Browsing Tag

NYC Hip Hop

dom ultra – DAYSINBOSTON: From the Streets to the Studio via the Boulevard of Soul

Posted on 1 February 2024

DAYSINBOSTON by the NYC luminary, dom ultra, is a masterful blend of soul and innovation, marking a significant moment in his musical journey, which is about to reach a major milestone with the drop of his upcoming debut project, PRESENTING: ROY HUNTER, which is due for release in March 2024.

The wavy, luxe production transports listeners from the gritty streets of Boston to the heart of his fervently hypnotic creativity. The use of ethereally distorted backing vocals adds an artful, gospel-esque layer to the track, creating a rich, multi-dimensional sound while dom ultra ensnares with the versatility in the lead vox, as he effortlessly shifts from a spoken word cadence to dancehall-ready vox.

The hypnotic distortion around the sample towards the outro amplifies the Bon Iver influence, a nod to dom ultra’s diverse musical inspirations. This element adds a textured, almost dreamlike quality to the track, blending seamlessly with the soulful undercurrents.

Since his early days with Oblivius Music, dom ultra has evolved into an artist who defies genre constraints. DAYSINBOSTON is proof that he’s still riding high on the fumes of his distinctively pioneering flare.

DAYSINBOSTON was officially released on January 19th; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Johnny E Sullivan has made his vulnerably intimate indie hip hop debut with ‘Bedroom’

Posted on 6 May 2022

NYC’s young prodigy, Johnny E Sullivan, has been gradually garnering acclaim since the release of his debut 2022 single, Bedroom, which has now amassed over 40k streams on Spotify alone. The new generation of music fans couldn’t ask for a better voice to tune into and find relatable raw poetry.

The mellow indie trap beats flow seamlessly against the colourful melodies and the vocals that effortlessly switch between volatility and vulnerability as Bedroom draws you deeper into the melancholy that is all too resonant in our collective state of ennui. After such a successful debut, Johnny E Sullivan is undoubtedly one to watch.

Bedroom is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Anomaly Da’ God brings GUCCI-level style to the airwaves with his old school hip hop revival, B.Y.P.T

Posted on 10 October 2021

The up and coming hip hop artist Anomaly Da’ God paid a lo-fi ode to old school New York hip hop with his latest soul-filling drop, B.Y.P.T (Before You Pearl That).

After a hazy chill-wave intro, the track grooves through the glitchy progressions that have been fed through plenty of tape deck saturation to get their old school feel. When the luxe track hits peak momentum, Anomaly Da’ God’s lyrical canter picks up to a smooth yet rapid pace; any fans of Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, Kanye and Dre won’t want to hang around on this nostalgic yet paradoxically fresh track.

B.Y.P.T is now available to stream on YouTube

Review by Amelia Vandergast

LaurenAsh evokes 90s hip hop nostalgia with her latest release, Where is the Love.

Posted on 9 October 2021
LaurenAsh

Right from the first verse in her latest single, Where is the Love, LaurenAsh starts laying down spoken word lyrical gold around the instrumentals that take you right back to the golden age of jazz hip hop.

The NYC-based poet and artist known for her stylish fusions of RnB and hip hop has been on a mission to bring her spirit and soul to the world through music through tracks such as Where is the Love; which finds a succinct way to remind you that love makes the world go around, so you may as well start giving a little. It’s a stellar track that any fan of soul-infused hip hop will want to delve into.

Where is the Love was officially released on October 8th; you can check it out for yourselves on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Mani Knox delivers high vibe ennui in his standout single, ‘F.M.L’

Posted on 17 September 2021

NYC born and raised alt-hip hop pioneer, Mani Knox, has dropped his sonically high-vibe EP, Demons Dilemma, featuring the standout single, F.M.L; if you are going to curse existence to any track, make it this one.

Since his 2019 debut album, Love is War, Knox has been a mental health advocate through his music. Not in the superficial, good vibes only, way more in the I’ve seen the dark and, now I’m going to show you the light way, that you can’t help getting absorbed by.

F.M.L reels you in lyrical hook, bassline and sinker. His productions are just as massive and robust as you will find from artists such as Labrinth, The Weeknd, and Tinie Tempah but it’s the intimacy of the single that uses a female protagonist to allude to the depths ennui can take you to that wins you over with F.M.L.

F.M.L is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Linden Tyson brings the ‘ENERGY’ with his latest boom-bap track.

Posted on 16 May 2021

Fiery trap, 90s RnB, boom-bap, and jazz hip hop pull together as the cornerstones in Linden Tyson’s latest single, ‘ENERGY’. The New York-hailing artist brought that definitive NYC sound into the mix and plenty of his honesty through the lyrics that allow you to prize inspiration from Tyson’s hard-fought-for introspection.

The sharp and playful bars groove along with the boom-bap beats that come with a touch of classic RnB in the keys. ENERGY is practically an aural orgy of urban 90s sounds that will bring plenty of nostalgia for 90s kids.

Since 2017, Linden Tyson has been making heads spin with his dizzying canter and soul-filling 808s as an independent artist; it is only a matter of time before he gets scouted by a major label. Watch this space.

Linden Tyson’s latest single, ENERGY, is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Eli Da Vincii – Melancholic chilled Hip Hop with ‘I’m Gone’

Posted on 9 April 2021

Born in Brooklyn, NYC, the arguable birthplace of Hip Hop, Da Vincii grew up on the flow of Biggie, Tupac, Lauren Hill, and Mary J Blige, and that, along with the obvious Eminem and Dre comparisons too, comes through in his music.

‘I’m gone’, from Da Vincii’s new EP ‘Melancholy, is an outstanding piece of chilled hip hop that’s…well…melancholy in its lyrical content. Da Vincii has some excellent vocal flow, his delivery perfectly suiting the track. The beats he’s overlaying work perfectly too, suiting the downbeat nature of the lyrics. It could work beautifully as the incidentals in a movie, think 8-Mile obviously, or Detroit; it’s got that sort of autobiographical story-telling narrative. It’s an absolute stormer of a track.

You can hear ‘I’m Gone’, and the rest of ‘Melancholy’, on Spotify. Check out Eli Da Vincii on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Hippie Tribe put urban grit into romantic pop grooves with ‘MARGEILA MISTRESS’

Posted on 3 April 2021

NYC Hip Hop duo Hippie Tribe lay down sticky-sweet soul in their latest release ‘MARGEILA MISTRESS’, which dropped just in time for valentine’s day to prove that urban grit and romantic pop grooves can sit in hand.

As the duo, consisting of Niko Thorpe and Dee Pickney, take care of everything from the lyrics to the mastering, there’s an authenticity to their self-produced sound, and you’d still be hard-pressed to guess a big-name producer wasn’t reeled in to polish and finish it.

Before lockdown, the indie artists graced the stages of Mercury Lounge, The Knitting Factory and Bowery Electric. We can only imagine how high-energy those shows were thanks to Hippie Tribe’s reggae-tinged sun-soaked mellifluous style.

MARGEILA MISTRESS is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mr. Melly shows us the true meaning of ‘Beauty’ in his latest rap track featuring Carvo Music and Joe Andre

Posted on 2 April 2021

Upper East Side rap artist, Jamel Davon Tingman, AKA Mr Melly was bringing conscious hip hop to the airwaves way before it became a hot trend. His latest EP, R6M6, is the perfect introduction to his smooth jazzy style that blurs the line between hip hop and poetry.

The main difference is that here, you get infectiously amorous vocals imparting the metaphors. With their standout single, ‘Beauty’, featuring Carvo Music and Joe Andre, he tells a multifaceted love story that won’t fail to resonate.

We’ve all got unique ideas of what beauty is, but Mr. Melly’s view will teach you that Beauty is less about aesthetic and more about how some people drift into our lives as the perfect puzzle piece, allow us to see the bigger picture and inspire us to paint with more vivid colour.

Check out Beauty via apple music and Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Lazerwolf extends the legacy of the fictional legend with their dark trap track, ‘Indiana Jones’

Posted on 19 March 2021

NYC-hailing hip hop artist and producer Lazerwolf has arrived with their latest single ‘Indiana Jones’ which dropped on January 13th.

He may be new to the scene, but he’s already taking it by storm with his domineeringly dark approach to trap. Between the mesmerism in the fluid rap bars, the macabre witty wordplay, and the atmospheric beats, there are plenty of affirmations that Lazerwolf is one to watch.

With plenty more to come from Lazerwolf, he’s worth adding to your radar.

Indiana Jones is now available to stream via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast