Browsing Tag

Alt Hip Hop

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

Beavus has launched his experimentally originated hip-hop eponymous debut album.

Posted on 6 December 2022

The up-and-coming alternative artist, Beavus, proved that beyond-the-curve experimentalism is in high demand with hip-hop fans after the launch of his self-titled debut album.

The standout single, Song 4 Might Be Finished, is a meditatively chill window into the artist’s vibe-heavy inclination. Running through like a semi-lucid lo-fi trappy lullaby, the single exposes you to intimate confessionalism while the downtempo beats drench you with tranquil catharsis.

The sense of sweet yet cheeky playfulness takes the soundscape to the next level, and Beavus’ 5,000 monthly Spotify listeners would be more than inclined to agree.

Check out the eponymous debut album from Beavus on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jakezar waxes lyrical on his legacy in his dark rap track Blood in My Veins

Posted on 5 December 2022

At 21 years old, the Sydney-hailing rapper, Jakezar already has an eight-year spanning discography. By the time he was ready to drop his latest fervent single, Blood in My Veins, with his producer Cavula Beats, he was primed to make a fiery mark on the airwaves.

The dark experimental beats set a cinematic tone from the prelude before Jakezar blazes in with his bars that would be enough to make Sage Francis’ head spin. There’s also a fair amount of thematic reminiscence between Blood in My Veins to the production of GRACE by Sage Francis. But, judging by the dynamic range in Jakezar’s back catalogue, he moves to the flow of his expression and creativity and is never one to assimilate.

Blood in My Veins was officially released on November 23rd. You can check it out on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Roots music wraps around rap in BigRedMusic’s melodic indie hip hop single, Pack Mentality

Posted on 30 November 2022

Roots music meets rap in BigRedMusic’s latest single, Pack Mentality, which will win over any B. Dolan fans. To spice up the genre-fluid instrumentals, Spanish guitars with a touch of Eastern rhythm intricately weave a melody around the trappy 808s and the rap bars that hit every single mark.

Lil Nas X walked in Old Town Road so BigRedMusic could run in Pack Mentality, which wittily explores cultural phenomena of people’s tendency to act insufferably every time they are together enabling each other’s toxic behaviour. The introspection is just as hot as the immersive grooves in the high-fire track, which established the up-and-coming artist as talented as Eminem when it comes to slamming rap bars. It is no stretch to say that he is one of the hottest rappers on the underground right now.

Pack Mentality is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Pluto Mars – This Ain’t That: Strap In for a Psychedelic Space Adventure

Posted on 30 November 2022

Luminary Richmond, CA rapper Pluto Mars teamed up with the music video director, Kiko Valle, to take his fans on a psychedelic space adventure with his latest single, This Ain’t That.

The kaleidoscopically fiery rap track meets electro anthem creates a galvanising platform for the bars that bring the new wave of hip hop crashing in around the genre-fluid instrumentals that could easily fill a floor and make it writhe to the futuristically rich melodies.

True to current trends, the short and sweet track runs through in under two minutes, but Pluto Mars used every second to drench you in drum and bass grooves that you will want to sink in time and time again.

This Ain’t That premiered on November 20th; you can catch it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jaytovxn is on the prowl in his dynamic rap track, Pink Panther

Posted on 26 November 2022

Using the Pink Panther theme tune in his hot summer hip hop drop was a bold move for the 18-year-old Southern rapper, Jaytovxn, but given that the official music video racked up over 40k streams before it fell into our ears, it more than paid off.

His track, Pink Panther, with Ja Morant is a fiery, polished new wave production that lures you in with its convictive charisma, collaborative chemistry and the concise delivery of the bars that snap as hard as the beats.

If you loved the creativity within Pink Panther that uses conceptual twists and turns to keep you immersed in the artistry, you’ll be a sucker for Jaytovxn’s recently released EP, Eclipse. It stands as a testament to the luminary’s ability to meld genres to create his blazing signature that others will undoubtedly be keen to forge and assimilate.

Watch the official music video on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

From Street Rapper to Soul Sensation: DOMO4200 raised the roof and put it on a new plateau with ‘PREACH’

Posted on 23 November 2022

Street rapper, DOMO4200, has made a name for himself through his galvanising live shows, versatile rap style that melds soul with old-school conviction and fresh beats. He lived up to that name in his serotonin-spitting high-fire latest single, PREACH, featuring Rahzil Blckwell.

After an energetically jazzy prelude, the melodic track unfolds around his viscerally uplifting rap bars that preach a very different gospel to what you hear reverberating through churches but written in the lyricism, you’ll find relatability and motivation by the smorgasbord.

It’s no surprise that DOMO4200 isn’t failing to rack up the streams with his effortlessly expressive tracks that make no bones about where he came from and put no limits on where he’s going. After hearing PREACH, that’s a journey you’re going to want to take with him.

Stream PREACH on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast