaltering resilience in ‘Never Ending’

Posted on 10 October 2022

From the war-torn city of Kyiv, Ukraine, the duo, Polyvoda, has released their latest melodic art hop single and music video, Never Ending. Singing of hard times, doing their best to get by and their commitment to authenticity, the duo consisting of Vinovishi Klavino and Basey Naiado gave us a glimpse of the resilience that has become necessary in this needlessly tragic chapter of history.

But independent from the situation that Never Ending was born from, it’s a stunning exhibition of Polyvoda’s deeply humanist expression, which gives you a panoramic view into their strength, pain, and tangible grace. With Radiohead-Esque percussion, there’s an elegantly artful edge to the fusion, which pulls together organic indie textures and hip hop tones. The vocals also contain their fair share of evocative kryptonite as they make their way through the semi-spoken word verses and harmonised choruses.

Watch the bleakly mesmeric official music video for Never Ending, which premiered on October 4th, on YouTube. For each view of the video, the duo will donate one Satoshi coin to a charitable organisation helping rebuild Ukraine.

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

Alt Electro Hip Hop Heavy Weight, Sol Nocte Has Made His Entrance with ‘Hallucinating;, featuring xS!r N3llyx

Posted on 28 September 2022

Breaking new wave hip hop artist Sol Nocte sent ingenuity rippling through the music industry with the drop of his debut single, Hallucinating, featuring xS!r N3llyx.

The trippy, 8-bit discord-dripping electro beats almost veer into industrial electronica, but they are pulled back into the realms of hip hop with the groove of the melodies that work your way into your synapses under the layered dual vocals, which throw reminiscence to everyone from Labrinth to Tech N9ne.

Hallucinating is a stellar track in its own right. Even more so when you consider that it was born on an iPhone as a result of Sol Nocte’s passion that ensured the track was staunch with visceralism.

Hallucinating is now available to purchase on Apple Music and available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

KGDASAV’s rap flow is sharper than his bite in his latest single, LIKE A DOG

Posted on 24 September 2022

KGDASAV earned his place on the Canadian hip hop map with his latest single LIKE A DOG. For the last two years, the Toronto-hailing artist has been endeavouring to bring a different sound to the city, based on the slickly metropolitan vibes that drip from the bassy, blazing EDM instrumentals, it is safe to say that KGDASAV has already succeeded with his unique new wave sound that could fill a dancefloor and amplify the energy on your high vibe playlists.

As for his vocal flow, the hooks are sharp enough to be dizzying, while the lyrics exhibit the wit that will easily take him up from the underground. If anyone can claim to be a triple threat on the hip hop scene, it is KGDASAV.

The official music video for LIKE A DOG premiered on September 10th. Watch it on YouTube.

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

Steph Delz took urban Avant Garde to the extreme with ‘Lockjaw’

Posted on 6 September 2022

LA’s Steph Delz put the trip in trip-hop in his latest experimental track, Lockjaw; it isn’t music as we have known it before, but any fans of extreme urban Avant Garde will want to pay attention.

He’s a ghost in the machine in the hyper-warped 8-Bit production, which may be a little too out-there for most Trap fans, but the up and coming artist and producer has certainly carved himself an autonomous niche in the market; in 2022, that’s an achievement in itself.

Lockjaw was officially released on September 19th; it is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Zackwa is on his own experimental plateau in ‘All Praise and Glory’

Posted on 6 September 2022

With the fluid transitions between the Prince-Esque vocalised harmonies and the blazing rap bars that are just as convictive as RZA’s, Zackwa’s latest single, All Praise and Glory transcends the constrictive nature of genre boundaries. That is before you account for the experimental accordance in the ambient electronica meets new age hip hop instrumentals.

Zackwa strives to rise above the mundane energy of the world, and it’s safe to say he is not only in another league. He is operating from a new dynamic plateau, constructed by his autonomy and inclination to verse introspective gold into the strained atmosphere of the 21st century.

Check out the lyric video for All Praise and Glory on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Hollowway is ‘Fired Up’ in his latest alt EDM hip hop hard hitter

Posted on 27 August 2022
https://youtu.be/kNj0hx-kKdA

Before any up-and-coming hip hop artist claims to have dynamic rap bars, they should introduce themselves to the artist that has become the epitome of lyrical dynamism, Hollowway. The alt-hip hop artist is fresh from the release of his blazing track, Fired Up, which officially dropped on August 13th.

The pace of the delivery in the snappy EDM hip hop track is one thing, the razor-sharp wit relayed through the hook-ishly snarky bars is completely another, as is the ability to connect to his riled-up energy. After Mindless Self Indulgence fell from grace, I can’t think of a better newcomer capable of taking their angsty place on the airwaves.

Check out the lyric video to Fired Up on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast