Browsing Tag

Lyrical Hip Hop

Brandon Blvd’s single, The Outcome, ft Mai Ty, is a melodically mindful revelation.

Posted on 2 August 2023
Son of David: A Tale of Righteousness by Brandon Blvd

Taken from his LP, Son of David: A Tale of Righteousness, the Memphis-hailing breakthrough rap artist Brandon Blvd’s seminal hit, The Outcome, featuring Mai Ty, is a melodically mindful revelation.

All too often, rap artists glamourise aggression and emotion-driven reactions in a bid to instil conviction in their hits; Brandon Blvd rose above it all to flood his single with introspective gold and soul that won’t just make you think twice; it will shift your entire perception in a positive direction.

Working with Mai Ty’s ethereally pure vocal timbre, Blvd offered direction and sonic solace in equal measure in The Outcome, which stands as a testament to his talent that is intrinsically entwined with his determination to shine lights on better ways of living and better the world while he is making his mark on the Memphis hip-hop map.

Son of David: A Tale of Righteousness was released via Problematic Nation LLC in April 2023; purchase the album on Apple Music or Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sweet Limb shattered the illusion that police brutality is a 21st-century novelty in his single, Relate

Posted on 1 August 2023
https://soundcloud.com/sweetlimb/relate/s-IiQUS59TzrV?in=sweetlimb/sets/nice-ep/s-2n9eP7YYwU2&si=cf909d6b7849473ca2165c37802b2c11&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Sweet Limb took his latest hip-hop EP, NICE, right back to the old school and around the Bronx block to deliver an urban atom bomb of nostalgia.

With his standout single, Relate, the Austin-based flow king reigned supreme as he rode the steady rhythmic waves of the funky basslines and 808s, which become the centres of gravity in the minimalist polished track that shatters the illusion that police brutality is a new issue and the only one that marginal communities feel the forces of oppression from.

While many rappers rushed to contribute to the voices in the BLM movement, Sweet Limb bided his time to speak for everyone who can’t relate to the portrayal of the onslaught of police violence in the media, not because it wasn’t a barbaric travesty, because it was a tale as old as time and pretending otherwise is just another brand of injustice.

The NICE EP will hit the airwaves on August 1st; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

YerDad established himself as the ultimate icon of infectiously galvanising insolence in his seminal single, JFC

Posted on 31 July 2023

If you’re sick of hip-hop that barely slaps let alone hits hard, prepare to roll with the punches with YerDad’s bruisingly witty hit, JFC.

The playful tongue-in-cheek antagonism in the rap bars is just as harsh as the snares in the vocal-driven juggernaut that will appeal to fans of the old school and new wave alike. Tonally and thematically, YerDad encompasses both while he’s establishing himself as the ultimate icon of infectiously galvanising insolence.

It took some serious songwriting tenacity to formulate a track that is abrasive and adrenalizing in equal measure. When you hit play, you’ll discover that is just the tip of YerDad’s talent arsenal.

JFC is available to stream via Spotify.

Follow YerDad on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Goldson versed a meditation on resilience on ‘Don’t Fold on Me’

Posted on 19 May 2023

The UK rapper, songwriter, screenwriter and videographer, Goldson, poured soul back into the London hip-hop landscape with his seminal single and music video, Don’t Fold on Me.

The meditation on resilience is a compassion-soaked declaration of how hard it is to keep your head above water when life’s pressures try and force you under it. The poetically versed hit is a raw reminder that everyone is living a personal battle of wills, whether you see their scars or not.

Instrumentally, Goldson went back to the old school with cinematic grace to create the atmosphere around the solid rattle of the 808s, which constructs a melodious platform for his hard truths and even harder-hitting demand to live more mindfully when it comes to your sanctity and the struggles of everyone around you. The wit in the wordplay could only be described as immense. Clearly, he’s got a luminous career ahead of him.

Check out the official music video for Don’t Fold on Me, which premiered on May 14, on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Smokerface Chris Clay created the ultimate hip-hop anthem for morning mourning, Don’t Wake Up

Posted on 1 May 2023

Smokerface Chris Clay pulled out all the subversive stops in his latest single, Don’t Wake Up, by fusing consciousness regret with jazzy high vibe hip hop instrumentals to create a sonic contradiction that is wholly relatable to anyone who knows how it feels to greet the cold light of day with morning mourning. Don’t Wake Up is the ultimate testament to his playfully pensive autonomy, which proves that no picture can be painted in only tones of black and white.

When it comes to rapper origin stories, Smokerface Chris Clay’s is hard to beat. When driving through Hurricane Isabelle, he hit a car head-on and was ejected from his back windshield, unbeknownst to his friend, who was driving behind him, who ran over his head. He was declared head on-site but later revived before he was comatose for a month. When he woke, he freestyled to the nurses – despite never having expressed an interest in rap before. In his semi-conscious state, he made his determination to become a rapper known; in 2022, he stayed true to that promise by dropping his first official single, Live It Up.

Don’t Wake Up is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Danny Whacko is scintillatingly speculative in his latest rap track, I got a question… (Humble Thoughts)

Posted on 16 April 2023

Even though the muse evidently found rapper Danny Whacko before he polished off his latest single, I got a question… (Humble Thoughts), plenty of ruminative musing runs through the contemplative single, which speculates on how long it will be before the world wakes up to the injustice and takes collective action.

Philosophers have argued that it is the age of the individual, but the masses are all united with their heads in the sand to what is tearing through the lives victimised to systematic oppression. I got a question… (Humble Thoughts) is a sombre experience, lightened slightly through the gentle jazzy soulful beats, but there is no fully dampening the lyrical blows which pull all the punches on the apathetic. It’s a stunning release that will ensure your eyes are prised wide open.

The official music video for I got a question was released on April 7; view it on YouTube.

Amelia Vandergast

DreadpooL resisted oppressive gravity in his upraising Old-School hip hop hit, Nothing Comes Easy

Posted on 8 April 2023

If everyone was exposed to the harsh and universal truths in DreadpooL’s single, Nothing Comes Easy, before stepping into the jaws of reality and felt how sharp the teeth are first-hand, there would be infinitely less disillusion amongst the disenfranchised youth.

The lyrically rich old-school hit is the perfect introduction to the Springfield, VA-based artist and producer, who formerly released music under the moniker Crescendo. He lay it all down on the enlivening luxe backbeats that are heightened with the jazzy trickling keys and smoky sax lines that bring filmic class to the addictive release that keeps on giving with every listen. It is the ultimate manifesto on how to keep your head high, even when everything is working against you and pulling you down. Piteous apathy won’t stand a chance agains this trailblazing hit.

Nothing Comes Easy is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Atlanta hip-hop heavyweight Rashaann waxed Dre-style lyrical in his latest hit, Times Like This

Posted on 3 April 2023

If your hip-hop playlists are crying out for a hit that oozes style, innovation and bruisingly clever Dre-ESQUE wordplay in equal measure, tune into the latest hit from the rap luminary, Rashaan.

Times Like This is the silver lining to living in an era where it is easy to distance yourself from sanity day by day by looking at the news and noting the disorientating injustices before taking a look at mankind and realising that we should be referred to as manunkind.

With an EDM backbeat that could make your spine shiver around the jazzy cinematic old-school layers brought by the smoky sax lines and Rashaann’s storming flows, Times Like This is a rhythmically arresting tour de force, which proves he is beyond ahead of the game; everyone else is playing by his rules.

The artist, songwriter, and producer is currently taking the Atlanta hip-hop scene by storm after relocating from NYC and releasing his latest project, Far From Home, featuring the standout hit Times Like This.

Check out Times Likes This on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Raw candour and cadence collide in South London rapper LKS’ single, Say My Peace

Posted on 9 March 2023

If you thought the titular metaphor in the South London rap artist LKS’ latest single, Say My Peace, is something, wait until you feel how the introspective wisdom grips you through the fluid cadence it is delivered through

The gentle and melodic guitars spill accordance under the luminary artist’s soberingly raw bars that compel you to lean so deeply that you will feel every syllable crawl under your skin. Based on Say My Peace, no one could ever accuse LKS of not keeping it real. The candour in his admissions of creative mental friction sounds so much sweeter when you hear what a luminary he is. He’s undeniable.

The official music video for Say My Peace is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jay Doce lays defencelessly bare in his ethereal rap track, Vulnerable

Posted on 6 February 2023

Up-and-coming Cali hip-hop artist Jay Doce versed poetry into an ethereal atmosphere in his standout single, Vulnerable.

Vulnerability is often something that we’re desperate to hide in our dog-eat-dog world, where weaknesses are exploited, and almost everyone has experienced being ghosted by this point. Jay Doce proved how sweet it can be to open yourself up completely and let the world see your soul exposed.

The melodically downtempo track hits all the right evocative notes instrumentally but the hardest blows come from the songwriter and rapper’s raw expression, which disarms you through the sheer visceral resonance. Any fans of East Coast hip-hop will want to save space for the lyrical luminary on their playlist.

Stream Vulnerable on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast