Browsing Tag

Alt Hip Hop

22Canelo ticks all the boxes with his hip-hop-archetype-less charisma in Checkmark

Posted on 8 July 2022
22Canelo

Six years from his first lauded mixtape, the Bay Area-born artist 22Canelo let his charisma lead the way in his latest new wave hip hop single, Checkmark. In the same way that Lizzo allows her disposition to heighten every track she contributes to, 22Canelo is a master of the eccentric melodic hip hop earworm.

Too cool for nerdy hip hop, too sweetly eccentric for gangster hip hop, too twee for trap, 22Canelo made the sub-genres of hip hop look like painful stereotypes with his psyche, which will leave you just as psyched by the time the outro has rolled around. Forget the X-factor, he’s got the XXX-factor.

Checkmark will officially release on 08/07/2022. Check it out on his website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The hypersonic hip hop heavyweight, Chaz Matador, is back on his throne with ‘Bone Cage’

Posted on 5 July 2022

If you could imagine what it would sound like if Gary Numan veered into the arena of hypersonic EDM hip hop, you may get an idea of what is in store when you hit play on Chaz Matador’s latest single, Bone Cage.

The full-frontal production isn’t for the faint-hearted; the Albuquerque-born, Portland-based artist is one of the few bold enough to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. Forget giving Beastie Boys a run for their money; he challenges them to a sprint across the length of a futuristically warped stratosphere and holds them to ransom.

In his own words, he’s a “botched love spell eternally pregnant with imagination”, and his music channels perpetual dissatisfaction with nothing and everything into a mosaic of mediums typical of the attention-span obliterated millennial. We officially love him.

You can watch the official music video for Bone Cage on YouTube. Although, we’d probably advise against it if you’re epileptic. That probably goes for the soundscape itself.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Crimson REd put us on ‘Red Alert’ in his harbingering hip hop debut 

Posted on 3 July 2022

If it has been a while since you got some truly experimental hip hop in your ears, meet the future of melodic trap in Crimson REd’s debut single Red Alert.

With chiptune synthetics blaring under solid, rhythmic hits of the 808s, you can get an idea of what it would sound like if J. Cole put their bars over DJ Scotch Egg’s scorching 8-bit beats. Reminiscences aside, the Reading PA-born and raised artist came into his own right from the outset.

Everyone has their idea of charisma, but Crimson REd will be in-line with the definition for most hip hop fans that vibe with his kaleidoscopically psychedelic sonic signature. We sincerely hope that there is already a sophomore single locked, loaded and ready to drop.

Red Alert is now available to stream on Spotify.

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

Don Favelli rivals Al Pacino in his cinematic new wave rap track, Mobstas Interlude

Posted on 27 June 2022
Don Favelli

Taken from his dynamic hip hop album, COSMIC, which enmeshes old school with the new wave, Don Favelli’s standout hit, Mobstas Interlude, lets the vibe lead the track as much as the 808s that rattle in the minimalist production under Favelli’s dominant rap bars.

With cinematic melodies running against the bars that make it impossible to guess who inspired Favelli to step to the mic in the first place, getting immersed in the atmosphere of Mobstas Interlude is non-optional.

Since making his debut, the San Diego-hailing up-and-coming artist has allowed his lyrical storytelling and cutting introspective to define him. Sonically, he’s all over the urban spectrum. Paying little attention to squeezing his expression into pigeon holes, ultimately aiding an expansive feel to every track.

Check out Don Favelli on his website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ashes to Amber took the evolution of indie one off-kilter step further with HEEBIE JEEBIES

Posted on 24 June 2022
https://soundcloud.com/steedyroyce/heebee-jeebies-1/s-dMU88ZdfQch?in=steedyroyce/sets/heebee-geebees/s-wNN99aj7fTk&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

It isn’t all too long after the prelude that trying to pull out genre or reminiscence from Ashes to Amber’s latest single, HEEBIE JEEBIES starts to feel redundant. The unapologetic indie originator is one of the increasingly rare new names that are willing to expose his soul on the airwaves without hiding behind the style of another.

From gorgeously angular guitars fed through frenetic loops to harsh dancey synthetic textures to hip hop beats to cosmic blisters of dream pop, it’s all fed into the electrifying livewire of a title single to his forthcoming EP. As an anchor for sonic sanctity, Ashes to Amber gave us his sweetest indie-pop vocals, which will undoubtedly be a hit with fans of Peace, Jaws, the 1975, The Maccabees, and Swim Deep.

The HEEBIE JEEBIES EP will officially drop on June 24th. You can hear it for yourselves here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Andrew Brown looks for the light in his debut RnB single, In the Dark

Posted on 17 June 2022

For his alt-RnB debut, the independent artist and producer, Andrew Brown, went all-in with the trippy minor-key melodies in his poised yet profoundly raw single, In the Dark, which lasciviously flirts with elements of pop and new wave hip hop after its sombre and ballad-like intro.

When in full momentum, In the Dark is a visceral triumph of experimentalism and straight from the sad boi soul expression. While there is a little room for improvement in the production with the slightly excessive use of phasing, all in all, In the Dark stands as an all too promising debut for Andrew Brown. You can hear it for yourselves by heading to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Slide into Izaiah Bangz’s latest new wave rap track, Messenger

Posted on 13 June 2022

Like a laureate of the modern age, the trap pop artist Izaiah Bangz is always true to his moniker and bang-on his cutting narratives of 2022 romance. While I never quite anticipated a love song that mentions Chik-Fill-A, Bangz runs the reference right through his vibey latest release, Messenger, that borders on ethereal with its dreamy RnB layers.

After making his debut in 2019, Izaiah Bangz hasn’t failed to amass a following around his soul-steeped hard hitters that make it infinitely easier for his fans to navigate the digitally dystopic age of romance. After the release of Messenger, he is well on his way to racking up over 15k streams just a few days after the release. After the drop of his forthcoming self-titled debut album, it is safe to say Izaiah Bangz is going to be an unstoppable force in the new wave of hip hop.

Messenger is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

FIFTY VINC gives us dark cinematic conviction in his latest single, We Gonna Make It

Posted on 6 June 2022

Take the darkest rap track to have ever dominated your eardrums, throw plenty of cinematic flair on it, light it up with motivational conviction, and you may just get close to imagining what FIFTY VINC delivered in his latest single, We Gonna Make It.

And yeah, I know, all of that sounds like hyperbole, but once you hit play, you’ll soon see that even the most superfluous attempts to encapsulate the energy in We Gonna Make It is utterly futile.

The German music producer, composer for TV and Film and founder of FIFTY VINC productions has already sealed sync deals with some of the biggest networks in the industry, including Battle Of The Year, NBA, NFL, DAZN, ProSieben, RTL, UFC, SkySport and MTV.

There is an unignorable immensity to his production style that is undoubtedly going to see him go even further in his already glistening career.

We Gonna Make It is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rheez. resiliently bares all in his compassionately cinematic rap track, True Wounds

Posted on 27 May 2022

After so many people connected with his sophomore single PTSD, the Maltese rapper with UK roots, Rheez., extended much of the same compassion that allowed him to amass 10,000 Spotify streams in just 10 days with his third single, True Wounds. It unveils exactly what it says on the tin.

He set the expressive bar with True Wounds with his determination to step in the ring with his demons to make it a fairer fight for his listeners, making him the ultimate new wave heavyweight in our minds, ears and eyes.

True Wounds spins a personal tale while delivering vindication hand over fist to anyone that has felt similarly starved of solidarity due to a lifeline that puts a mind on trial. In a subversive way, Rheez delivers the bruisingly efficacious reminders that giving in is always an option, no matter how down and out you feel. To contrast his visceral words, production-wise, he ensured that the melodies ran artfully smooth.

In his own words, here is what Rheez. had to say about his third single:

“This song is a biography of all the trials and tribulations I faced throughout my life. As painful as it was to go in-depth talking on these subjects, I felt like if I am not 100% honest during my journey as an artist, I am depriving my fans of more insight to hopefully be moved by. It’s a story of adversity, the ending, a message of never giving up.”

True Wounds is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast