Browsing Tag

Lyrical Hip Hop

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

Spotlight Feature: Cuttaman 100gran rides his own new wave in his vindicating rap hit, Bump My Music

Posted on 3 February 2023
Cuttaman 100gran

After opening for Pastor Troy in South Carolina, recording records for Dr Dre and performing in front of 8,000 people at a concert in Rockingham, NC, the Charlotte, NC-hailing luminary rapper, Cuttaman 100gran, is here with his latest single, Bump My Music.

Slick with style and vibing with an infectious attitude, Bump My Music is the ultimate middle finger to the people in your life that stay on the sidelines instead of getting behind you. Paying homage to his muses, Cuttaman 100gran rides his own wave while staying in the fast lane with his sharply steady rap bars and beats that break the hip-hop mould.

Any fans of Kevin Gates, Roddy Ricch and Rod Wave will be addicted once they get a taste of the grinding urban aesthetic that balances hard-hitting percussion with wavy reverb production – engineered by the legendary sound designer, Bungies.

“When you have women in your life that are inspired by your stories, telling them becomes a lifestyle. Them being around me on a day-to-day basis makes every lyric that much more surreal. Their enthusiasm inspired the track.”

Stream Bump My Music on Spotify and Apple Music. Follow Cuttaman 100gran on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

$LADEGEEKIN reinvented West Coast hip-hop with his intricately experimental hit, REDO

Posted on 28 January 2023

Indio, California rapper, engineer, and producer $LADEGEEKIN, has dropped his sophomore hit, REDO. If it has been a while since a hard-hitting hip-hop production has left an ever-lasting mark on your rhythmic pulses and psyche, delve right into the hit that makes it impossible to resist the mesmerism in the beats.

After an intro of inventively arranged effect-laden guitars, $LADEGEEKIN starts to bridge the gap between alt-hip-hop and the West Coast style. Even with the passion poured into the narratively vulnerable bars, they keep an assuredly steady pace to become the centre of gravity within REDO.

His debut single, $our Diesel, was impressive. With his sophomore single, he’s proven that he’s got exactly what it takes to make his way up from the Cali underground hip-hop scene. Save a spot on your radar. We’d put money on more infectiously intellectual hits being in the pipeline.

REDO was officially released on December 25th. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Miami hip hop trailblazer, Willie T The Hit Maker, shook up the scene with the dynamic flows in his single, Laugh Now Cry Later ft. Sauce

Posted on 1 January 2023

For his debut single, Laugh Now Cry Later, the Floridian hip hop trailblazer Willie T The Hit Maker collaborated with Sauce to deliver one of the most energetically dynamic rap drops of the year.

The consistently progressive track has already racked up over 27,000 streams on SoundCloud alone. Which comes as no surprise given the strength of the hooks that pull you right into the centre of the blazing track that keeps the vibe high, despite the dark lyrical themes.

Refusing to confine himself to one genre, Willie T pulled his weight bringing in the new wave of hip hop by melding elements of East Coast hip hop and Afrobeat around his lyrics that transpire from his life experiences that would make a monster out of most men.

After being born into the Floridian capital of gang violence, Dade County, Willie T was exposed to violence from the streets and suffered the brunt of domestic violence that had been passed down for generations. Determined to break the cycle, he turned to music to expose the life that beats down many on the daily and prove that there’s always a way out if you refuse to replicate the violence and injustice. We can’t wait to hear the vindication that follows.

Laugh Now Cry Later was officially released on December 2nd. Check it out via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Karrell – Mama’s Boy I: Jazzy Grooves, Choppy Flows and Endless Introspection

Posted on 26 December 2022

‘Kid in a Box’ is the debut LP from the up-and-coming hip-hop artist, Karrell, who is making short work of winning fans over with his old-school jazzy grooves, choppy flows and lyricism that brings a whole new level of introspection.

The standout single from the 12-track album, Mama’s Boy I, exposes Karrell’s softer side while establishing himself as an artist that knows how to carry conviction in every bar. The self-awareness in the confessionally narrative release, which can dizzy you with the cadence, absolutely sets the bar for other artists wanting to make an impact on their audience.

With both the intro and outro leaving ample room from cinematic old school samples, there is plenty of room to find yourself in the release after understanding Karrell’s vices, history, talents, and shortfalls that have left to expressive triumph.

Mama’s Boy I was released on December 14; catch it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

What Friedrich Nietzsche is to philosophy, Vontred is to hip hop with his dark and gritty single, Nihilistic Deathbed

Posted on 11 December 2022

Starting with the question, do you ever feel like you have overslept your life? Vontred’s standout single, Nihilistic Deathbed, from his 2022 album, Dark Corners of a Broken Mind, is definitively a release that will comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.

For hip hop fans who feel like their life can be defined by the voids in it, the up-and-coming artist is bound to bring a world of resonance and nihilistic solidarity. I, for one, can fully get on board with the bars that breed solidarity with every line delivered in the snappy, dominant, no holds barred track.

Stylistically, Vontred’s sonic signature in Nihilistic Deathbed isn’t worlds away from the gritty, grime-y, bass-heavy dark hip hop vibes in DMX’s more visceral tracks, but clearly, his sound is of his own making as it wraps around his lyrical themes that Friedrich Nietzsche would be proud of.

Nihilistic Deathbed is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

It’s all coming up Leone after the rapper’s official debut single, Gotta Love It

Posted on 6 November 2022

The independent rap artist Leone instantly won us over with the witty one-liners and nostalgic samples in his debut single, Gotta Love It. We really do.

The track opens with the acknowledgement of the varying perceptions that will greet you every time you make a move and do anything but wither in isolation and silence. It’s a powerful introduction to the Helsinki-based artist’s distinctive soulful charisma that flows right through this smooth feat of old-school inspired hip hop that puts a brand-new spin on those jazzy sepia-tinged tones.

Leon may only be at the start of his career, but he’s already proven that he has what it takes to break through the oversaturated-with-chancers music industry. Watch this space. He’s undoubtedly going to fill it with witty introspective gold that challenges your perceptions.

Gotta Love It is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

NY rapper and producer, Jon Harris is rich in lyrical gold after his latest hip hop release, Great

Posted on 1 November 2022

NY rapper, songwriter and producer Jon Harris tore up the rulebook in his latest old-school-meets-nu-skool single, Great. After a cinematic intro that will speak to the senses of any Tarantino fan, the single moves into more familiar hip hop territory through Harris’ down-to-earth versing style, inspired by the visionaries, Eminem, Kanye and Jay Z, while the instrumentals work melodic magic in the background.

With bells chiming in place of the usual 808s and plenty more ingenuity written into the rhythmic works, Great is an arresting feat of urban innovation. And that’s before we get to the cutting wit that puts all of the wannabe rappers in their place with solid lines that get stronger with every repeat hit of Great. Which is everything it says on the tin.

Every lyric is quote-worthy, but “I’m the bad guy for trying to speak up, constantly telling me to shut up and stick to music, well, guess what bitch, now you gotta listen to it”, may just cut slightly above the rest.

The lyric video for Great premiered on October 22nd. Catch it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

 

BEKAH heated up the UK rap scene with her wit-deep single, Shots

Posted on 19 October 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6N2Dn6rKno

British-born artist Bekah was perceptibly also born to be a rapper based on the fluidity of her wit-deep bars in her latest single, Shots. As the daughter of a Montserratian father and Pakistani mother, she ensured the flavour of Eastern rhythms packed a punch in this serpentine-ly melodic mellifluous hit that sticks to the synapses like super glue.

Between the beats, her charisma and the intellectual wordplay that would leave any sane artist fearing a rap battle, she’s evidently a triple threat. The way she pulverises ideas of what women should be is nothing short of electrifying. She’s picking up where Lady Sovereign left off with her unapologetic defiance of normative feminine stereotypes.

The official music video for Shots premiered on September 24th. Check it out on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nour Rakha exhibits his killer cadence in his perceptively galvanising latest single, Poet Turned Rapper

Posted on 12 October 2022

Nour Rakha (previously Tut the King) set the bar lyrically high with his latest old-school East Coast hip hop single, Poet Turned Rapper, but your jaw will drop just as hard as the mic when it metaphorically hits the floor after every flawlessly insightful line delivered.

The superficiality of modern reality that is stained with false pretences and egos didn’t stand a chance against the Egyptian American rapper and producer whose expressive cadence always submerges you in the depth of his introspection.

While the bars give you a candid view of Rakha’s relatable dim opinion on 21st-century disparity, the smooth summery beats set up by producer Rifado Beats bring a stylish sense of soul, complementing Rakha’s always authentic expositions. We are officially obsessed with Rakha’s new style and sound.

Poet Turned Rapper was officially released on September 27th. Check it out on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast