Browsing Tag

Pop Hip Hop

Ladyv777 has unleashed her sticky-sweet advocation of autonomous talent, ‘Diamonds’

Posted on 27 July 2022

Pop meets hip hop in the dreamy bubble gum atmosphere of Ladyv777’s latest single, Diamonds. The Illinois-born and raised singer, rapper, and songwriter, AKA Victoria Russell, has used music as a means of purpose and escape since early childhood; she poured every inch of sonic passion into her debut single and every track that followed.

There is always an overarching advocation of authenticity within Ladyv777’s singles, and Diamonds is the perfect testament to that with its sticky-sweet pop vocals around the hooky rap bars that rest on beats that are playful and convicting in the same progression.

Diamonds is available to stream on Spotify and available to purchase on Apple Music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Glitchy art rock meets alt urban pop in Jacobi.e’s latest single, Rcv

Posted on 17 July 2022

Since his 2020 debut, experimentalism has been at the forefront of Jacobi.e’s alt bedroom pop sound. With his aptly dark, melodically off-kilter and tumultuously glitchy first single of 2022, Rcv, the Jamaican American artist and producer, currently residing in LA, fused his rock background with contemporary flavours of the originators, Dominic Fike, Kanye and Yeek.

While some artists manage to make exploring alternative sounds a contrived act of pretension, Jacobi.e instantly affirms that the alchemy came organically through his affinity for a plethora of genres. Pulling all of the contrasting textures together, his vocals are a sticky-sweet vocal point in the wavy track that stands as a testament to his flair as a producer that continues to amass gravitas.

RCV 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

Roman. & Ella Shreiner brought the intensity out in each other in the HipHop/EDM Pop mash-up ‘Mortality’.

Posted on 16 June 2022

In the most momentous hip hop & EDM pop mash-up of the year Roman. and Ella Shreiner brought a brand-new intensity out in each other. ‘Mortality’ is just one of the tracks to feature on Roman.’s debut album, Own World (20 Pages); icons have ended up on the hip hop map for far less.

After an immediate introduction to the soul in Shreiner’s vocal timbre, the single picks up even more gravity when Roman.’s realism-soaked bars kick in. Instead of launching scathing attacks on the usual insidious aspects of our existence, the up-and-coming rapper kept it resonant by highlighting the flaws in the hoop-jumping music industry, in turn, he gave the promise that he will always keep it real.

Check out the alchemic collab for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

UK Rapper, Nosa outlined the line of good and evil in us all with ‘bad moods’

Posted on 15 June 2022
Nosa

With an intro of jazzy hip hop nostalgia fed through warm saturated tape delay, slipping into Nosa’s latest single, bad moods, is easier than breathing. While the melodicism of the instrumentals lulls you into catharsis, the Dartford-based rapper’s tranquilising vocal timbre pulls you deeper into the dreamy production which wraps itself around admissions of vulnerability.

Nosa used bad moods to remind his listeners that we’re all fallible, but that should never be a source of shame; it should be the cause of our own accountability. After the globe glued itself to the Johnny Depp trial in complete denial that the line of good and evil exists in all of us, bad moods couldn’t be more of a timely drop. Any fans of George the Poet and Kae the Tempest will undoubtedly want to make a playlist staple out of bad moods.

Bad moods will officially release on June 15th on all major platforms, including 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

Sharnelle McLean has released her artfully emboldening soul-pop single, Little Girl

Posted on 17 April 2022

One of the most artistic soulstresses of her generation, Sharnelle McLean, is back on uplifting form in her consolingly resounding latest single, Little Girl. Instead of just leaning into one genre, the inexplicably talented London-based singer-songwriter, composer and producer melded RnB, poetry, gospel, pop, hip hop and orchestral sounds under the influence of Hans Zimmer’s style to achieve her achingly stunning sonic palette.

The lyrical quality of the single easily rests on a par with the aural alchemy that spills around McLean’s organically vibrant vocal timbre. Whether you’re 13 or 59, Little Girl should be on everyone’s playlists for the way that it reminds you to speak to your inner child and make sure that she’s getting all of the mental sanctity she deserves.

Little Girl is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dinje x Mason Dane bring in the tropic heat with their confessionally candid indie-pop hip hop track, Wish I Knew

Posted on 28 March 2022

For his latest single, Dinje handed the Sydney hip hop pop veteran Mason Dane the production reigns and created the ultimate urban earworm from the remix of Wish I Knew.

For anyone sick of the insinuation that summer vibes always help us fall head over heels in an idyllic relationship, the raw honesty against the exotic indie hip hop instrumentals will be more refreshing than your preferred summer poison. The Spanish guitars around the cleverly glitchy distortions in the mix that reflect the visceral nature of our innate frustration in the absence of clarity is infectious from the first hit. On the basis of Wish I Knew, both of their futures in the industry are set to be luminary. We can’t wait to hear what else is in the pipeline.

Wish I Knew will officially release on March 25th; you can check it out for yourselves on all major platforms via this link.

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

Florida’s freshest alt-pop artist Shawnsosaucy made his debut with Forget About Ya.

Posted on 11 December 2021

New York-born, Florida-based artist Shawnsosaucy shared the Floridian sun with his international fanbase in his debut single, Forget About Ya.

His debut starts as a dreamy feat of tranquil pop before evolving into a high fire urban pop mash-up with harmonic rap bars, dancehall nuances, and endlessly ascending melodies. It may not be your archetypal love song, but this candid hit is all the better for it. As soon as you hit play, you’re instantly immersed in the uplifting rhythmic grooves and the lyricism that brings a brand-new meaning to the word candid. In this optimistic despite lovelorn track, Shawnsosaucy definitively wore his heart on his sleeve to ensure he made his way into the hearts of his ever-growing fan base. This is one artist you won’t want to sleep on.

Forget About Ya is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast