Browsing Tag

New Wave Trap

Yung’Cid left the pill un-sugared in their feisty new wave trap track ‘Loved You Better’

Posted on 10 February 2021
Yung’Cid

‘Loved You Better’ is the latest single from Bedford, UK-hailing Alternative artist, Yung’Cid, their combination of Pop Punk, Trap and RnB grinds with the tides of New Wave luminaries such as Juice Wrld, Lil Xan and Lil Peep while flowing with Yung’Cid’s own authentic expression.

Crank up the volume and feel the full force of the aggressive rock elements, lock into the lyrics to appreciate the raw gritty romanticism which inspired Love You Better which drips with visceral angst, but if you read between the lines, you’ll find that it’s an emboldening track.

We often place the blame on ourselves when people fail to love us properly, Yung’Cid highlights the pain of that experience while serving the reminder that other people’s inability to love is not our problem.

You can hear Yung’Cid via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

SadHappyRabbit – That’s Alright featuring Lil Ringey

Posted on 2 February 2021

Before we escaped 2020, SadHappyRabbit released their pessimistically-titled debut album ‘We’re Fucked’, which may flirt with nihilism, but the essence of the Portland-hailing artist’s sound unequivocally lies in their refreshing candid vulnerability.

The standout track, ‘That’s Alright’, which was created in collaboration with Lil Ringey is the perfect introduction to SadHappyRabbit’s unique marrying of Indie Hip Hop and Emo Rap. Anyone who has a proclivity for morosity – especially in the presence of romantic disparity will find plenty of resonance in the single.

Yes, the lyrics are dark, but darkness and romanticism have come hand in hand ever since Shakespeare started doing his thing, and this barbed depiction of painful romantic duality is just as efficacious at evoking strong emotion as Hamlet.

There’s no room to wonder why SadHappyRabbit has been able to amass so much hype since making their debut in 2020. Their fearlessness when it comes to lyrical honesty is practically unparalleled.

You can check out That’s Alright for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

TeawhYB – All Gas No Breaks: Intellectually Inspirational High Vibe Alt Pop

Posted on 27 January 2021
TeawhYB

If you’re always on the lookout for intellectually inspirational artists with the ability to cook-up high-vibe perennial pop earworms, you’ll strike gold when you hit play on the latest single ‘All Gas No Breaks’ from LA artist TeawhYB.

With their indulgent blend of Pop, Old School Hip Hop, R n B and New Wave Trap, All Gas No Breaks grooves with danceable sun-soaked melodicism while TeawhYB lays down their lyrics which act as a call to action for all entrepreneurs and creatives to keep their foot on the pedal.

TeawhYB proves that self-awareness holds just as much importance in music as infectious hooks and vocals which speak directly to the soul by making statements such as “We, as in the world, can’t continue entirely the same way it has before the pandemic. We went through it together, like a relationship gone bad. We’re going to make it out but we’ll have transformed into something we weren’t before.” Putting him on your playlists is practically an act of self-care.

You can check out TeawhYB’s tracks by heading over to their SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Melt into Quietboy’s soporifically sweet Dream Hop track ‘7’

Posted on 31 December 2020

Lo-fi, subtle, with a pretty ascending musical background of chimes and effected bass backing Quietboy’s vocal, this is hip hop in the style of Future, Lil Tecca, or maybe most-closely, Bladee – all tripping-together flow and autotune vocal effects over chilled, relaxed background. No Boom-Bap stylings or fast, drill-style breaks here, this is laid-back, cool, and mellow, almost trance-like in its chilled-ness.

From Quietboy’s fresh new album ‘Who?’ – thirteen tracks of soft, velvety mellifluous hip hop – this is fresh and airy rap from South Jersey, with a sweet, rounded backing track under Quietboy’s poetic multi-syllabic rhymes and melodic delivery. It’s cool, it’s chill, and yeah, it Quietboy softly lives up to his moniker with a stream of consciousness freestyle delivery and a properly mature sing-song cadence.

Check out ‘7’, and the rest of ‘Who?’, here.

Review by Alex Holmes

Jay – Luv Tape: The ultimate lo-fi hip hop breakup album

Posted on 28 December 2020

New Jersey-hailing rapper & producer Jay, (AKA Jasun Ramirez) made their debut in 2018, in 2020, they dropped their Lo-Fi Hip Hop album ‘Luv Tape’ and brought sticky-sweet romanticism to the New Wave Trap genre.

The breakup album covers pretty much every conceivable emotion which you feel following a breakup, anger, insignificance, grief, lovelorn nostalgia, you name it, the 8-tracker delivers it all with a side-serving of dreamy beats pulled together in intimately sweet productions.

You can check out Hey, Stranger along with the rest of the album ‘Luv Tape’ for yourselves via Apple Music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

CRACK63X has released their subversively sweet Hip Hop track ‘PASSIONLESS’

Posted on 6 December 2020

If your Hip Hop playlists are crying out for fresh sticky-sweet Hip Hop which comes with a playfully sardonic kick, look no further than artist and producer CRACK63X’s latest release ‘PASSIONLESS’.

With the polyphonically enamouring melodies alongside dreamy ukulele strings and CRACK63X’s inventively witty rap bars which subvert the usual Hip Hop narratives, you can’t help falling into the high-vibe Indie Hip Hop mix which stands as a testament to the artist’s authenticity and ability to create an accessible yet distinctively distinguished track.  There’s a fair amount of grit in the lyrics, but the beats cushion the sniping candid lyrical blows which will definitely make their mark on the airwaves.

You can check out PASSIONLESS for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

4N Really Feels Like The Man Right Now

Posted on 28 November 2020

The mathematician Andy Hildebrand might have made his name designing an algorithm to help Exxon find oil drilling sites, but his greatest gift to the twenty-first century has to be Antares and the delivery of Auto Tune. Sure, it might have originally been designed as an aid to correcting ‘bad pitch’ and make vocals more expressive, but – like most music and production technology – artists soon realised the potential for its use as an artistic effect in its own right; through Lil Wayne and Kanye West to the master exponent extraordinaire – the ‘T-Pain effect’ – Auto Tune is to hip hop what the overdriven Marshall is to rock n’ roll.

Here, on ‘I Feel Like The Man’, Ligor Stepanov – a.k.a. 4N – takes that sound – added to a dash of beautifully applied slapback vocal echo – to a slamming, trappy hip hop statement of intent. Thunderous gated bass, cracky, snappy hi hats, snare rimshots, and handclaps sit in a deep, driving backing track behind Ligor’s freestyled rhymes, alternately poetic and melodic and rapidfire and fractious.

“The whole world’s gonna hear my sound” snaps 4N on ‘I Feel Like The Man’; on the basis of this, he’s probably absolutely right.

Check out ‘I Feel Like The Man’ on Spotify; follow 4N on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

B.A. Talks – Ysl: A Grimey Take on the High-Life

Posted on 26 November 2020

‘Ysl’ is the second release to drop from trailblazing Rap artist B.A. Talks, with elements of Grime in the EDM Hip Hop production, the beats are just as domineering as B.A. Talks’ feverishly multilingual vocals.

Not only is the monocultural mould shattered with Ysl, but the artist also melds a myriad of stylic elements from across the urban aural spectrum to ensure that nothing about it feels assimilative. From Drill to Grime to Trap, it’s all there in a stylistic rhythmic storm. Additionally, you’d be hard-pressed to find an artist projecting just as much passion into their music. He’s definitely one to watch.

Ysl is available to stream via all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mikey entwines Trap with Blues in their standout single ‘Sacrifices’

Posted on 18 November 2020

Indie Hip Hop artist Mikey dropped their soul-searching single “Sacrifices” earlier this year. With plenty of humbling and inspiring Hip Hop in the pipeline, there has never been a better time to jump on their sound.

With the repetition of the question “why me?” Mikey hammers home the injustice in the disparity of fairness. But within the verses of the cutting Indie Hip Hop single you’ll find positivity which allows the listener to realise that despite how unfair the hand you’ve been dealt or what struggles are put in front of you, you have the power to overcome them.

With old school bluesy tantalising guitar tones finding synergy with the concise Trap beats, the instrumentals offer plenty of depth, but that aural alchemy is nothing in comparison to the powerful lyricism which is forceful enough to seismically shift your mindset.

You can check out the official video to Sacrifices by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get lost in the fierce flow of 2ODIAC’s Hip Hop drop ‘TUT’

Posted on 12 November 2020

Up and coming Hip Hop artist 2ODIAC dropped one of the hottest tracks of 2020 with TUT, if you missed it, it is our pleasure to introduce you to the fierce instrumental flow and Rap verses which may as well have been spat by a viper.

TUT runs through as a visceral offering of Old School Hip Hop and New Wave Trap, with plenty of theatrical touches to the mix, 2ODIAC brings the vitality which the airwaves have been crying out for.

If the future of Hip Hop was placed in his hands, it would be more than safe. His tracks evoke emotion and arrest rhythmic pulses simultaneously. What more could you possibly ask for?

You can check out the official video to TUT for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast