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Kae Tempest

UK rapper, Tom Penny extracted spoken word poetry from idiosyncrasy in his standout single, Spiral of Fumes

 If Tom Penny’s third LP, Both Sides of the Coin doesn’t feature on every rap publication’s album of the year list, we riot. The album pulls back the façade to narrate the UK rapper’s struggles and subsequent growth, drawing from his early freestyling days and his evolving passion for hip-hop influenced by lyrical legends such as Kendrick Lamar, Loyle Carner, and J Cole.

One of the standout tracks, Spiral of Fumes, kicks off with an extended, wavy prelude imbued with etherealism, setting a reflective mood before the beat drops, establishing a magnetic rhythm beneath Penny’s melodiously smooth spoken-word cadence.

You won’t just hang off every word in his bars, you’ll be engrossed in every syllable as Penny establishes himself as one of the most eloquent wordsmiths in the UK hip-hop scene, with emotionally bruising bars reminiscent of Kae Tempest and George the Poet.

By the outro, Spiral of Fumes fully reveals the kind of artist Tom Penny is—one who extracts relatable poetry from idiosyncrasy, stripping bare while simultaneously reflecting the listener’s mental state.

With his surging streaming stats testifying to his growing renown, it’s only a matter of time before he rises through the ranks and holds dominion over the UK scene.

Spiral of Fumes is now available to stream with the LP Both Sides of the Coin on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

South London’s MoHush broadsides us with every bar in his latest single, War of the Mastermind

After his latest single, War of the Mastermind, MoHush became one of South London’s hottest up and coming hip hop artists. In the same way that Kae Tempest’s and George the Poet’s music is matchless, MoHush delivers the hammering lyrical blows in a completely autonomous fashion.

I usually manage to write my reviews without profanity, but fuck me, MoHush’s emotionally-charged approach to hip hop is enough to broadside you with every bar. From the melodic-minor-key piano intro to the fragility in his harmonised vocals to the smoothness in his spoken-word rap style, War of the Mastermind is a flawless feat of hip hop, which deserves to put MoHush on the map. We can’t wait to hear what follows.

War of the Mastermind is now available to stream on Spotify.

You can also check out MoHush on Instagram, YouTube and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rap artist StevieJayUK delivered a healthy dose of romantic realism with his single, ‘Been There’.

Any fans of George the Poet’s smooth, gritty style will want to jump on the playfully candid latest single, ‘Been There’, by breaking UK Rap artist StevieJayUK.

Been There serves a healthy dose of realism as the lyrics capture the feelings of affection and frustration that manifest in the early days of dating. The rap bars may be delivered in a Blasé style, but the vocal hooks are where you’ll find StevieJayUK’s softer side; the side that humbly underlines the affection in his cat & mouse account of newfound love that leads to stability and growing in unity.

You can check out Been There for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sonorous spoken words unravel in Untold Poet’s acoustic ambient single ‘Have You Heard It’

Untold Poet has joined Scroobius Pip in the ranks of Essex-hailing mind-blowing spoken word Hip Hop artists with the release of their latest single ‘Have You Heard It’.

In the acoustic version of their popular track, the meditatively Jazzy instrumentals trickle away, emitting ambience as the Untold Poet’s canter finds perfect synergy with the tentative keys which aurally paint a picture of still-life. There’s always the assumption that successful people don’t know adversity. It is all so easy to believe that everything comes easy to those who take roadblocks in their stride. As the Untold Poet consolingly points out, the key is resilience.

Any fans of George the Poet, Argh Kid, Kae Tempest and The King Blues will undoubtedly want to get acquainted with Untold Poet sooner rather than later.

You can check out Have You Heard It for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast