Browsing Tag

Independent Hip Hop

Roman. & Ella Shreiner brought the intensity out in each other in the HipHop/EDM Pop mash-up ‘Mortality’.

Posted on 16 June 2022

In the most momentous hip hop & EDM pop mash-up of the year Roman. and Ella Shreiner brought a brand-new intensity out in each other. ‘Mortality’ is just one of the tracks to feature on Roman.’s debut album, Own World (20 Pages); icons have ended up on the hip hop map for far less.

After an immediate introduction to the soul in Shreiner’s vocal timbre, the single picks up even more gravity when Roman.’s realism-soaked bars kick in. Instead of launching scathing attacks on the usual insidious aspects of our existence, the up-and-coming rapper kept it resonant by highlighting the flaws in the hoop-jumping music industry, in turn, he gave the promise that he will always keep it real.

Check out the alchemic collab for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lamar Creation soulfully hates the player and the game in his RnB pop hit, Feeling Me

Posted on 30 May 2022

Chicago born and raised artist, Lamar Creation, has dropped the ultimate 2022 RnB pop summer anthem with his latest hip hop influenced single, Feeling Me, which gives all the luxe grooves as Jay Z, the fiery passion of Frank Ocean and all of the contemporary funk of Daft Punk.

The sun-bleached electronic textures, which also find enough room to throw in nuances of Afrobeat, create the perfect platform for Lamar and collaborator, RichDaPhatt’s vocals as they seemingly drift through the entire emotional spectrum to lay it all down on the line on a relationship that is as much of a mental mindfuck as spending an hour watching the news.

The old adage may tell us to hate the game and not the player, but Feeling Me stands as a testament to the dissonance that playing games can cause in a way that may (hopefully) make people think twice about dealing with that kind of hand.

We scarcely needed his bio to tell us that Lamar is as much of a poet as he is a lyricist. It is all too perceptible through the jarring lines that keep on delivering the evocative hammering blows.

Feeling Me is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

BHM NONO severed tribal ties in his latest hit, DESTINED 2 WIN

Posted on 3 May 2022

Hostility and hip hop have gone hand in hand since the Bronx inception, but here to prove that nothing is in trend forever is the trailblazing conscious rap artist, BHM NONO, with his latest single, DESTINED 2 WIN.

After an extended spoken-word prelude that puts you in the perfect place to feel the weight of the following bars, the instrumentals bring plenty of dramatic minor-key atmosphere into the mix. And that is all before BHM NONO’s fiery convicted bars prove that motivation doesn’t have to be synonymous with others’ destruction.

BHM NONO has exactly what it takes to become one of the most essential artists of his generation. We can’t wait to watch him get there.

The official music video premiered on April 22nd; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Anthony Levone speaks for the pacifists in his latest lyrically driven hip hop track, Peacekeepers

Posted on 3 May 2022

Anthony Levone’s latest single, Peacekeepers, featuring Fooly23, is for everyone that has been cognitively wrapped up in the senseless brutality of our contemporary existence a little too much lately. And when I say everyone, that is especially in reference to genre preference. The articulate nature of Levone’s lyricism means that the smooth sonic old school and sun-bleached hip hop instrumentals fall by the wayside as his bars pull parables from religious icons to prove that we’ve scarcely moved on in terms of civility.

The West Palm Beach-hailing artist has been releasing music since 2019, in that time, he’s developed a staunch fan base with his J.Cole, Nas & Common reminiscences. He’s also been in heavy rotation on international radio stations and landed a plethora of coveted playlist placements. Yet, judging by the socially-minded tenacity in Peacekeepers, it is safe to say that none of his philosophical work will ever be over-amplified.

The lyric video for Peacekeepers premiered on April 22nd; it is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Break the habit with G.Pari$’s melodic hip hop track, Patterns

Posted on 21 April 2022

With chill melodic beats, mic-drop lyrical lines that make the metaphors feel endless, and a sense of expressive compassion, the G.Pari$ sonic experience leaves little to be desired.

His latest single, Patterns finds an immersive way to prove that we are all just creatures of frantic habit, and we will all end up in neurotic ruins if we don’t take a step back to intersect our emotions and actions with mindfulness.

That mediative sense of self-awareness effortlessly reads through the ambient old-school-meets-new-wave grooves that effortlessly synergise with G.Pari$’s matter of fact but evocatively charged bars.

G.Pari$ is exactly the kind of artist you need on your radar if you’re always looking for artists to spill as much wisdom as they do catharsis.

Patterns is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Yung Rager stayed true to his moniker in his juggernaut of a glitch wave hip hop track, Bubonic

Posted on 4 February 2022

Yung Rager’s moniker makes immediate sense when you hit play on the chaotically glitchy alt-hip hop single, Bubonic. In the stormer of a track, glitch wave, harsh electronica, and indie hip hop collide to tumultuous and galvanising effect.

It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but Bubonic is so much more than a mash of fiery rap bars and vocals and chaotic electronic sequences. The hook-filled track reels you in from the intro and keeps you transfixed in the moody and harsh progressions. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more cathartically volatile new release in 2022. Affix Yung Rager firmly to your radar.

Bubonic is just one of the tracks that feature on Yung Ranger’s brand-new EP, Pain Prohibits Love, that will drop on January 28th, 2022. It is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

C.h.a.m.p brought the high vibes in his dynamic rap bars with ‘Baby Dedo’, featuring Eta Phi Nupes.

Posted on 25 December 2021

This summer, the up and coming American rap artist, C.h.a.m.p, went viral shortly after the release of his single, Baby Dedo, featuring Eta Phi Nupes. The jazzy, trappy, high-vibe track melds the old school with the new wave of hip hop and comes alive through the passion that the dynamically talented artist poured into the mix.

After a near-death experience when a bullet pierced his skull in 2019, C.h.a.m.p (Change Happens at My Pace) found purpose in music. It might sound corny to call it his calling but given his ability to mould clever wordplay into unique rhyme schemes and that he’s only just getting started, his rap career holds plenty of promise and commercial potential. If you could imagine what it would sound like if Busta Rhymes took on Snoop Dogg’s attitude, you’ll get an idea of the magnetism in Baby Dedo.

The official music video for Baby Dedo is available to stream on YouTube. Or the high fire single can find its way onto your playlists via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Roysson delivers a Hip Hop and Grime playlist staple with his latest release.

Posted on 23 September 2021

Roysson has been putting Hertfordshire on the hip hop map for the past ten years with his laceratingly sharp wit, massive beats and commanding persona. His standout single, Hip Hop and Grime, pays ode to the iconic UK grime style, but Roysson finds plenty of room to stamp down his signature genre-melding style that has been hyped by BBC Introducing and GRM Daily, amongst many others.

Hip Hop and Grime is an instantly galvanizing mix with the garagey beats, rapid-fire drill vocals and Roysson’s ability to create a gritty vignette of modern culture without ever having to pander to cultural stereotypes. If Stormzy, Dave, Skepta and Wiley are your playlist staples, you will find that Roysson fits in well right alongside them. With plenty more material locked, loaded and ready to drop, now is the perfect time to add him to your radar.

You can check out Roysson’s standout single, which has already racked up over 25k streams, on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jaron Smalls – Aint’ Plan It featuring Jack Doyo: Passionately Gritty RnB Hip Hop

Posted on 9 January 2021
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n2WjlWM7B8fGpHBwfbcqjzaE1hUvgopIk

With his latest single, ‘Ain’t Plan It’, North Carolina independent artist, Jaron Smalls, proved that slamming cotemporary feats of RnB Hip Hop don’t need to compromise when it comes to offering lashings of soul.

The stylistically diverse track exhibits the best of the artist’s passionately gritty approach to production which knows no bounds when it comes to pulling from a plethora of genres, but in its essence, Ain’t Plan It is a served-straight-from-the-soul exposition of the complexities of modern romance. It’s a rollercoaster and rollercoasters don’t come much more salacious than Ain’t Plan It.

You can check out Jaron Smalls’ latest track Ain’t Plan It via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast