Browsing Tag

Alt Hip Hop

Jah-Sun Collier futuristically reconfigured old-school boom bap in his latest single, RICH THOUGHTZ!

Posted on 16 September 2023

A blast of retro boom bap hit the airwaves when the latest satirically sharp rap track, RICH THOUGHTZ!, dropped as a courtesy of the ultimate urban antagonist, Jah-Sun Collier, who is also well-known as a popular YouTuber, actor, and video editor.

By futuristically reconfiguring the retro tones and adding a further lyrical trajectory to the evolution of hip-hop, the US rapper and record producer did far more than revisit vintage sounds with his tongue-in-cheek track that points out how contrived society has become through its obsession with capitalist gains.

He set the resilience to mercenary vanity bar transcendently high with the introspection-rich hit that proves that being rich in any real sense has no correlation to numbers on a screen, the brand names on your clothes or the car you drive.

RICH THOUGHTZ was officially released on September 1st. Stream it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The debut single, Defective by Design, from r.a.g.s. is a wavey lo-fi outcry of poetic raw emotion.

Posted on 10 September 2023

With a sound that will draw in fans of Kae the Tempest and George the Poet like a moth to a flame, the visceral with uninhibited candour single, Defective by Design, from r.a.g.s. and tee fisher is a gravitational force in and of its hip-hop self.

Experimentalism was in no short order in the chilled wavey lo-fi outcry of poetic raw emotion. While the title gives a few clues as to what the lyrics allude to, there’s no preparing for the intellect in the wordplay, which finds profound new ways to illustrate the frustration of feeling as though you were always fated to live a life bookended with mental cognitions that will always lead you down the wrong path of perception and action.

r.a.g.s. started his musical journey by learning Indian classical keyboard at age five; he took his immersion in the music world a step further by enrolling at Leeds Conservatoire studying jazz and learning how to produce his own music. His debut single effortlessly distinguished him as an artist who will never leave authenticity by the wayside. Naturally, we can’t wait to what lingers in his obscure pipeline.

Defective by Design hit the airwaves on August 28; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

justMusic radiated originality in his stylised and cinematic hip-hop track, MORNING SUN

Posted on 2 September 2023

The Virginia & Florida-hailing hip-hop pioneer justMusic pays no loyalty to coastal sub-genres; he drifts between stylings and pulls in inspiration and creativity where he imaginatively sees fit. His latest cinematically soulful single, MORNING SUN, is the perfect introduction to his tendency to colour outside of the archetypal melodic lines to paint an urban picture of pure originality.

As the synthesised orchestral strings cut through the immersive atmosphere, justMusic pulls it back together with his harmonised vocal lines that soak the soundscape in soul between the dripping-with-conviction rap bars.

When the singer and rap artist isn’t cooking up hits to supplement his already eclectic discography, he’s using his passion for success in his highly accomplished skateboarding career but he’s stepped off the board for long enough to work on his latest project MuX. 

MORNING SUN hit the airwaves on August 25; stream it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mother Pangea followed the muse into unchartered territory with ‘tHE mISERABLE fOSSIL’

Posted on 17 August 2023

Mother Pangea captured the mystery of his Middle Eastern roots in his latest melodically enticing single, tHE mISERABLE fOSSIL.

The neo-classic electronic hip-hop score may reach the pinnacle of experimentalism, but the artist’s inclination to follow his muse into unchartered new territory didn’t diminish the accessibility of the release; to date, tHE mISERABLE fOSSIL has clocked up almost 40k streams, and counting.

After being fascinated by the way instrumentation drives our emotions, especially by the hand of Yanni, Hans Zimmer, and Tyler Bates, Mother Pangea was keen to awaken evocative impulses with his own compositions; never one to discriminate on genre, he often turns his talents to emanating elements of pop, RnB, Indie, House, and EDM in his hybridic compositions which break every mould known to man, and a few more that are beyond our consciousness.

tHE mISERABLE fOSSIL was officially released on July 28th; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lex the Visionary artfully revolutionised alt-hip-hop with ‘Stretch’

Posted on 15 August 2023

If you like your rap tracks dark, decadent and full of hooks, delve right into the debut EP, LOTUS, from the Atlanta-based originator Lex the Visionary. Between the four tracks, the evocative trailblazer invites the listener on a journey from heartbreak to the discovery of her authentic self; the cinematic proclivities of the release give you a panoramic view of the roadmap of actualisation and redemption.

The standout single, Stretch, pushes the hip-hop envelope into artfully authentic new territory underpinned by Lex the Visionary’s delectable way of constructing moody melodies. The juxtaposition between her vocals, which give a view into her history with church choirs, and the spacey, at some points transcendent sonic motifs, is nothing short of arrestive.

After the midway mark in Stretch, the soundscape takes an ambient turn; the lush reverb drifting from the synth lines reaches the pinnacle of ethereal catharsis while giving you space to reflect on the introspective gold relayed into this elevated with luxe ingenuity release.

Stream Lex the Visionary’s EP via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

MANTRABLU tripped out trap in his latest juggernaut of a track, NIPTUCK

Posted on 30 July 2023

Brooklyn-based singer, rapper, and producer MANTRABLU has dropped his juggernaut of an experimental trap hit, NIPTUCK; with the razor-sharp wit and equally as cutting trip-hop atmosphere, few urban originators have as much edge as the artist who takes his influence from everything from math rock to neo-soul to jazz-funk.

After a wavy chiptune prelude, MANTRABLU’s rolling-with-the-punches rap bars adrenalize the texturally complex soundscape that stands as a testament to his trailblazing authenticity. Get behind him or get out of the way, because if any contemporary artist has what it takes to make a fresh mark on the Brooklyn hip-hop landscape it is him – especially now he’s breaking away from his production-focused discography and going back to his origins as a songwriter.

Stream NIPTUCK which hit the airwaves in May 2023 on Spotify and Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

ADZii BOii put Scotland on the alt-hip-hop map with ‘Pleasure Beach’

Posted on 7 July 2023
ADZii BOii

ADZii BOii put Scotland on the alt-hip-hop map with his latest single, Pleasure Beach, which sun-soaked the airwaves on July 7th.

After getting airplay from BBC Radio Scotland with the title single to his debut album, Colours, he’s in equally as colourful form on Pleasure Beach, which mixes up the archetypal urban instrumentals by including saturated in delay guitars, the radiant hues of organs and sleek piano keys.

With more charisma and tongue-in-cheek charm than Limmy in his salaciously rhythmic rap bars, ADZii BOii is apologetic in his lothario-like lyricality, and Pleasure Beach is all the more electrifying for it. If you want to head to Portobello Beach without heading to Edinburgh, hit play and let the wavy melodies soak you in.

Stream Pleasure Beach on Spotify and follow ADZii BOii on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Heir to the St Louis rap scene, K!NG QUE, created alt-hip-hop ‘Perfection’ in his latest single, ft Zaetheone, Daemon & Von Mitch 

Posted on 28 June 2023
For his latest single, Perfection, the prodigal son of alt-hip hop, K!NG QUE (AKA the Melodic Rebel), joined creative forces with Zaetheone, Daemon & Von Mitch and took over the St. Louis rap scene in the process.
Seeing barriers as sonic constraints to unshackle himself from, K!NG QUE created sultry groove-slicked production that exhibits the alchemy that breeds between the contrasting and complementary vocal timbres while the body-rocking beats and melodies to perpetually ascend in the RnB and Reggaeton wrapped mix. Very few contemporary hits have what it takes to take you to the heights Perfection does.
The dynamic versatility reverberating at its core is the evolution hip-hop was crying out for. From ethereal female vocal lines to rap bars with a cadence that punctuates the mix as much as the basslines to euphoric builds to just as galvanising breaks, Perfection just keeps on giving.
Stream Perfection on Spotify now.
Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Pinwheel Valley & Garrison Cade Created a Meditation in Ambient Old School Hip Hop with R.E.M. State

Posted on 30 May 2023

For his latest release, the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, Pinwheel Valley, added an old-school hip-hop top-line to the beat of the standout instrumental single, R.E.M. State, which featured on his 2023 EP, What If I.

Collaborating with the rapper Garrison Cade, who has proven to be at the top of his game in his alt/indie band, Sam the Astronaut, which has taken Canada’s West Coast by storm, the two collaborators answered the question, what does it sound like when two powerhouses collide?

While we loved the artful ambience of the instrumental iteration for the temperate atmosphere that oscillated through our speakers, the hip-hop revival of the single reached the serendipitous pinnacle of visionary synergy.

With the verses flowing with the same transcendent philosophy as the intricate progressions, the reworking of R.E.M. State unravels as a meditation in authentically old-school ambient old-school hip-hop. Pinwheel Valley & Cade couldn’t be derivative if they tried with their shared tenacity for versing and arranging melodies straight from the soul.

“R.E.M. State is the ‘Kaytranada – Bus Ride’ inspired track that started out as an instrumental on the ‘What If I’ EP released last February. A few ppl were asking for an old-school Hip-Hop top-line to the beat, and I thought Garrison Cade would make the perfect fit. Garrison is a talented rapper who also fronts ‘Sam the Astronaut’, a popular Canadian West Coast, Alternative/Indie band. I believe Garrison has the right pre-reqs for someone I could tour or perform a couple shows with at some point.”

Stream R.E.M State featuring Garrison Cade, which hit the airwaves on May 31st, via Spotify.

Follow Pinwheel Valley on Facebook, and Instagram


Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tyrus Archer launched an ‘AMERICAN CLASSIC’ with his latest alt-hip-hop single.

Posted on 18 May 2023

Don’t be fooled by the titular insinuation; the latest single, AMERICAN CLASSIC, from the alt-hip-hop innovator, Tyrus Archer, is anything but archetypally in-line with the American dream. The downtempo trip-hop beats and ethereally luxe backing vocals, which sound like they’ve been torn from a David Lynch production, take AMERICAN CLASSIC to the next level.

From the first verse, you will find yourself transfixed on the conviction that pours from Archer’s hot and heavy vocal lines, which poetically portray an exhibition of the desecrated culture of the US until the track quiescently fades to silence, allowing you to bask in the introspection that was pulled with perfectly cadenced punches. AMERICAN CLASSIC is pure Avant Garde urban aggression, which goes a long way in alluding to why the slam poet rapper self-describes himself as a wild racoon in a handbag.

Stream AMERICAN CLASSIC by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast