Browsing Tag

EDM Hip Hop

GiNN 諸葛靖 Darkened the Sphere of EDM Hip-Hop with His Seductively Entrancing Hit, Dizzy

Posted on 20 December 2024

One hit of Dizzy— GiNN 諸葛靖’s biggest single to date, which has racked up over 141k Spotify streams—slams you straight into a dark intersection between EDM & Hip-Hop.

Fans of both genres have had no trouble clocking the ingenuity behind this dark, reverberant, pulse-commandeering anthem that drags you into rhythmic submission.  GiNN’s bars become a magnetic focal point in the track as they wrestle the thick, pulsative progressions into line, a feat few could pull off without buckling under their own ambition.

Every progression is a juggernaut, hell-bent on stomping its influence onto the dancefloor and sinking into your synapses. It’s seductive but never salacious. Instead, it’s powered by the raw magnetism of GiNN’s enigmatic presence.

As a Los Angeles-born, Chinese American starving artist who grew up drifting between East and West, GiNN 諸葛靖 channels House, Techno, DNB, and ATL influences into his own Electro Hop blueprint. The lyrics may be indecipherable at times, but who cares when the vibe slaps this hard?

Stream Dizzy on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

SEER SEEKER worked alchemic urban magic into his juggernaut of an alt-hip-hop LP, SPELLS AND SECRETS

Posted on 11 November 2024

With his standout track FRACTALS, the independent rap luminary SEER SEEKER found fresh urban intersections to trailblaze across. A hypnotic pulse weaves through the dark, moody, bass-heavy anthem, delivering an unapologetic sonic experience that hip-hop fans won’t want to shake off.

The track fuses the ornate melancholy of neo-classic piano keys with boom-bap nuances, the kinetic momentum of EDM and dark trap’s weighted edges, amplifying the artist’s ability to channel fearlessness into every beat.

FRACTALS isn’t just another offering from SEER SEEKER’s sophomore LP, SPELLS AND SECRETS; it’s a testament to his refusal to be confined by genre norms. Channelling visceral energy with ferocious resilience, the track infectiously demands to slam through your speakers time after time as the young prodigy proves that being a rockstar is more of an attitude than a genre.

It’s the kind of single that hits with unapologetic power, refusing to merely float in the background. Instead, it digs deep, etching its sonic signature through layers of electrifying sound and raw intent.

Though only a fraction of the ingenuity threaded through SPELLS AND SECRETS, FRACTALS serves as a potent introduction to SEER SEEKER’s intense, unflinching style.

SPELLS AND SECRETS dropped on Halloween, stream it in full on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rice redefined hip-hop with the big beats in his latest hit, Blog It

Posted on 5 May 2024

After a suspenseful two-year hiatus, Rice stormed back onto the hip-hop scene with Blog It, a track that pulses with cinematic grandeur and a defiant declaration of his undimmed presence. This single is not just a return; it’s a bold reaffirmation of Rice’s command over the genre.

Rice, known for his role as an entrepreneur and philanthropist as much as his music, melded monolithic auto-tuned bars with EDM-adjacent beats to create a soundscape that’s as luxurious as it is massive. The production quality, more designer than Prada, amplifies Rice’s charisma, proving that none of his magnetic allure has faded beneath the technological sheen.

Blog It is laden with lyrical potency and rhythmic complexity that showcases Rice’s matured artistry. His background as a visionary artist who transitioned from management to centre stage is evident in every beat.

This single is a narrative of persistence and a sonic explosion that heralds Rice’s readiness for a Grammy. It’s ironic yet fitting that a track titled Blog It is the one I find myself blogging about—what could be more meta? Yet, if I’m a pawn in anyone’s game, I’m glad it’s Rice’s; the major player is ripping up the hip-hop rulebook and setting fire to the confetti.

Blog It is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Annava & Calmea delivered a hypersonic K-Pop/Hip-Hop mash-up with their infectiously fresh single, PARALLEL WORLDパラレルワールド

Posted on 8 January 2024

For his latest single, PARALLEL WORLDパラレルワールド, the US record producer and DJ Annava fused his beats with the razor-sharp bars of rapper Calmea to orchestrate a hypersonic earworm drenched in infectiously fresh K-Pop flavour. The distinction within the production was all too fitting with the titular theme; within parallel worlds, few things are completely uniform; this is inventively visualised within the arrangement and the authenticity of the track.

With Annava’s discography delivering everything from happy hardcore to hyper pop, the unleashing of PARALLEL WORLDパラレルワールド was an unexpected move, but one which notably resonated with his growing fanbase who can’t tear themselves away from the energy he brings to every release. By blending exhilaration with melodic precision, the up-and-coming artist is making a name for himself on the airwaves and beyond.

PARALLEL WORLDパラレルワールド is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Fats & JM went on a ‘Mad One’ with their infectious EDM rap hit

Posted on 8 August 2023

The Azerbaijan-born British rapper and songwriter, Fats, mashed up his talents and his infectious tongue-in-cheek charisma with his co-collaborator JM to deliver the ultimate house party anthem, Mad One.

After a solid serving of sun-bleached acid house beats, Fats subverts the transcendently tranquil tones with his wit-sharp garagey rap bars and bass-drenched rhythms. Between his cleverly enticing cadence and his lyricism that carries the perfect amount of antagonism, there’s no resisting the magnetism of the monolithic drop.

If anyone deserves to go as viral as the Blackout Crew did in 2009 with Put a Donk On It, it is Fats. A month after the drop of the official music video for Mad One, it has already racked up 95,000 streams on YouTube and has been added to plenty more high-profile Spotify playlists.

We would usually say get on it while the hype is hot, but it’s unlikely that Mad One will stop being the hottest EDM drop of the summer anytime soon.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

DJ Fricktion, D Smoke & Kelvyn Colt fed the ‘POWER’ in a homage to West Coast hip-hop

Posted on 20 May 2023

From working with RZA to Ghostface to Suspect to Digga D, Ronaldo saying he’s the best DJ he’s ever heard and DJing for Usain Bolt’s private parties, there are few DJs as accoladed and revered as the London-residing music producer and engineer, DJ Fricktion.

From being nominated at London’s club awards as best DJ, to teaching music in a prison to performing at some of the biggest venues across the globe, DJs’ career is as rich and diverse as they come. Now, he’s here with his latest single, POWER, featuring D Smoke & Kelvyn Colt, which unravels as the ultimate adrenalized hustler anthem.

If there is anyone who can speak on the relationship between perseverance, determination and success, it is DJ Fricktion; but that is just one facet of conviction in the fiery feat of hip-hop, which goes far beyond the tired rattle of 808s. The production is as massive as the vocal energy as the rap bars from the collaborators give POWER endlessly enlivening Jekyll and Hyde duality.

Any fans of Dre, Quincy Jones, A.R. Rahman and Timbaland will want to jump on POWER while it is hot.

POWER officially dropped on May 12; galvanise your Spotify playlists with it.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dehko – Slide ft. Snap Dogg: EDM Rap Has Never Hit Harder

Posted on 26 March 2023

The Detroit EDM duo, Dehko, is an unreckonable force after the drop of their anthemically arresting album, Tektroit. Dehko isn’t just hot on the heels of Tiesto, Skrillex, Garrix, Kygo, and Don Diablo, the brother duo has scorched right past them with his galvanisngly ground-razing epic of an LP.

The standout single, Slide, featuring the rap legend in his own right, Snap Dogg, is the sonic equivalent of an adrenalin shot to the heart. After a steady and almost sultry build, the bass-drenched beats catapult you through the hard and heavy progressions while Snap Dogg lends his dominantly gruff vocal energy to create a juggernaut of an EDM Rap hit.

From the absorbingly tensile breaks and builds to the crystal-clear cut of the production to the emotion the hit compels you to feel, Dehko & Snap Dogg reached the definitive pinnacle of EDM Rap. It would be idiotic to try and top it.

Slide dropped on March 10th; you can jump on the hype by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

UK Alt-Rap duo, xKNGS, started a wildfire from the sparks that fly in their latest single, Gold Plastic

Posted on 12 March 2023

Few UK rap acts hold a candle to Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip in my book, but the alt hip-hop duo, xKNGS, started a wildfire with the adrenalizing sparks that fly from their latest single, Gold Plastic.

While the solid backbeat arrests your rhythmic pulses, the dirty and distorted electric guitars fuse Rockstar energy into the creatively innovated feat of originated progressive hip hop, which borrows a few EDM elements for futuristic flair and pop for the undeniably sharp hooks.

Any fans of Kid Kapichi and Bob Vylan won’t want to miss out on the trailblazing duo, which singlehandedly bosses everything down to the recording and production. It isn’t every day I hear a single and feel the compulsion to every hit in their discography, but evidently, xKNGS are a fresh cut above the rest.

The official music video, which has now garnered over 17k streams, is available to stream via YouTube.

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

All isn’t fair in love and war in Orval Hill’s progressively immense alt EDM hip hop single, Nowhere

Posted on 19 November 2022

After a strikingly sombre alt-pop prelude complete with beckoningly harmonic vocal lines which pull you into the emotion of the release, Orval Hill’s latest feat of ‘schizo rap’, Nowhere, slams right into a body-rocking EDM hip hop anthem with scuzzy bass-drenched beats to pound your speakers to oblivion around the minor key piano stabs.

Nowhere is the ultimate testament to Orval Hill’s ability to wildly juxtapose the next progression against the last to accurately portray the off-kilter nature of the human mind. We like to fool ourselves that we’re rational creatures, but we rarely let logic get in the way of emotion. Orval Hill stays true to our animalistic proclivities while delivering contrasting declarations to prove that all isn’t fair in love and war. If anything encapsulates the clusterfuck of dating in the modern age, it’s the off-kilter exposition within Nowhere.

Nowhere is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast