Browsing Tag

Alt Hip Hop

Grab a hyper 8-bit of American drill with Slaywitme’s latest single, good guys

Posted on 27 February 2023

‘good guys’ is the latest feat of hyper 8-bit hip hop from the alt-rap artist, Slaywitme, who has had multiple viral hits since making his debut in 2020. His first single, morrigan, has racked up over three million streams on Spotify alone, and his latest collaborative hit with Dom Corleo is just as hype-worthy. Don’t take our word for it; delve into the galvanizingly polyphonic panache of the high-vibe earworm from the New York-born, American drill icon.

With the manga-esque motifs draped over the reverberatingly heavy bass lines and Slaywitme’s unfuckwithably playful bars, there’s no resisting the infectiously exhilarating propensities in this new wave trap anthem that is sure to splice even more accolades into the career of the luminary rapper.

Check out good guys on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Canadian hip-hop heavyweight YungHarbs is back in the ring with his mixtape, RTL, Vol. 3

Posted on 13 February 2023

After a two-year hiatus, the independent rapper, YungHarbs has shown what the airwaves have been lacking in his absence with the release of his mixtape, RTL, Vol. 3. With bars as sharp, dynamic, and energised as the best of RZA’s work in the opening single, FWM, the mixtape flows from a strong start and never falters through the remaining three singles.

His gritty lo-fi edge encompasses the old-school and the new wave while running through track two, RIGHT AROUND, which throws in Afro Pop and RnB flavour, allowing YungHarbs to stand in a rhythmic league of his own on top of the steady rattle of the 808s.

Track 3, Test Me, brings in the ingenuity of the collaborating artist, T3, the dancehall anthem stands as a testament to the rhythmicality of their bars as the creative chemistry and conviction spill. Before the mixtape ends on WALK, which added a new trajectory to the evolution of gangster hip hop, the viscerally vindictive hit will easily win over any fans of Kanye.

RTL, Vol. 3 is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

EB seeks sanctuary in his mindfully melodic alt-hip-hop earworm, SECRET GARDEN

Posted on 12 February 2023

American rapper and producer, EB, is disrupting the hip-hop hegemony with his charismatically quirky sonic signature. The Virginia-based artist’s latest single, SECRET GARDEN, is the perfect introduction to his sunny disposition and wholesome bars, which throw away the allusion that every rap track needs to be charged with conviction.

The playful polyphonic Nujabes-ESQUE prelude draws in fans of 8-Bit-adjacent music before veering into a feat of cinematic East Coast hip-hop in the same vein as Jay Z and Nas. In the short and sweet space of 1:39 minutes, EB made sure his audience got their dopamine fix and brought mindful compassion into trend.

“This song is a collaboration with Dale Richman, and within the lyrics, we paint the dynamics of the pain of one-sided relationships, a common theme throughout the project. I produced, mixed and mastered this song to my own standard of perfection.”

SECRET GARDEN is the first track to drop from EB’s upcoming project, Sorta Flying…REMADE~!!!, which is due for official release on February 23rd.

SECRET GARDEN hit the airwaves on February 3rd. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Cuttaman 100gran rides his own new wave in his vindicating rap hit, Bump My Music

Posted on 3 February 2023
Cuttaman 100gran

After opening for Pastor Troy in South Carolina, recording records for Dr Dre and performing in front of 8,000 people at a concert in Rockingham, NC, the Charlotte, NC-hailing luminary rapper, Cuttaman 100gran, is here with his latest single, Bump My Music.

Slick with style and vibing with an infectious attitude, Bump My Music is the ultimate middle finger to the people in your life that stay on the sidelines instead of getting behind you. Paying homage to his muses, Cuttaman 100gran rides his own wave while staying in the fast lane with his sharply steady rap bars and beats that break the hip-hop mould.

Any fans of Kevin Gates, Roddy Ricch and Rod Wave will be addicted once they get a taste of the grinding urban aesthetic that balances hard-hitting percussion with wavy reverb production – engineered by the legendary sound designer, Bungies.

“When you have women in your life that are inspired by your stories, telling them becomes a lifestyle. Them being around me on a day-to-day basis makes every lyric that much more surreal. Their enthusiasm inspired the track.”

Stream Bump My Music on Spotify and Apple Music. Follow Cuttaman 100gran on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Decuma unleashed their rogue existentialism in the spoken word viscerally experimental hip-hop track, basketball. ft. yska

Posted on 12 January 2023

Blurring the lines between poetry and hip hop, the atmospherically magnetic first single, basketball., taken from the Detroit rapper and musician, Decuma’s album, let’s play pretend, reaches the pinnacle of gritty dynamism.

Switching up the vocal tone to match the sentiments in each verse as they stay true to their brand of rogue existentialism, basketball. ft. yska is a defiantly disarming window into the mind of an artist committed to holding the world accountable for its prolific sins.

The instrumentals that seamlessly drift through cutting orchestral layers to dark and distorted bit-tune-ESQUE beats to nostalgic jazz hip-hop samples always fall in line with the provoking lyricism that makes no bones about reaching vindication by rehashing injustice.

There is little to tie each blister of candour together. When they are put together collectively, you hear a true account of how generational, romantic and institutional trauma can amount to breaking points for even the most tensile who walk amongst us. Decuma did Nietzsche proud.

Check out the official 360 Video that premiered on January 3rd on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Take a psychonautic trip with Dirt Cookie’s spacey synthwave rap hit, Word Vomit

Posted on 2 January 2023

After the success of his 2022 sophomore album, Peace in the Valley, the up-and-coming alt-hip-hop originator, Dirt Cookie, pulled a fresh antagonistically infectious earworm out of the oven with his latest single, Word Vomit. 

After confessing that he doesn’t want to write about sex anymore over spacey synths and purposefully scratchy beats, the psychotropic feat of synthwave rap kicks into a melodic flow, led by his snappy rap verses that throw lyrical curveball after curveball. 

There’s no anticipating the direction Dirt Cookie will take while he’s rapping through the droning synthesisers and 8-Bit style instrumentals, and that’s a major part of the experimental success of Word Vomit. The clue is kinda in the title.

As we have no idea what to expect from his next release, especially based on the indie folk hits in his sophomore album, we’re already stoked to hear it. He’s the GOAT of hip hop wildcards. 

Word Vomit is now available to stream on Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast  

Feel the temperature drop with the dystopic chill in Kabinyo’s industrial EDM single, I Am Collins

Posted on 30 December 2022
no more chasing ghosts by kabinyo

Atlanta-based producer and artist Kabinyo drenches his hip hop beats in dark and cinematically caustic atmosphere to a scintillating effect. His latest single, I Am Collins, moves past synthwave to firmly implant itself in the ambient industrial genre.

The mostly instrumental piece carries the futuristic simulated chill of an isolated dystopia, akin to the synthesised textures within the Sucker Punch Remix of Army of Me by Bjork. Despite his experimentalism, Kabinyo has celebrated ample success with his eclectically crafted instrumentals. His most successful single to date, Vogue, was picked up by Manimal Vinyl before being published by Sony. With his upcoming LP, he’s veered further away from hip hop towards rock and EDM; it’s a move that will undoubtedly see him go further in his already accoladed career.

I Am Collins is now available to stream and download on Bandcamp.

Stay tuned for the full release of the album no more chasing ghosts, which will officially release on January 6th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Solomon Jones released the dualistic hip-hop single of the year with the subversive single, Snowberry

Posted on 28 December 2022

Taken from his album, Glass, the standout single, Snowberry, from the up-and-coming New Jersey-residing hip-hop artist, Solomon Jones, is a lesson in subversive expression.

From a smooth and jazzy prelude that drips pure soul and seduction through the backing vocals around his hushed spoken-word timbre, the track abruptly yet seamlessly takes a drastic turn in direction.

After confessing amorous feelings, Solomon Jones exhibits his dark and “cursed” side before bringing the soul back in, proving that the line between light and dark resides in us all and we’re only fooling ourselves by denying our intrinsically dualistic nature. Sonically, Snowberry is subtle. Yet that didn’t stand in the way of the versatile artist from delivering one of the most impactful hip-hop singles of the year.

The album was released on December 10th; it is now available to stream and purchase via apple music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Iamyungtip – Locked Out: Future-Ready RnB Hip Hop

Posted on 11 December 2022

Looking back on a scar-littered relationship, Iamyungtip’s latest single, Locked Out, is a remorseful retrospective account of a chapter of history where the lows pitted out the highs, but the affection is unwaning.

The mature slice of future-ready RnB hip hop is a testament to the Youngstown, Ohio-based artist’s songwriting skills that he has been working on since he was eight years old when he wrote poetry for his crushes. In adulthood, he’s lost none of the diehard romanticism and picked up plenty of sonic skills to evolve his expression from the page to the airwaves.

The melodic hooks, the way his cleverly effect-laden harmonised vocals lock in with the sweepingly arrestive melodies and the way he always brings you into the heart of his music makes him a triple threat and a playlist staple worthy artist for anyone who appreciates a hip hop icon unafraid to show his emotion.

Locked Out is now available to stream on Spotify,

Review by Amelia Vandergast

What Friedrich Nietzsche is to philosophy, Vontred is to hip hop with his dark and gritty single, Nihilistic Deathbed

Posted on 11 December 2022

Starting with the question, do you ever feel like you have overslept your life? Vontred’s standout single, Nihilistic Deathbed, from his 2022 album, Dark Corners of a Broken Mind, is definitively a release that will comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.

For hip hop fans who feel like their life can be defined by the voids in it, the up-and-coming artist is bound to bring a world of resonance and nihilistic solidarity. I, for one, can fully get on board with the bars that breed solidarity with every line delivered in the snappy, dominant, no holds barred track.

Stylistically, Vontred’s sonic signature in Nihilistic Deathbed isn’t worlds away from the gritty, grime-y, bass-heavy dark hip hop vibes in DMX’s more visceral tracks, but clearly, his sound is of his own making as it wraps around his lyrical themes that Friedrich Nietzsche would be proud of.

Nihilistic Deathbed is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast