Browsing Tag

Alt Hip Hop

X-Man speaks for the outliers in his pioneeringly impassioned alt-hip hop single, Can’t Relate

Posted on 5 February 2022

If X-Man goes down in hip hop history as anything less than a pioneer, we haven’t done him enough justice. Immersive may be a word that gets bound around in music reviews, but there are few other ways to allude to the allure of the hooks in his recently released seminal single, Can’t Relate.

X-Man makes it easy for you to instantly find the groove in the smooth canter of the almost spoken-word rap bars that are just as magnetic as Snoop Dogg’s. When it comes to the beats, X-Man cooked up a concoction of hip hop and playfully melodic video-game-style electronica. With the harsh snares snapping against the dreamy beats, there is plenty of texture to sink into as X-Man makes being unrelatable relatable.

You can check out Can’t Relate for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Yung Rager stayed true to his moniker in his juggernaut of a glitch wave hip hop track, Bubonic

Posted on 4 February 2022

Yung Rager’s moniker makes immediate sense when you hit play on the chaotically glitchy alt-hip hop single, Bubonic. In the stormer of a track, glitch wave, harsh electronica, and indie hip hop collide to tumultuous and galvanising effect.

It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but Bubonic is so much more than a mash of fiery rap bars and vocals and chaotic electronic sequences. The hook-filled track reels you in from the intro and keeps you transfixed in the moody and harsh progressions. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more cathartically volatile new release in 2022. Affix Yung Rager firmly to your radar.

Bubonic is just one of the tracks that feature on Yung Ranger’s brand-new EP, Pain Prohibits Love, that will drop on January 28th, 2022. It is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

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

Bryana Arlette – More Life: Cathartically Intimate RnB Hip Hop

Posted on 31 January 2022

If you let one of the most evocatively hard-hitting hip hop songs that dropped in 2021 slip you by, we’re giving you a second chance to slip into the arrestingly raw single, More Life, by the Ohio-born, LA-based independent artist, Bryana Arlette.

Through her music, she shines a melodic light on the experiences that shaped her and sank her into a silent depression. Her vision as an artist is bed by the hope of connecting with fans that have lived through similar experiences or worse. As much as she deserves to be applauded based on her candid bravery, her sound is equally as breathtaking. Her composed and neo-classic spin on RnB-laced hip hop amplifies the emotion in the lyrics while simultaneously creating a cathartically intimate urban atmosphere. We can’t wait to hear what follows.

More Life is available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

TutTheKing broke new urban ground with his dynamic flows in the alt-hip hop earworm, ‘Forged’

Posted on 26 January 2022

Plenty of new hip hop artists have moved into the ever-evolving urban space in recent years, but few did it with quite as much flair as the 23-year-old Egyptian songwriter and sound designer TutTheKing (Nour Rakha). His recently released 2022 single, Forged, is the perfect introduction to his dynamic flows, infectious attitude and experimental sound.

With an intro that isn’t a million sonic miles away from the one that brings in My Chemical Romance’s track, You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison, it is safe to say that TutTheKing that is doing just as much for the obliteration of genre boundaries as Yungblud, Travis Barker and Machine Gun Kelly. The edgy-in-spite-of-being-high-vibe track is a rollercoaster through the artists refreshing luminary talent. He doesn’t stop at breaking genre boundaries. He also fuses his Egyptian roots with a little SoCal hip hop for the ultimate galvanising and refreshing effect.

The official video for Forged is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

NBH Rucci searches for gravity in his latest single, Hold Me Down

Posted on 15 January 2022

In his latest single, “Hold Me Down”, the up and coming alt hip hop artist NBH Rucci explores the disparities between fears of being held down and lonely realities where connections feel transitional and leave us feeling short-changed.

The atmospheric dark indie hip hop single is an extension of the Michigan-hailing hip hop artist’s mission to share his triggering life events as a means of connecting with his fans and shining a light on the commonality of our pain. With trap and RnB nuances weaved into the short and sweet track that runs through in under 2-minutes, there is no denying that it hits the evocative spot and does it in a spectacularly succinct fashion.

Hold Me Down dropped on January 14th; you can check it out for yourselves via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

New Plague Radio went baroque with their folky hip hop hit, Devil Come, Devil Go

Posted on 15 January 2022

Fusion and hybrid sounds are pretty much the standard for new artists in 2022, but in a sonic shift that no one anticipated, bluegrass folk meets hip hop in New Plague Radio’s latest single, Devil Come, Devil Go.

With AJJ-style folk paired with the hypnotic structure of the rapid-fire deadpan rapped vocals, the experimental US outfit well and truly went baroque. Especially with the harmonic crooned deliverances of lyrics such as “a little dizzy all the time” (it’s not just me!!!).

After hearing their hook-filled Beastie Boys-inspired 2020 track, Methamphetamine Dance, in 2020, we were stoked to discover an artist so bold in their experimentalism. Methamphetamine Dance was the ultimate high-octane 90s-rock-tinged urban earworm, but Devil Come, Devil Go definitively proves that New Plague Radio doesn’t have authenticity at their disposal; artful gravitas is also in their arsenal. We couldn’t be more excited by the potential of New Plague Radio.

The official video for Devil Come, Devil Go is now available to stream on YouTube. Or, you can add the track to your Spotify playlists.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Newfaces embraces the chaos in his glitchy EDM hip hop single, I Can’t Make You Love Me

Posted on 25 December 2021

Experimentalism has always been an intrinsic part of Newfaces’ creativity. Yet, with his latest alt electro single, the LA-based artist and producer moved into Avant-Garde territory with his glitchy serving of hip hop, Neo soul and RnB pop.

With stormy and tribal textures entwined in the artful arrangement, I Can’t Make You Love Me is touched by chaos as a reflection of torrid human emotion. While the driving momentum in the gorgeously layered single never lets any of the weight in the candid lyricism sit uncomfortably. If Saul Williams collaborated with Radiohead, the sonic result wouldn’t be all too different from the absolute triumph that is I Can’t Make You Love Me. Newfaces’ sound leaves you with no uncertainty around how he managed to garner so much hype. He’s definitely one to watch.

I Can’t Make You Love Me is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

HayeWire promises ‘Better Days’ in their heart-wrenching debut single.

Posted on 23 December 2021

Up and coming Mississippi artist, HayeWire, has released his optimism-inspiring debut single, Better Days. The debut infuses hip hop, pop and RnB into the minor key melodies that are striking enough to leave you arrested in the introspection that was laid out as a means of connection.

The single starts with a minimalist melody and harmonic pop vocals before the rap bars and beats fully kick in, which brings plenty of gravity of track that caught us utterly broadsided with its ability to convey so succinctly the nature of depression.

HayeWire’s sole focus is dealing with trauma and depression in his lyrics to remind his listeners that they aren’t alone in their individual struggle. Notably, he hit the mark with Better Days which unravels as a cocktail of multi-faceted emotion that reflects the tight grip of depression and how sweet it is to break free from it.

Better Days is easily one of the most promising debuts we have heard during 2021. We can’t wait to hear how HayeWire follows on from this compassionate hard-hitter.

HayeWire’s debut single, Better Days, is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

UK Rapper JPOW comes in with all guns blazing in ‘Socially Anti’, featuring Kirsty Clarke

Posted on 17 December 2021

For his latest release, Socially Anti, rapper and songwriter JPOW teamed up with Kirsty Clarke, who brought a breath-taking dynamic to this hard and fast hit. Her folkishly light vocal timbre and innocently soulful yet sharp style was the perfect contrast against JPOW’s dominant bars that affirm he takes no prisoners when he steps to the mic.

Without a doubt, the South Coast-hailing UK independent artist is one of the hottest new names in the UK rap scene. He takes the usual lyrical rap tropes and runs them through his scathing wit. As for the instrumentals, you would be hard-pressed to find a bolder mix of tone and texture. With the melodic reminiscences to Cosmo Shelldrake and the quivering classical notes around the snappy bass-drenched beats, Socially Anti is as cinematic as it is galvanising.

Check out the official lyric video for Socially Anti via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast