Browsing Tag

Alt Rap

Punk rap pioneers Mort City gave a lesson in funk, rhythm and groove in their single, Teacher Teacher

Posted on 15 October 2022

The US punk rap pioneers Mort City brought the riffy funk in their latest single, Teacher Teacher, which will school you in Afrobeat rhythms, Primus-Esque melodies, and Ty Segal-style fuzz.

The cheeky semi-spoken word verses easily gel with the off-kilter progressive guitars that always keep the tonal palate sunny while delving into groove pockets before bringing Tom Morello veracious licks. If there was ever a 21st-century equivalent to Frank Zappa, I’m pretty sure I’ve just experienced it.

The bi-coastal duo ticks every conceivable box in the realms of experimentalism, while keeping the centre of gravity the good vibes that effortlessly exude from Teacher Teacher, which is just one of the singles from their debut album, On The Scene, which dropped across all streaming platforms on October 7th.

Teacher Teacher is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

UK rapper Chiron Loxton takes the urban grit out of hip hop with Out in the Trees.

Posted on 5 October 2021

It’s tracks like Chiron Loxton’s latest single, Out in the Trees, that exhibit the pointlessness of facade-delivered lyricism. Out in the Trees is the first track released from the luminary Somerset-residing rap artist’s mindful lockdown-inspired album. It is also the perfect introduction to his tendency to take lyrical hip hop to the next level.

Rap and nature rarely go hand in hand, given that it was created in the Bronx, but Loxton didn’t fail to take hip hop out of the urban era and root it in nature. The meditative trap beats with ambient drill undertones make for the perfect vibe out playlist staple.

The official video to Out in the Trees premiered on September 3rd. You can check it out for yourselves on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spitta Zay has dropped his flawlessly facade-less downtempo hip hop track, TRST.

Posted on 26 September 2021

US alt-hip hop trailblazer, Spitta Zay, is proving to be just as much of an aural force to be reckoned with as Saul Williams, especially on the basis of his latest evocatively experimental single TRST.

With the alt-indie guitars wrapping around the solid 808 snares in the atmospheric track that teases you through spatial effects and unpredictable downtempo rhythms, you can’t help but be drawn in by the refreshing sonic palette. Yet, it is the façade-less expression in the lyrics and downtrodden-but-still-soulful vocals that make hitting play on TRST an unforgettable experience.

Tracks like TRST mark a pivotal societal change in the openness in our trauma and idiosyncratic behaviour. If more artists found themselves with the same unfiltered motivation as Spitta Zay, I can’t help feeling that the world would be far more empathetic.

You can check out TRST for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Glitch Hop Meets Cloud Rap in Trukadi’s Latest Single, Pick and Choose

Posted on 10 September 2021

After his 2019 debut, the Californian alt-pop artist, Trukadi, hasn’t failed to make an impression with his antagonistic lyrics and experimental beats. His latest single, Pick and Choose, is a distortedly electrifying 1:43 minute hit of glitchy cloud rap with hints of Midwest Emo.

The explicit track carries the indie melodicism of a Post Malone single, but Trukadi made sure Pick and Choose hits like no other with instantly magnetic vocals and lo-fi guitars that bring plenty of warmth to the distinct production that marries glitch hop and emo. Love him or hate him, there will be no indifference when it comes to Trukadi’s sound, and there are few greater testaments of talent than that.

Pick and Choose is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spend It How I Want To: Talented UK artist Head-Ache Official wishes he was with her in the ‘Summer Time’

Posted on 10 July 2021

As he temporarily lost his rocket as she flew away for a while and he can’t stop thinking about holding her beautifully soft hand, Head-Ache Official dreams vividly of the fun times gazing into each others eyes in the beautiful ‘Summer Time‘.

Head-Ache Official is a seventeen-years-young alt-rap artist and model, who is based in the UK. He brings us a fresh look into the world from his innocent eyes – and takes us on a journey with a new school style – that has you deeply reflective and bouncing around due to the catchy beat and honest lyrics.

This is the true story of sitting back casually one day and realizing who is important in your life. Relationships come and go but this one is so special. Each moment means so much and you just wish you could be closer right now, so you could intertwine organically into each others souls, like plants wrapping together as one. Their memory has your beating heart in a happy flutter and you can’t stop thinking about them for one second.

There is a wonderfully crisp beat here that definitely soaks up the best time of year, when the rain is gone and the sunglasses are out in force. He feels trapped right now and the frustration is so clear in his excellent vocal ability, as he wants to move away from the circle that is keeping him tied up. His blood-fueled heart only wants to see her sweet smile.

‘Summer Time‘ from the youthfully exuberant London, UK artist/model Head-Ache Official, is a quick-fire two minute experience that takes you to the delightful times when you are with that special person in your life. The sun is baking down, the weather is so sweet, your eyes are locked in tight, and you only want to be with her all day. Sadly times have changed and you can’t be together right now, but the daydream is keeping you alive and bright for now.

Ultimately, summer is about spending it the way you wish, not with selfish souls who only want to do things of no interest to you.

Stream this fine song on Spotify and catch more of his vision via IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Enjoy the softer side of trap with Timmy the Boy’s intimate alt-indie sound.

Posted on 1 May 2021

Alternative artist Timmy the Boy has contributed to the airwaves for the past three years with this unique take on alt hip hop; he has garnered plenty of well-earned hype in the process. The prolific artist has collaborated with numerous major-league producers and worked with sensational featuring artists, but evidently, plenty of the alchemy in his evocative tracks is entirely his own.

The US-based artist possesses the enviable ability to explore raw emotion in his music while never drawing the listener into melancholy. Instead, he lays down all too relatable emotion while allowing his beats to tease optimism and connection.

His most recent single, Run to You, featuring Jocc and produced by Mikeisotb, can easily be considered a cloud rap playlist staple. With genres merged and plenty of atmosphere under the dual vocals, it’s as indulgently unique as it is distinctively immersive.

You can check out Timmy the Boy’s tracks for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Do Not Adjust Your Radios – ET Just Phoned Home: Seedy – ‘Seedy Sunday 3’

Posted on 30 March 2021

When the aliens land, they’ll be sending us a warning or two on their way – Seedy Sunday 3 might be the first of those cautionary broadcasts from outer space, kicking off with nothing more than siren blasts before the ‘we interrupt this broadcast’ monotone voiceover warns us of imminent danger. Namechecking burning churches, apocalyptic visions, and that Nigerian prince who keeps trying to send us money all in one verse, ‘Seedy Sundy 3’ is a sparse, tongue-in-cheek blast of eerie sci-fi electronica that’s maybe reminiscent of a mash-up of Devo, Sparks, Flash Gordon, Flesh Tetris, a touch of Electric Six, and just a smattering of Doctor Who, Hitchikers Guide, and C Beebies.

It’s a welcome change from a world weighed down by yet another foppish indie band or wannabe Fifty Cent; fun, quirky, amused and amusing, this is just shy of six minutes of original space jam entertainment. If fifties B-movies had a sound of their own, as opposed to a soundtrack, this might just be it. It’s not quite the end of the world as we know it, but it’s perhaps the precursor to it. Just remember to keep checking the skies for those aliens.

You can hear Seedy Sunday 3 on Spotify (try saying that quickly); check out seedy here.

Review by Alex Holmes

SadHappyRabbit – That’s Alright featuring Lil Ringey

Posted on 2 February 2021

Before we escaped 2020, SadHappyRabbit released their pessimistically-titled debut album ‘We’re Fucked’, which may flirt with nihilism, but the essence of the Portland-hailing artist’s sound unequivocally lies in their refreshing candid vulnerability.

The standout track, ‘That’s Alright’, which was created in collaboration with Lil Ringey is the perfect introduction to SadHappyRabbit’s unique marrying of Indie Hip Hop and Emo Rap. Anyone who has a proclivity for morosity – especially in the presence of romantic disparity will find plenty of resonance in the single.

Yes, the lyrics are dark, but darkness and romanticism have come hand in hand ever since Shakespeare started doing his thing, and this barbed depiction of painful romantic duality is just as efficacious at evoking strong emotion as Hamlet.

There’s no room to wonder why SadHappyRabbit has been able to amass so much hype since making their debut in 2020. Their fearlessness when it comes to lyrical honesty is practically unparalleled.

You can check out That’s Alright for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Showing her you are serious: Kid Grim drops the fiery ‘Prada Cloths’

Posted on 13 December 2020

Young rapper Kid Grim has just dropped his debut 8 track album called ‘Under The Moon’ and ‘Prada Cloths’ is the hot new single, that is setting the standard of Indie Hip Hop in this crazy year of 2020.

The acoustic start is lively and the raps drive a hole through all the wack emcee’s that have smothered the charts with their weak rhymes. This is a fledgling rapper who has that extra fire that so many are lacking. You can feel his hunger as he bites through the bars to show her that he is for real.

He certainly is no average joe and wants to treat his girl with some Prada clothes and make sure she is relaxed with whatever she wants to do and taste. This beat sprinkles the speakers with a splendid bass and constant energy to lift us into the seduction that is taking place, with these sultry lyrical deliveries.

His vocals are striking and keeps the story hot and with purpose. This is a musician who is just making his name is the shark-infested waters of the music world but wants respect real quick to keep his street cred up there with the best. When you are young, you want that extra feeling that people know you and that you are looking fresh as can be too.

‘Prada Cloths’ is the new Hip Hop effort from the rising star Kid Grim. If he can stay focused, get his team tight, and build his name up brick by brick until he gets that breakthrough festival appearance to push his name out to the masses, this is an artist we need to keep a close eye on.

Get your rap meal on Spotify and see how his career goes via IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Feel the Flow of Joey Ivy’s Transfixing Feat of Hip Hop “Golden Ticket”

Posted on 4 September 2020

Breaking Hip Hop artist Joey Ivy’s latest single “Golden Ticket” kicks off with a hauntingly phantasmic prelude which won’t fail to leave you transfixed by the archaic samples which set the perfect tone for the experimentally arrestive mix.

There may be plenty of Old School elements in Golden Ticket stylistically. But lyrically, Golden Ticket is well and truly grounded in the 21st century. If any Rap artist can put Pasadena on the map, it’s Joey Ivy. The flow and grind to their playful and witty bars are practically unparalleled. It practically begs for repeat attention by allowing you to draw more out of the powerful lyrics with each hit.

You can check out Golden Ticket for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast