Browsing Tag

Alt Hip Hop

Spotlight Feature: Brooklyn beats meet southern trap grit in Superstar Freddy & Low Patcho’s alchemically dynamic collaborative single, Move

Posted on 19 November 2022

Alone, Brooklyn’s Superstar Freddy and Southern Trap artist, Low Patcho, are forces to be reckoned with. With their contrasting sounds sparking urban sonic voodoo while they pay homage to their Haitian roots in their joint LP, The Curse, they are inexplicably hot.

The standout single, The Move, carries all the motivation of an archetypal hustler hip hop anthem and none of the cliches that usually revolve around motivational tropes. The high-octane hit permits the instrumentals to conjure urban devilry about the blazingly dynamic bars that will leave you galvanized before the first verse has stormed through.

Fans of Travis Scott, Pop Smoke, and Pierre Borne won’t want to miss the colossal track that came to life in Anchour Studios in Maine.

“The Curse album is a collaboration of Superstar Freddy’s upbeat hip hop style with Low Patcho’s Southern trap music. The mixtape was inspired by our Haitian heritage. Voodoo and magic are always associated with people from Haiti.

I wrote the song Move after a trip back from my hometown, Brooklyn, NY. The song illustrates my desire for continual success and elevation. It shows you can’t fall off, no matter what. You’ve got to love what you do and flaunt it when necessary but never sell out. I love the cash sound when my phone dings and I know it’s coming in all day. If you ain’t moving toward your idea, then someone else will manifest it so get going today.”

Stream The Curse on Spotify, and follow Superstar Freddy on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook to stay up to date on his future releases that are set to mark a shift in his sonic style from this ground-breaking LP.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

All isn’t fair in love and war in Orval Hill’s progressively immense alt EDM hip hop single, Nowhere

Posted on 19 November 2022

After a strikingly sombre alt-pop prelude complete with beckoningly harmonic vocal lines which pull you into the emotion of the release, Orval Hill’s latest feat of ‘schizo rap’, Nowhere, slams right into a body-rocking EDM hip hop anthem with scuzzy bass-drenched beats to pound your speakers to oblivion around the minor key piano stabs.

Nowhere is the ultimate testament to Orval Hill’s ability to wildly juxtapose the next progression against the last to accurately portray the off-kilter nature of the human mind. We like to fool ourselves that we’re rational creatures, but we rarely let logic get in the way of emotion. Orval Hill stays true to our animalistic proclivities while delivering contrasting declarations to prove that all isn’t fair in love and war. If anything encapsulates the clusterfuck of dating in the modern age, it’s the off-kilter exposition within Nowhere.

Nowhere is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nicolas Alan is riding on the new wave of hip hop in his exotically exultant hit, Superstar ft. JCedric

Posted on 16 November 2022

One of the hottest names in the Salt Lake City hip hop scene, Nicolas Alan, just got hotter after launching another cathartically rhythmic RnB-tinged new wave hit with his latest single, Superstar, featuring JCedric, which allows you to traverse his ascent to the top of his game.

Never letting ego get in the way of relatability and sincerity, Alan has a distinct way of versing directly to you as he proves with his dynamically fluid bars that adversity doesn’t ever have to be the end of your story.

While the originality in his sound comes as a result of having an eclectic array of musical interests, the soul in his sound comes via the roadblocks he’s overcome that have enabled him to reach notable heights in his career. It should go without saying, he’s one to watch.

Superstar dropped on October 28th; catch it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

NY rapper and producer, Jon Harris is rich in lyrical gold after his latest hip hop release, Great

Posted on 1 November 2022

NY rapper, songwriter and producer Jon Harris tore up the rulebook in his latest old-school-meets-nu-skool single, Great. After a cinematic intro that will speak to the senses of any Tarantino fan, the single moves into more familiar hip hop territory through Harris’ down-to-earth versing style, inspired by the visionaries, Eminem, Kanye and Jay Z, while the instrumentals work melodic magic in the background.

With bells chiming in place of the usual 808s and plenty more ingenuity written into the rhythmic works, Great is an arresting feat of urban innovation. And that’s before we get to the cutting wit that puts all of the wannabe rappers in their place with solid lines that get stronger with every repeat hit of Great. Which is everything it says on the tin.

Every lyric is quote-worthy, but “I’m the bad guy for trying to speak up, constantly telling me to shut up and stick to music, well, guess what bitch, now you gotta listen to it”, may just cut slightly above the rest.

The lyric video for Great premiered on October 22nd. Catch it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

 

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