Browsing Tag

Mindful Hip Hop

BHM NONO severed tribal ties in his latest hit, DESTINED 2 WIN

Posted on 3 May 2022

Hostility and hip hop have gone hand in hand since the Bronx inception, but here to prove that nothing is in trend forever is the trailblazing conscious rap artist, BHM NONO, with his latest single, DESTINED 2 WIN.

After an extended spoken-word prelude that puts you in the perfect place to feel the weight of the following bars, the instrumentals bring plenty of dramatic minor-key atmosphere into the mix. And that is all before BHM NONO’s fiery convicted bars prove that motivation doesn’t have to be synonymous with others’ destruction.

BHM NONO has exactly what it takes to become one of the most essential artists of his generation. We can’t wait to watch him get there.

The official music video premiered on April 22nd; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

MoonLee brings the funk in his hip hop track, Lights Camera Action.

Posted on 28 September 2021

Any artist taking inspiration from the vastness of the universe is worth taking a chance on; we’re all too glad that we delved into MoonLee’s standout single, Lights Camera Action, from his latest album Moonrise.

With his intellectual approach to hip hop that makes reclamations from the darkness to bring vibrance, Lights Camera Action is as infectious as a dance hit as it is soulful. It is all too easy to quote good vibe tropes in lyrics but you immediately get the sense that the single came from an infinitely more mindful place that acknowledges the darkness before defiantly resisting it with a euphoric track that brings the soul around the romantically inclined sticky-sweet sentiment.

Lights Camera Action is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Will Tunink has released his upraising single, We Are More, ft RaJan Monroe and Jon Mero

Posted on 2 August 2021

For his latest single, We Are More, Will Tunink collaborated with Rajan Monroe and Jon Mero to create a soulfully effervescent feat of jazz hip hop that carries the same resolving faith-instilling propensities of Gospel. Even the impious can find penance in this cinematic track.

Every artist has a unique motivation for their music; for the Iowa-based artist, he is driven towards cultivating a safe, welcoming space for empowerment. With such a sincere MO, it comes as little surprise that his releases are so uplifting.

It’s tracks like We Are More that leave you standing a little taller, but more importantly, they leave you in awe of the artist’s ability to spin words into sequence with enough precision that you will feel your perspective shift.

We Are More is now available to stream and download on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

OvaDos proves that it is all in the mindset with her humbled RnB trap track, ‘No Regrets’

Posted on 1 April 2021

While the mainstream media is determined to depict this generation as a lost one, breaking hip hop artist and producer, OvaDos is on a mission to uplift with her soulfully convictive RnB hip hop tracks such as ‘No Regrets’.

No Regret serves as a poignant reminder that success depends on your mindset just as much as your circumstances. It may be a short and sweet track, but 1:42 minutes is all the time the Californian artist needed to impart grounded and humbled wisdom over her modern trippy beats.

No Regrets is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Social activist and hip hop artist FONZO will show you the Power of Your Mind with his second single.

Posted on 15 March 2021

Last year, Tracy California-hailing artist and social activist FONZO dropped their debut single, ‘For the Kids’ and introduced the world to his socially aware approach to hip hop. Their sophomore single, ‘The Power of Your Mind’, created in collaboration with Yung Ricc, is the second hit of FONZO’s infectiously upraising style, and the timing couldn’t be better.

As the mainstream media sells us depression and hate breeds on social media, Power of Your Mind switches the narrative and acts as a powerful mindful reminder that dreams only come true if you follow them. The simple message is made all the more convincing by the energising beats which blast beneath FONZO’s forcefully friendly bars.

Many artists attempt high vibe music only to end up selling themselves as wolves in sheep’s clothing but there is an empowering sincerity in Power of Your Mind, assuring you that FONZO followed the advice he offers in the anthemic mix.

Power of Your Mind is the second single released from FONZO’s upcoming debut album, ‘High Gravity’; any fans of 2Pac, Eminem and Ice Cube will want FONZO on their radar before it drops.

Power of Your Mind is available to stream via Spotify. You can check out FONZO’s debut single and connect with the artist via Facebook and Instagram

Watch the official trailer to the video:

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Datsnell inspires optimism with their dark Alt Rock track ‘Imperfections’

Posted on 11 January 2021
https://soundcloud.com/user-368565296/imperctions?ref=clipboard&p=i&c=1

When you look at the real impact which 2020 has had on music, you’ll have to look far past the absence of live music and look to how artists, such as Datsnell, have stripped back facades to deliver raw and honest intimate emotion, understanding that connection, unity and strength found through music can never be overvalued.

His latest Alt-Rock single, Imperfections, reminds the listener that our obsession with perfection is imperfect within itself and that a few cracks in the surface don’t have to make you feel worthless.

With his inventive sampling of Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator speech falling around Datsnell’s haunted reverberant spoken word bars and piercingly light keys kicking up stunning interludes, the stunning track gently nudges towards optimism while validating the fear, uncertainty and nihilism which we’ve found throughout 2020. Even if you can’t find optimism straight away, you’re sure to find some solace within this deeply compassionate feat of Alt-Rock which melds elements from Hip Hop, Trap, Rock and Electronica.

You can check out Datsnell’s single Imperfections for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Test your capacity for compassion with Tae Gwapo’s single ‘Mill Ticket’

Posted on 11 January 2021

If you’re looking for a fresh Hip Hop album to see you through the cold, dark and lonely months, there’s no fresher and more consoling feat of Hip Hop than Tae Gwapo’s 2020 album, ‘Winter Baby’.

By using chillingly angular Indie guitars around solid 808s and putting plenty of atmospheric electronic effects in between, Tae Gwapodelivers authenticity and accessibility simultaneously with Track 1, Good Luck. From there on out, you’re in for an emotional rollercoaster through the dynamic release which features high-vibe hits such as the enamouring track ‘Ned Flanders’.

The standout track has to be Mill Ticket which will test your capacity for compassion as Tae Gwapo shares introspection on what it’s like to endure America as a Black American. The delicate piano notes give way to an evocative production which doesn’t sugar the pill when it comes to tearing into systemic racism, but the tone is tender and sweet all the same.

Winter Baby is available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

E-the Prophet x Brandon Sky have dropped their commandingly upraising Rap track ‘Mop’

Posted on 18 December 2020

E-the Prophet has been honing-in on their distinctive sound since 2004, they’ve been rubbing shoulders with the likes of Mac Miller, Tech Nine, Boosie and Dom Kennedy, most notably, they’ve dropped their commandingly unique album ‘Picasso’.

The best introduction to the artist’s soulful yet scathingly dominant style is ‘Mop’ featuring Brandon Sky. With the dualling convictive rap bars running through the gritty yet upraising track, you’d have to be clinically dead not to feel the rhythm and get hooked into the grind.

You can check out E-the Prophet’s album Picasso out for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lexically blessed left-field Long Island Rapper AllOne has released their latest single ‘Anodyne as Oblivion’

Posted on 14 December 2020

Lexically blessed left-field Long Island-based Rapper and slam poet, AllOne, dropped their latest feat of conscious Hip Hop, Anodyne as Oblivion on November 6th.

The fast-paced feverishly ardent release puts emotion at the heart of the production using the lyrics to conjure meta imagery while the atmospherically complex and quiescent instrumentals amp up the evocative intensity even further.

With jazzy old school Hip Hop elements melding with hints of New Wave Trap, AllOne discernibly succeeded in creating a fresh but indulgently accessible-from-the-first-hit sound. The mix of sniping visceral lyricism and mellifluous vignette melodies allowed pure Hip Hop alchemy to ooze from Anodyne as Oblivion.

You can check out Anodyne as Oblivion via Bandcamp or YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Catfish has dropped their mindfully melodic feat of New Wave Hip Hop ‘No Magic’

Posted on 6 December 2020

Toronto-based artist and producer, Catfish, may only be 19-years-old, but they’re already exuding maturity and nuance within their uniquely beguilingly soulful signature Hip Hop sound. It is artists such as Catfish that leave me assured that the future of music is in safe hands.

While I appreciate aggression is a form of catharsis and protest in Hip Hop, the abrasive attitude can quickly scour away at the sentiment and message in the music, but there’s no danger of that with No Magic. It’s pure soul, a vibration you’re going to want to indulge in time and time again.

It comes as no surprise that Catfish is quickly rising up from the underground with their magnetically mindful lyrics, melodically relentless flows and accordantly transfixing beats. Get him on your radar.

You can check out No Magic via all major platforms through this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast