Browsing Tag

Old School Hip Hop

Veggie Freshingtin – EBT: Explicitly Sweet Hazy Hip Hop

Posted on 11 August 2021

Sink into the spacey reverb in up and coming hip hop artist Veggie Freshingtin’s latest single EBT, the hazy stoner-Esque track is sure to appease any fans of Tyler, the Creator, Eaze-E, Lil Kim and Lil Wayne.

The popular culture references, the playfully explicit lyrics and his soulfully wicked energy all pull together in EBT to create a track that you can’t help being absorbed by. You get the accessibility, roguish vibes and swathes of hip hop nostalgia around the contemporary elements that Freshingtin will use to make his mark on the hip hop landscape.

You can check out EBT for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Solo Star delivers deity-level hip hop in his single, ‘American God’

Posted on 22 July 2021
Solo Star

Ahead of the release of his highly anticipated 4-track EP, ‘The Ballad of Solo Star’, the up and coming artist has given us a taste of what’s to come by giving us a sneak peek of the lead track, American God.

Under the influence of Nas, Andre 3000, J.Cole, 2Pac and Jay-Z, Solo Star carries the same charismatic vocal magnetism. Instrumentally, he’s ascended to his own level and plateaued above most breaking artists. You can’t help getting hooked into the arrestingly rhythmic grooves in American God.

If you pride yourself on having the hottest names in hip hop on your playlists, you will want to make room for Solo Star.

Check out him out on SoundCloud and his website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Malcolm Jamal – Blacking Out featuring AGoodman

Posted on 21 July 2021
Malcolm Jamal

Old School hip hop fans will get a potent nostalgia hit from Malcolm Jamal’s latest single, Blacking Out, featuring AGoodman. The beats and rap style may throw back to the glory days of East Coast hip hop, but the lyricism encapsulates the anxiety and anger inspired by our current societal disparity.

It’s tracks like Blacking Out that keep injustice fresh in our minds; ignorance isn’t bliss, but more than that, it’s a visceral invitation to think big and act even bigger. The energy is infectious, and the earworm propensities are relentless.

Check out Malcolm Jamal’s latest single on apple music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Yugi waxes lyrical on existentialism with ‘NPMNG’.

Posted on 14 July 2021
Yugi

Up and coming hip hop artist, Yugi, is set to drop his wisdom-bomb of an EP, UNRAVEL; he’s given us a glimpse of what is to come by giving us a sneak peek of the lead track, NPMNG’.

The mellow trip-hop beats in the prelude give way to snappy 808s under layers of soulful old school hip hop influence; as the canter of the rap bars picks up, all of your attention will fall to NPMNG’s soulful wordplay.

‘Life isn’t hitting the same’ may be the most relatable lyric written this year. It succinctly encompasses the hollow feeling when you only find monotony instead of serotonin when indulging in the things that used to make you happy. Despite the waxing lyrical on existentialism, NPMNG is a hazy high-vibe hit that deserves a spot on your vibe out playlists.

NPMNG will be released on July 30th along with the rest of Yugi’s EP, UNRAVEL.

Check out Yugi on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Jazlyn Gold delivers an up-vibe attack on capitalism with ‘Rat Race’.

Posted on 30 June 2021

If fiery hip hop gets you through the 9-5, make Jazlyn Gold’s latest single, Rat Race, a playlist staple and gain the inspiration to escape. If any hustler hip hop track is going to shake you from your complacency, it is this up-vibe energetic attack on capitalism.

At just over 2-minutes long, it’s a short and sweet jazzy trap hit, but 2 minutes is all that was needed to implant a life-affirming seed of motivation to level up. Gold’s playfully dominant rap style is reflected in the lush reverb-heavy notes that add plenty of texture to the track that the 808s construct.

Rat Race is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Stefano Jay has released his affectionately grounding RnB hip hop track, ‘By Your Side’.

Posted on 26 June 2021

Connecticut-based hip hop artist Stefano Jay uses his music to transcribe his life stories through introspective lyrics that do far more than look inwards; they project life-affirming wisdom outwards.

By Your Side is the latest single released by the 18-year-old artist; his signature sound resounds in the realm of melodic, compassionate hip hop that carries nuances of jazz, trap, RnB pop and old school hip hop. It’s a stunning vignette of how passionate ties keep us grounded in a world that seems to thrive on uncertainty and chaos. This anchoring track will prove to be the perfect addition to your summer hip hop playlists.

By Your Side is now available to stream and download on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

YeaaDoee goes back to the old school in his latest hip hop single, ‘InMyCity’.

Posted on 26 June 2021

Old school hip hop fans looking to inject their playlists with fresh vibes won’t want to pass by on Cleveland, US-hailing up and coming artist YeaaDoee’s latest feat of gangster hip hop, InMyCity.

With Snoop Dogg-style hazy stoner grooves cut into the pulsating trap beats, YeaaDoee constructed the perfect platform for his playful yet grimy rap bars that introduce you to the grit in his home town. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, InMyCity is a mesmerising release. It hits you with OG nostalgia while simultaneously registering as pioneering through the flawlessly atmospheric production.

InMyCity released on May 30th; you can check it out for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

J Roy has released the ultimate power-couple hip hop anthem with ‘Forbes List’, featuring Jai Fears.

Posted on 21 June 2021
J Roy

If you’re looking for the freshest feel-good groves to add to your summer hip hop playlists, look no further than J Roy’s self-titled 2021 album, featuring the lead single, Forbes List, featuring Jai Fears.

There are some fairly obvious nods to Jay-Z’s luxurious sound in the mix, but between Jay Roy and Jai Fears, plenty of authenticity was brought to Forbes List; a single that shows that all that glitters isn’t gold, but it is still beautiful. Forbes List drips with extravagance, but at the centre of the mix is a fiercely romantic sense of soul that makes Forbes List the ultimate power couple anthem.

J Roy’s latest album is now available to stream and download on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Edword Evwrit wants to talk to us ‘Right Now’

Posted on 17 May 2021

Hailing from the Bay Area, California, Edword Evwrit is a solo hip hop artist, as well as a member of both Liquor Mouth and Lunaclick; ‘Right Now’ then is a delicious slab of old-school hip hop, funky and grooving, with a deep, deep pounding bass and a pretty little closed hi-hat pattern keeping everything ticking. At times it’s reminiscent of De La Soul, at others that questioning call-and-response rap style that Eminem does so, so well. There’s moments of ‘The Real Slim Shady’ here, mixed with little bits of ‘Three Feet High and Rising’ and Cube’s ‘Today Was A Good Day’.

Evwrit’s got some gorgeous flow, little double-rhymed couplets, some of the syllables cut up and spat bullet-like, others drawn out and rhythmic, with multiple rhyme patterns and a cute little semi-psychedelic drop at around the two-minute mark making ‘Right Now’ a cut above the average modern hip hop release; Evwrit’s rhyme patterns and intelligent wordplay, coupled with cracking backdrop instrumentation and arrangement, make this a stand-out track. You should check it out. Right now.

Hear ‘Right Now’, and the rest of Edword Evwrit’s album ‘My Brothers And Me’, on Spotify. Follow Evwrit on Facebook or here.

Review by Alex Holmes

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