Browsing Tag

Melodic Hip Hop

Atlanta rapper MgnBlak brought substance back in style with his latest single, In My Head

Posted on 3 September 2022

Atlanta-based independent artist, MgnBlak, firmly implanted soul in his latest hip hop single, In My Head, which is just as vulnerable as the title implies.

Even though the melodically transfixing single narrates the artist’s individualistic life experiences, it is all too easy to find the resonance within In My Head – especially around the gospel elements, which manifest through the quelling timbre of the organ around the trap beats.

MgnBlak sought to be a breath of fresh air for the hip hop genre; it’s safe to say he succeeded with In My Head; its universal appeal transcends genre. Regardless of your usual aural inclinations, it is impossible not to FEEL when In My Head is in full flow. We are officially stoked to hear his debut EP, Hear Me Now.

In My Head is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Kamanda is a voice of compassionate reason in his latest melodic hip hop single, HETTIE II

Posted on 13 July 2022

Liberia, West Africa-born, Newcastle, Australia-residing artist, Kamanda went into his latest pop meets new wave hip hop single, HETTIE II, with his soul blazing. If you’re anything like me, and it has been a while since you appreciated the irony of our existence, this contemporary feat of lyrically melodic hip hop has all the makings of a playlist staple.

From arresting lyrical lines, “we kill each other just for attention, my legs are getting tired from trying to chase to perfection”, to resonant admissions of depression and anxiety that are more a symptom of our society rather than our individual minds, it felt like Kamanda ran through every source of grief I feel for our contemporary existence.

Kamanda started rapping and writing at the age of nine. In 2022, his ability to open eyes to the psychological pitfalls we blindly plunge into is beyond sharp. And if I’m being completely honest, hearing the yearning for fairness and peace within the uplifting indie production that knows just where to stab with the minor keys choked me up before the first verse ran through.

HETTIE II is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Crimson REd put us on ‘Red Alert’ in his harbingering hip hop debut 

Posted on 3 July 2022

If it has been a while since you got some truly experimental hip hop in your ears, meet the future of melodic trap in Crimson REd’s debut single Red Alert.

With chiptune synthetics blaring under solid, rhythmic hits of the 808s, you can get an idea of what it would sound like if J. Cole put their bars over DJ Scotch Egg’s scorching 8-bit beats. Reminiscences aside, the Reading PA-born and raised artist came into his own right from the outset.

Everyone has their idea of charisma, but Crimson REd will be in-line with the definition for most hip hop fans that vibe with his kaleidoscopically psychedelic sonic signature. We sincerely hope that there is already a sophomore single locked, loaded and ready to drop.

Red Alert is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

DopeLame is matchless in his melodic trap track, No Competition

Posted on 18 June 2022

Making LA even hotter, one of the most luminary up-and-coming rappers on Cali turf, DopeLame, dropped his latest single, No Competition, on June 17th.

After starting his rap career in 2019, he’s been steadily gaining traction with his distinctive rap flow and his no holds barred lyricism that helps you feel the weight of the conviction in his contemporary melodic trap productions.

With his eyes on the prize of emboldening his listeners with his domineering dissections of ego, existence and social construction, there is always a reason to jump on his new material.

No Competition is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Break the habit with G.Pari$’s melodic hip hop track, Patterns

Posted on 21 April 2022

With chill melodic beats, mic-drop lyrical lines that make the metaphors feel endless, and a sense of expressive compassion, the G.Pari$ sonic experience leaves little to be desired.

His latest single, Patterns finds an immersive way to prove that we are all just creatures of frantic habit, and we will all end up in neurotic ruins if we don’t take a step back to intersect our emotions and actions with mindfulness.

That mediative sense of self-awareness effortlessly reads through the ambient old-school-meets-new-wave grooves that effortlessly synergise with G.Pari$’s matter of fact but evocatively charged bars.

G.Pari$ is exactly the kind of artist you need on your radar if you’re always looking for artists to spill as much wisdom as they do catharsis.

Patterns is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Kotaisyn waxes lyrical in his candidly bitter-sweet debut single, roses in the rain

Posted on 12 March 2022

For his debut single, kotaisyn proved how dynamic London-based rap artists have the potential to be when their influences span beyond the city’s postcodes. roses in the rain is a melodic, lo-fi trappy hit that sees kotaisyn lay down his smooth spoken-word bars, harmonic vocal timbre and candid lyrics that make no bones about waxing lyrical on romantic lament and self-worth.

The clever vocal arrangements run in synergy with the atmospheric, almost ethereal minor-key melodies, making the hammering blows of his honesty feel like a bitter-sweet sensation that you will want to experience time and time again. We can’t wait to hear what he has in the pipeline for his sophomore release.

roses in the rain is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: all is fleeting but the hype around Current’s sophomore alt-hip hop album, It’s Just Temporary

Posted on 4 March 2022
https://soundcloud.com/currentmusicofficial/sets/its-just-temporary/s-FsgdWvHAbYl?si=4f8a937f72344af8969aafaaf7d9dca1&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Here to remind us that all is fleeting is Kansas City’s hottest hip hop act, Current, with his 2022 sophomore album, It’s Just Temporary. If there was ever a point in our history that we needed that affirmation, it is now.

With the candid and epiphanous spoken-word pieces in between the mindfully lyrical lo-fi trap tracks, Current makes it all too easy to get on a level with him and his polished craft that always cuts close to the bone with the lyrics and hooks.

Even though it is an unskippable vibe of a release, the standout tracks include the stormer of a trap track, Like Me, the trippy, glitchy and angsty hit, Glow Up, and the ethereal dream-like closing single, Dreams / Demons. The concluding single is slick with delirium in the first half before Current breaks into urgent howls, depicting how we all feel from time to time while struggling for an outlet. In the second half, Current’s dynamic and primal expression makes the resonance hit infinitely harder for anyone that can sympathise with insidious racing thoughts that trigger when your head hits the pillow.

In his own words, here is what It’s Just Temporary encompasses:

“It’s Just Temporary is a project that tells a story, my story. Over the past six years, I have experienced positives and negatives; there are some days I can’t believe I am where I am. What I learned from all these experiences is that everything is temporary. I learned how to take lessons from the bad times and cherish the good. This is what I convey through my album. That there is no time not to do what you love, no time to give energy to what does not give back to you because everything is temporary.

The first half of the album shows themes of anger and resentment. There are songs filled with ego and frustration. It takes a turn through the last half, where I am focused on the depression and anxiety that I have experienced. The interludes include my thought process towards these emotions. As an artist, I always want to be vulnerable and show who I am in my art.”

It’s Just Temporary will officially release on March 4th. Check out the independently produced LP for yourselves via SoundCloud or Spotify. Connect with Current via Instagram and TikTok.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

MTV Mozey is blazing in his sun-soaked trap track, Designer

Posted on 27 February 2022

Instead of making you wait until summer for a sun-soaked trap drop, the luminary hip hop newcomer, MTV Mozey dropped his high-fire earworm, Designer, while the bitter months were still biting to deliver a much-needed potent dose of aural dopamine.

At 19-years-old, MTV Mozey is already proving to be a force to be reckoned with in the Connecticut hip hop circuit and far beyond. Designer is a riotously infectious track that uses xylophones to deliver the shimmering melodies that arrest the rhythmic pulses as they pop against the trap beats and create a vibrant platform for Mozey’s mellifluous mumble rap bars. He is more than worth the room on any hip hop fan’s radar.

Introduce yourselves to the luxe high vibes in Mozey’s latest single, Designer, by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Slow down to L!FE’s meditatively high vibe hip hop single, Take Your Time

Posted on 24 February 2022

On February 18th, the Philippines-hailing alt-hip hop artist L!FE released his most introspectively sweet single to date. Take Your Time instantly affirms that the up and coming artist’s sphere of influence stretches far past hip hop with the prominence of the piano melodies in the lo-fi mix and his hooky vocals which canter through the invaluable wisdom bombs. It takes an insane amount of humility to admit, “I’ve been doing it wrong in all of my songs”; from that point onwards, you greet his vulnerability with your own as you drink in the sound of birds chirping around the lush sun-bleached reverb.

With the chorus “take your time, you don’t want this to go away”, the damage that hustler hip hop has done on the psyche is instantly reversed. In essence, the track delivers a reminder that your worth can’t be reflected by your bank account and there is infinitely more to life than chasing status. It is all too easy to get onto the same zen prophetic page as L!FE, who started producing beats in 2017 before releasing his debut single in 2020. Fast forward to 2022, L!FE has seven stellar singles under his belt; it is only a matter of time before the rest of the world is as infatuated as we are.

Here is what L!FE had to say on Take Your Time

“Take Your Time is for everyone in the same situation as me, who feels driven towards their success and leaves themselves at risk of burnout. In this day and age, “motivational speakers” drive us towards it and away from our passion.

The track counteracts their holier than thou tropes while reminding the listener that we’re not one-dimensional beings, we deal with a great number of things in our lives, and sometimes, for things to work in our favour, we need time.”

Take Your Time is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

There is ‘No Stoppin’ Cashflow Colly in his latest seminal hip hop single

Posted on 7 February 2022

No Stoppin’ was just one of the nostalgically sweet hip hop singles found on Cashflow Colly’s debut album, Mind of a MelanColly. The witty wordplay in the album title is just a taste of what you can expect from Colly’s dynamically zealous rap flows.

The South Jersey-hailing rap artist’s magnetically humble and almost criminal level of charisma makes getting hooked in his tracks non-optional. No Stoppin’ runs you through the adversity that led him to his talent when spilling raw emotions and allowing them to take form as breezy, hooky urban earworms. All things considered, he is the ultimate hip hop package. We can’t wait to hear what follows.

You can check out No Stoppin’ for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast