Browsing Tag

Independent Hip Hop

Numb up with Poppa King Oats’s trap hit, Painkiller

Posted on 2 November 2022

Driven by the inspiration of Jay Z and LL Cool J, the Massachusetts-born and raised trap artist Poppa King Oats started rapping at 15. By the time his latest single, Painkiller, arrived, he was primed to unveil a killer of an atmospheric rap track that encompasses the human proclivity to numb the pain.

The minimalistic yet efficaciously melodic beats create a solid platform for his rap bars that carry an old-school sense of conviction. Nothing about Painkiller feels inhibited. Not the lyrics that get to the crux of the issue. Not the energy of the rap style. And certainly not the authenticity demonstrated that will see the up-and-coming artist go far in the trap scene.

Painkiller is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Zinc XD cuts loose in his melodic experimental hip hop track, NO TIES

Posted on 23 October 2022

Northern California hip hop artist and producer Zinc XD used our innate incapacity for honesty as the muse for his stormer of a latest single, NO TIES.

NO TIES breaks boundaries with its intricately exotic instrumentals and sniping lyrical wit that puts the independent 100% DIY artist leagues above the rest. Few push the experimental envelope further than Zinc XD with his melodic electronic sequencing that effortlessly complements his vocal style, which allows you to bask in the charisma in his expression.

After playing around with drums, guitars and lyrics since the age of 6, Zinc XD waited until he was 17 to launch his debut. Many would believe that is still too early to boast a matured sound; to that, I would say just press play and drink in the colourful mellifluous flow of this new wave hit.

Stream NO TIES on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

BEKAH heated up the UK rap scene with her wit-deep single, Shots

Posted on 19 October 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6N2Dn6rKno

British-born artist Bekah was perceptibly also born to be a rapper based on the fluidity of her wit-deep bars in her latest single, Shots. As the daughter of a Montserratian father and Pakistani mother, she ensured the flavour of Eastern rhythms packed a punch in this serpentine-ly melodic mellifluous hit that sticks to the synapses like super glue.

Between the beats, her charisma and the intellectual wordplay that would leave any sane artist fearing a rap battle, she’s evidently a triple threat. The way she pulverises ideas of what women should be is nothing short of electrifying. She’s picking up where Lady Sovereign left off with her unapologetic defiance of normative feminine stereotypes.

The official music video for Shots premiered on September 24th. Check it out on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

IAMJALEO sent the notion of genre further into extinction into his jarringly dark triumph of a sophomore single, Soul Food

Posted on 15 October 2022

Subversively to its title, IAMJALEO’s sophomore alt-hip hop single, Soul Food, throws you into an old-school melancholic orchestral score before the gruff distorted verses allow you to peek behind the curtain into a schizophrenic mind and a life that is rife with systematic injustice.

The intensity of Soul Food isn’t easy to swallow, but the sombre result of the dark rap bars meeting the emotionally heightened instrumentals is a testament to the up-and-coming artist’s talent as a songwriter. That is something that artists can go ten albums without creating, but pretty much straight off the bat, the DC-born, Maryland-raised artist proved his capacity for evocatively striking art. He’s definitely one to watch.

Soul Food is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Clint Cash speaks for the financially disenfranchised in his latest dark trap single, Ballin

Posted on 22 September 2022

Jackson, Tennessee-hailing hip hop artist Clint Cash has allowed music to take him from rock bottom to a place of passion and creativity. His fourth self-produced album, Cold Heart, captures much of his struggle, especially the standout single, Ballin.

The dark and atmospheric trappy beats in Ballin reflect the extreme lows that he has endured as well as the lyrics which viscerally run through relatable struggles, with a focus on the difficulty of relationships with money when you’re contending with a scarcity of it. It’s a sombre single, but the overarching energy is nothing short of vindicating for anyone that could never relate to hip hop tracks that are braggadocios about lavish excess.

Ballin is now available to stream on YouTube.

Follow Clint Cash on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Yoyo Sumz has released her addictively authentic pop-rap track, Red or Nah

Posted on 29 August 2022

Authenticity may be a rare commodity in the hip-hop scene in 2022. Yoyo Sumz still managed to bring it by the smorgasbord in her latest pop & trap-tinged single, Red or Nah, which has appeased critics as much as her international fanbase.

Between the strong melodies and equally as robust harmonic resonance from the soulfully unfuckwithable vocals, Red or Nah is a fierce urban earworm that demands repeat attention from the first hit. Any fans of XXX Tentacion, Lil Durk and Yung Bleu won’t want to let his artistically produced release slip them by.

Red or Nah is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Floridian rapper CHDDR kept us in ‘Check’ with his debut

Posted on 1 August 2022
https://soundcloud.com/theycallmecheddar/check

Floridian hip-hop artist, CHDDR, has dropped one of the hottest rap debuts of the year with his single, Check, produced by Hvstle. The mellow, colourful indie instrumentals flirt with cultures of far-flung lands; atop the woody organic flutes and the rhythmic grooves of the 808s, CHDDR takes the opportunity to establish himself as a unique voice in the genre, with the ability to verse beyond tropes and cliches.

Every line serves to testify to his playful persona that amplifies the sticky-sweet appeal of the short yet unforgettable debut, which has already racked up over 20k streams on SoundCloud alone. Undoubtedly, he is one to watch.

Check is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

MOBBIN101 pays homage to Tupac in ‘How We Ride’

Posted on 9 July 2022

Tupac may not be here to verse us through the surrealism of 2022, but MOBBIN101 stepped up to the mark in his homage piece to the icon with his latest single, How We Ride, which brings Tupac energy around MOBBIN101 wit and originality.

From the chillingly cinematic production to the magnetism in the level yet strident bars, there’s no immunity to the intoxicating effects of How We Ride, which etches a gritty vignette of the mob life that reprieved us of one of the greatest voices in hip hop and continues to tear holes in societies. It’s as sobering as it is infectious. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more impressive hip hop luminary in any state.

How We Ride officially released on July 1st. Check it out via SoundCloud and Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: THISMINORITY welcomes us to the spiritual new age of hip hop with ‘MEDI’.

Posted on 5 July 2022

For his debut single, THISMINORITY brought hip hop into the realm of spiritual new age mindfulness to smash through the stereotypes and establish himself as a unique voice with an equally as distinctively cutting production style.

Self-awareness is a journey, but on the basis of MEDI, the New Orleans-born, Brooklyn-based rapper and lyricist is already leagues ahead of most with his recognition of the importance of the narratives we spin to ourselves.

His melodic stormer allows you to think just as fiercely as it compels you to feel as the atmospherically old school track runs through its cinematic progressions. While the 808s steadily rattle, the monochromatic vignette that THISMINORITY etched to portray the darkness he pulled himself from keeps you hooked into the classy yet juxtaposing gritty synthetics.

Here is what THISMINORITY had to say about his debut:

“Medi is a reflection on my newfound passion for mass connection and how entertainment, fame, etc come with it. Exploring the concept triggered the epiphany that the things that we need to feel good can destroy us in excess.

Satisfaction, confidence, and love can ultimately lead to greed, ego, and lust. How do I balance? I meditate…”

MEDI is now available to stream on Spotify & SoundCloud.

Follow THISMINORITY via Facebook & Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

MARC.MADE is good for it in his subversively seductive rap track, CA$hAPP

Posted on 30 June 2022

After his discography racked up over 700k streams, the Detroit-born, Atlanta-raised indie rapper, MARC.MADE is here with his subversively seductive summer track CA$hAPP.

By running his funk-grooved prelude through plenty of warm tape delay, you instantly feel the heat in the expressively dynamic track that allows digital transactions to resonate as affectionate proclamations. If that isn’t a striking mark of ingenuity, I don’t know what is.

The surprises when it comes to MARC.MADE don’t end there either. The full-time scientist, entrepreneur and crypto investor has also co-starred on VH1’s Dating Naked S1-E5 & S1-Wedding Special & CBS’ Face the Truth S1-E12.

Although, the visceral chemistry that breeds between his charisma-dripped bars and the female vocals in CA$hAPP starts to make infinitely more sense with his profession in context.

CA$hAPP is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast