Browsing Tag

Jazz Hip Hop

T.N.L.C takes us to church with their jazzy high vibe hip hop track, ‘Divine’

Posted on 11 April 2021

There have always been conscious hip hop artists on the airwaves, but in 2020, the spotlight fell away from artists trying to keep the problematic stereotypes alive and onto inspiringly insightful artists such as rap artist Divine.

By fusing their faith with their love of Mac Miller, Kendrick Lamar and Logic, hitting play on any of his tracks is worth it for the lyrical connection alone. Then when you factor in the soulfully jazzy vibes that match T.N.L.C’s magnetic personality, it’s an all-consuming experience.

The best introduction to his sound is ‘Divine, a sunny soundscape that practically radiates with assured, optimistic energy. If any young hip hop fans are searching for a role model, they won’t go far wrong following in the humble footsteps of T.N.L.C.

You can check out the official video to Divine on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Trevino Andre invites hip hop fans to follow his lead with ‘Chasing My Dreams’

Posted on 9 April 2021

Fairfield, CA-hailing hip hop artist Trevino Andre has an arsenal of hard-hitting tracks in his mixtape, ‘You Know That I’. The perfect introduction to his soul-laced sound is his old school jazz-laced track ‘Chasing My Dreams’ that keeps the tones rich and the lyricism raw.

Within that smooth and compelling contrast, you’ll find the magnetism which draws you into the essence of the track that paints a gritty image of the struggles we’re subjected to as part of our optimism-stealing mortal coil, then follows up by letting you know how to find the resilience to overcome them.

You can check out Trevino Andre’s mixtape, You Know That I for yourselves by heading over to ReverbNation.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mr. Melly shows us the true meaning of ‘Beauty’ in his latest rap track featuring Carvo Music and Joe Andre

Posted on 2 April 2021

Upper East Side rap artist, Jamel Davon Tingman, AKA Mr Melly was bringing conscious hip hop to the airwaves way before it became a hot trend. His latest EP, R6M6, is the perfect introduction to his smooth jazzy style that blurs the line between hip hop and poetry.

The main difference is that here, you get infectiously amorous vocals imparting the metaphors. With their standout single, ‘Beauty’, featuring Carvo Music and Joe Andre, he tells a multifaceted love story that won’t fail to resonate.

We’ve all got unique ideas of what beauty is, but Mr. Melly’s view will teach you that Beauty is less about aesthetic and more about how some people drift into our lives as the perfect puzzle piece, allow us to see the bigger picture and inspire us to paint with more vivid colour.

Check out Beauty via apple music and Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

JBadge Ft Nef The Pharaoh x Steez – PAIN MUSIC

Posted on 5 March 2021

JBadge introduces you to his demons and offers olive branches of resilience in his latest single ‘PAIN MUSIC’ featuring Nef the Pharaoh x Steez.

With the world collectively asking themselves the same questions around their waning sanity, tracks like PAIN MUSIC remind us that tormented people aren’t an anomaly, they’re a commonality. It’s more important than ever for artists to relay torrid emotions so we know that we’re not alone; JBadge definitely stepped up to the plate with their unique spin on the old school East Coast sound.

Many hip hop artists layer jazzy tones into their tracks but rarely are the tracks as fresh and modern as this trap mix. With the 80s-pop style sax solos, there’s yet another dynamic to the single which seems to get better with every listen. It’s a goldmine of invaluable introspection.

You can check out PAIN MUSIC for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Datsnell delivers a defiantly inspirational Hip Hop attack with ‘Think U Know’

Posted on 12 February 2021

Breaking Hip Hop artist, Datsnell’s, latest single, Think U Know, takes you over to the East Coast and back in time as you drink in the warm jazzy tones. After an archaically-inspired prelude, Datsnell’s high-energy vocals burst through the accordance which you’ve settled into while the beats start to pull in elements of sonic new wave trap to adrenalizing effect.

There’s potentially nothing more annoying than the people who think they know it all when you can see how they little they know, yet they still maintain some illusion of superior intellect and use that to cast judgement on you. Think U Know is the perfect track to vent that frustration. It’s an emboldening reminder that just because most of the world is too blind to see your worth, that doesn’t reduce your value.

Think U Know is available on all major streaming platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Cam Be – Right Now (Feat. Neak and Sam Trump)

Posted on 23 December 2020
https://soundcloud.com/cam-be/06-cam-be-right-now-master?in=cam-be/sets/summer-in-september-masters

If a trio of well-regarded collaborative albums (2007’s ‘Wake Up’, ‘Rebirth’ in 2010, and ‘Be Free’ in 2015), and a first solo album (2018’s ‘7 Steps To 7’) as an accompaniment to your own photographic exhibition isn’t achievement enough, how about being an Emmy Award-winning director? Well, it seems world domination isn’t enough for Nu-Soul artist Cam Be, now returning with his second solo album ‘Summer In September’, from which new single ‘Right Now’ is taken.

‘Jazzy soulful hip-hop funk’ isn’t really a genre in itself, but with Cam Be’s groove and the collaborative input of Neak and Sam Trump (including some absolutely salacious trumpet work liberally sprinkled across the beats), it really should be.

Trump’s horn adds some vibrant, jazzy colour to the piano and funk bass, while the collaboration of Neak (son of one-quarter of R&B/Soul/Gospel legends The Kelly Brothers’ Robert Kelly) adds some additional hip hop grind and flow to Cam Be’s already smooth and soulful rap.

‘Right Now’ really is top drawer soulful hip hop with some serious jazz-funk undertones, and a perfect introduction to the just-released ‘Summer In September’. Check out ‘Right Now’ on Soundcloud now, and follow Cam Be, and find ‘Summer In September’, on Facebook or here.

Review by Alex Holmes

‘Sexy and smouldering’ – Aundre Raashad really is gonna Love You Better (Feat. Aundre’a Lynnette)

Posted on 7 December 2020

Aundre Raashad started his musical career at the tender age of 11, singing in a male gospel quartet, and that understanding of the roots of gospel and the dynamics of placing together overlapping, shared vocal arrangements stand him in good stead here with this gorgeous piece of soul-driven, lightly jazz-influenced R&B alongside collaborator Aundre’a Lynnette.

Lynnette’s delicious, sultry voice sits perfectly alongside Raashad’s smooth groove vocal and laid back, chilled beats, the restrained and tasteful guitar licks filling the space with a delightfully rounded-yet-trebly blues-soul tone and allowing the piano swells and flourishes and seductively funky bassline to carry the song.

While Raashad’s first single, the more hip hop styled ‘Student Loans’, might have brought some notable recognition on its release last year, ‘Love You Better’, from Raashad’s debut album ‘Thank You For Your Time’ (which has already notched up an impressive one million streams in its first six months of release, an impressive as hell set of stats for an indie artist, and which also includes ‘Student Loans’), is perfect, mature, soulful smoky evening music. This is the kind of romantic chilled soul track that’s both modern and cutting edge, in the style of D’Angelo’s ‘Brown Sugar’ or ‘Lady’ or Raphael Saadiq’s ‘Sometimes’, yet at the same time drawing on the vibe and feel of the old-school footsteps of great artists like Al Green, Bobby Womack, or Marvin Gaye. It’s sexy and smouldering, for sure, but it’s got groove and taste coming out of every pore; Aundre Raashad really DOES do it better.

Hear ‘Love You Better’, and the rest of ‘Thank You For Your Time’, on Apple Music.

Review by Alex Holmes

Ki$ama’s Foreign Cars is a gritty, dirty message to a broken heart.

Posted on 28 November 2020

Who doesn’t love a good, gritty ode to dreaming and aspiration and a message to a lost heart? All of us, surely, if only so we can feel better about ourselves for a few minutes? With Ki$ama’s ‘Foreign Cars’, we get the story of deceit and devotion, a modern freestyling hip hop tale of betrayal and requital over a trappy, chiming beats background.

From Ki$ama’s ‘Passages For The Broken’ album, ‘Foreign Cars’ has a dark, dirty vocal, all damage and desire and a yearning to prove oneself after duplicity and abandonment. It’s doomy and menacing in places, a clear shout of self-betterment in the ‘So many times you broke my heart/ One day I’ll be in foreign cars’ lyric which forms the chorus hook. It’s kind of rancorous without crossing the line into hateful, and there’s a clear hopefulness in the appetite for amelioration and progress pasted throughout the lyrics.

You can follow Ki$ama on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

BermudaCal serves a perfect slice of old school mellow hip hop with “Smoke In My Eyes”

Posted on 5 November 2020

Kicking off with smooth, mellow piano and jazzy saxophone before dropping in the hi-hat beats, BermudaCal’s “Smoke In My Eyes” is a perfect slice of old school mellow hip hop with lashings of smooth soul, jazzy stylings, and hints of old school R’n’B.

Melodic, complex, and perfectly driven without being brash, “Smoke In My Eyes” fuses BermudaCal’s jazz background, modern UK Garage, and rap with Cal’s saxophone prowess and lyrical grooves, blending Mac Miller with Post Malone and Frank Ocean to create a unique, old-style-yet-brand-new whole. Chilled, sexual, and beautiful, mellow yet never lacking in energy, “Smoke In My Eyes” could grace a hundred smooth-grooves compilations and sophisticated dinner party backgrounds this autumn.

Check out “Smoke In My Eyes” on Spotify.

Review by Alex Holmes

Shareef – Reggiano: Soulfully Eccentric Hip Hop

Posted on 25 September 2020

Remember when we all got ridiculously excited at the start of lockdown about the great art which would come into fruition? Well, here it is, in the form of Alt Hip Hop artist Shareef’s single Reggiano.

Reggiano is just one of the soulfully entrancing, experimentally invigorating singles featured on their 2020 album “Assorted Gelato: The Dream of Sleepy Nelson”. From that endearingly creative title, you can get a good idea of the playful ingenuity which will greet you if you hit play on Reggiano. The soulfully eccentric take on Hip Hop which uses grooving Jazzy elements of Neo-Soul only gets better with repeat attention.

You can check out Reggiano along with the rest of Shareef’s ground-breakingly soulful album via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast