Browsing Tag

Indie Hip Hop

Daniel AMP has dropped his high-fire old school hip hop hitter, Hit Different.

Posted on 6 October 2021

Right from the outset of his career, NYC’s Daniel AMP has proven that he’s one to watch. His most popular single to date has racked up over 100k streams on Spotify alone; the dark, gritty decadence of the single leaves no room for you to wonder why.

His latest single, Hit Different, featuring Stu Stapleton, is a grinding ode to the old school that carries the same atmosphere as the pioneers but Daniel AMP aptly ensured that his single hits completely different. The trippy grooves, rapid-fire vocals that come right to the forefront of the mix and the slight Latin nods come together as an alchemic urban cocktail. If you thought Snoop Dogg’s Gin and Juice was something, prepare to get intoxicated on this high-fire hip hop hit.

Hit Different is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sean Hampton has dropped his hook-filled, high-vibe track, Pay-Per-View.

Posted on 5 October 2021
Sean Hampton

After releasing a string of successful singles since making his debut in 2020, breaking rap artist, Sean Hampton, launched his debut album, Honorable Mention, on July 13th, 2021

The standout single, Pay-Per-View, is the perfect introduction to his high vibes, clever lyrical hooks, evocative indie textures and sun-kissed Afrobeat-inspired tones. Unless your soul is entirely defunct, you can’t help warming to Sean Hampton and his impassioned approach to contemporary hip hop. Any fans of Mac Miller, Post Malone, Juice WRLD and Machine Gun Kelly will want to save space on their radar for Hampton and his inevitable rise from the hip hop underground.

Sean Hampton’s album, Honorable Mention, is now available to stream and purchase on apple music.

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

Josh Bracken has made his alt hip hop debut with the cathartically compassionate EP, Daydreaming at Night.

Posted on 25 September 2021

Just as Amy Winehouse rocked the world with her intrinsic authenticity, alt-hip hop artist, Josh Bracken, is set to do the same with his soul-steeped experimentalism. His debut EP, Daydreaming at Night, offers an olive branch to any listener whose brain is as hospitable as a beartrap when their heads hit the pillow.

The title single is the perfect introduction to Bracken’s compassionate vocals and dreamily melodic indie hip hop beats. Any fans of Nick Drake’s vocal timbre will find themselves equally as enamoured with Daydreaming at Night. The soundscape effortlessly lulls you into a state of catharsis as you grasp at the poetry in the optimistic-in-spite-of-existentialism lyrics.

Daydreaming at Night is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Transcend limitation with Henry Franck’s debut single, Focus, featuring Da Skorpion

Posted on 24 September 2021

Haitian American U.S. Army vet, Henry Franck, has dropped his debut single, Focus, featuring Da Sckorpion. The market for trippy inspirational hip hop may be niche, but Franck has what it takes to dominate it with his colourful indie hip hop melodies and introspectively deep lyrics.

The Floridian artist has been producing music around his role as a financial analyst since 200; his debut release tells you how well invested his time was in his production talent.
With the complex instrumental layers that echo with plenty of old school tapedeck delay in the high-quality production, Franck easily stayed clear of assimilation and allowed his authenticity to blossom in the transcendently sweet soundscape.

Focus is exactly the kind of track that you would turn to in search of aural compassion and a sign that you are on the right path, no matter how stagnant things feel in the moment.

Focus is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lyrical hip hop luminary, Griegz, battles demons in his latest single, My Own Enemy, featuring Aria and Nyukyung.

Posted on 31 August 2021

While plenty of artists rushed to drop their lockdown-inspired tracks in 2020, the lyrical hip hop luminary, Griegz, meditated on the causality between isolation and anxiety to create a cutting track that sympathetically validates any lingering feelings of fear and frustration.

If you needed any affirmation that you weren’t alone in the world as you questioned your sanity, you will find it in My Own Enemy featuring Aria & Nyukyung. The concepts explored in My Own Enemy couldn’t be darker, but optimism still shines through this contemporary indie hip hop release that will be a hit with any fans of Tyler, the Creator, Post Malone, Mac Miller and J Cole.

My Own Enemy is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Brooklyn’s brightest lyrical hip hop luminary Sydmac has released his latest single, Hums

Posted on 25 August 2021
Sydmac

‘Hums’ is the latest hypnotically smooth soul-laden jazzy hip hop track from the Haiti-born, Brooklyn-raised up and coming artist Sydmac. His lyrical and narrative rap style perfectly complements his blissfully serenading reverb-laden beats.

Through each of his tracks, Sydmac aims to provoke his listeners into living in the present and living to the fullest; discernibly, he succeeds in his latest release. Hums is cathartic enough to take the mental weight from you and fill you with positivity while you’re open to shifts of perception. The airwaves are infinitely more soulful for this new addition. We can’t wait to hear what comes next from one of the smoothest new names in New York hip hop.

Check out Sydmac on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

UK artist Hennerz has made his urban indie-pop-punk debut with his infectious single, ‘2 Far Gone’.

Posted on 10 August 2021

After the first muted guitar chords in the standout track, 2 Far Gone, in the UK alt-hip hop artist Hennerz’ 3-track debut single, Omega, any emo hearts will quickly fasten.

The urban pop-punk hit manages to throwback to the glory days of pop-punk while exuding a contemporary indie pop-style cool with the gangly indie guitars that create plenty of anticipation for the massive choruses. Beyond the infectious sonic appeal of 2 Far Gone, Hennerz is an artist that you can’t help warming to. The true to voice vocals leaves out pretence and opts for passion instead.

2 Far Gone is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

G Stacks affectionately waxes lyrical in his latest single, I Got You.

Posted on 8 August 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IvRbr68LiQ

G Stacks’ latest single, I Got You, starts with a recorded interview that allows you to understand the artist’s empathetic and ego-less MO while implanting a sense of anticipation of what to come after such a candid intro.

The curiosity that the prelude piques soon pays off when the melodic trap track shifts into full gear with intricate indie guitars around solid 808s and G Stacks’ affectionate lyrical waxing. His wordplay is just as slick as the canter in the rap bars in this fervently evocative release that will stay with you for long after the intro.

I Got You is the soft underbelly, and hopefully the future, of hustler hip hop; it offers the same old school hip hop conviction to strive for greatness, but G Stacks’ version of greatness isn’t measured in dollar signs. He uses who we can be for the people who need us as a metric.

Check out the official video for I Got You that premiered on July 30th via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

SHERIDAN – On Myself: Neo-Classic Jazz-Fusion Hip Hop

Posted on 4 July 2021

San Francisco-based independent artist and producer SHERIDAN has launched his highly anticipated EP, ‘ON MYSELF’; the cinematically arresting title single is the perfect introduction to the prolific artist’s soulfully evocative style.

On Myself is easily the most stunning hip hop track I’ve heard this year. The tender piano keys which pick up jazz and neo-classical sensibilities in their progressions give On Myself a stunning ambience, while the indie feel to the production allows SHERIDAN’s deeply resonant vocals to hit even harder.

On Myself explores those transitionary times in our lives when we unequivocally know that we need to grow to move on, but all too often, that growth happens at a painfully slow rate. The mellow pace of the single conceptually captures those still-life days.

On Myself released on June 17th; you can check it out for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast