Browsing Tag

Pop Trap

The rhythms rolled hot and heavy in PRES3T’s latest pop hit, Love Me Like That

Posted on 16 May 2024

Love Me Like That is the latest hot and heavy pop hit from the up-and-coming visionary, PRES3T, who has been working his way through the industry ranks from a young age and now has a safe foothold to serve as a platform for his stylistically rich rap-adjacent hits.

The solid backbeat kicks intently through the moody atmosphere of the modernised wavy-with-reverb production that throws back to 90s pop aesthetics while simultaneously envisioning the future of the pop genre. If you couldn’t get enough of the taste of Ed Sheeran’s Are You Entertained or Lil Nas X’s DON’T WANT IT, you’ll be obsessed with the flavour in Love Me Like That.

Thailand-born singer, songwriter, recording artist and producer PRES3T delivered his debut LP from his home studio at the age of 16 before receiving national radio airplay and attending the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Before working on his new material, which is steadily waterfalling onto the airwaves, PRES3T cut his teeth working on projects with tens of millions of streams on Spotify alone. We have no doubt he has exactly what it takes to achieve the same in his solo career.

Stream Love Me Like That on SoundCloud.

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

George Bien – scared of planes w/ emily: Emotionally Raw, Sonically Ethereal Trap

Posted on 24 November 2021

Lil Peep left plenty of inspiration in his wake; a potent shot of it can be found in the latest single, scared of planes, by the up and coming alt hip hop artist, George Bien.

In the ambient and atmospheric track, the confessional lyricism stings as it resonates, but there’s no taking the catharsis out of the dreamy mellifluous grooves. George Bien has exactly what it takes to define the future of hip hop with his emotionally raw, sonically ethereal style that we can’t wait to hear more of. At 21-years old, the Santa Cruz-based newcomer has already proven his pioneer potential. He is a force to be reckoned with from here on out.

Scared of planes is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dark Pop Meets Hip Hop in Snapdibz’ latest single, Rivals featuring Rey Khan

Posted on 12 November 2021

There is nothing on the airwaves as raw as a hip hop artist throwing away every last shred of ego and pretence to show the softer side of their soul; case in point, Snapbidz latest single, Rivals, featuring Rey Khan.

When I hit play on what I thought would be yet another confrontational diss track, a stunningly pensive mash of RnB, trap, and pop started to pull me into the soul of the single that carries just as much, if not more, conviction as the harshest of rap hits.

The slight vibrato on Rey Khan’s trap pop vocals and Snapbidz animated bars over the minor key melodies is enough to test your soul’s capacity to feel as it climbs the charts.

Rivals is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

PriZm blurred the boundaries between hip hop and pop in his sophomore single, ‘So What’, featuring Jedimizz.

Posted on 1 May 2021

The boundaries between hip hop and pop are getting thinner, and that is all thanks to genre-melding visionary artists such as Midwest rapper PriZm.

His latest single, So What, featuring Jedimizz, is an evocative firestorm that doesn’t rely on prosaic delivery or melody-stripped harsh instrumentals. Instead, the sheer emotion in PriZm’s almost-dizzying harmonic pop canter will leave you sobered as you listen to the transfixing lovelorn track unfold.

It is undoubtedly one of the catchiest urban perennial pop earworms that you’ll hear this year, making it even more admirable that this track does plenty more than just lyrically scratch at the surface.

So What perfectly captures the devastation that comes from realising that there is no substitute for love, and sometimes, there is no filling the hole that some people leave. Although, hitting play would be a start for the recently romantically aggrieved.

So What is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

SixPortalz shows us the melodic potential of cloud rap with their latest release, ‘YOUNG LUV’.

Posted on 18 April 2021

‘Heartfealt’ isn’t an adjective easily affixed to cloud rap, but East Stroudsberg-based artist, SIxPortalz left us with few other ways to allude to the evocative and all-baring nature of his latest single, ‘YOUNG LUV’.

With melodic piano keys introducing the track and still running between the 808s through the verses, YOUNG LUV possesses all of the rhythmic pull of a sad pop ballad, but there’s no compromise to the raw and honest nature of the lyrics and the delivery. He’s set the bar for emo rap artists with his soulfully bruising approach.

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

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Tea Sea mixes up a big pot of groove on new single ‘Vitals’

Posted on 23 March 2021

Taking a set of playful, poetic lyrics and mixing them up with a watertight groove and bounce, and a chunk of metaphor-heavy imagery, and deliver it all with a non-stop energy and flow, and you’ve pretty much got the recipe for this serving of tea (sea). ‘Vitals’ is a tale of lost-love set to an R&B-tinged hip hop backbeat, equal parts Kendrick Lamar, XXXTentacion, Childish Gambino, and The Weekend.

There’s elements of old-school heroes in here too – Biggie, Dre, Mos Def, and Eminem all feature in Tea Sea’s quickfire wordplay, while there’s elements of soul and eighties street hip hop in the backing beats.

With an official video/visualiser steeped (geddit?) in eighties video effects and 8-bit arcade game visuals, Tea Sea brings us a nice little slice of retro-modern here in ‘Vitals’.

Check out the video for ‘Vitals’ on YouTube; follow Tea Sea on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Aisyah hits the breaks in her latest cinematically sweet RnB pop single ‘Slow Down’

Posted on 10 March 2021

LA RnB singer-songwriter, Aisyah’s accoladed career may have started in the film music industry, but tracks such as her latest single, ‘Slow Down’ prove that her sound is just as evocative when it is hitting the airwaves instead of the big screen.

Slow Down was created in collaboration with RnB pop singer, Pisces Kid who brought an immersive duality to the soundscape. Anyone looking for tips on how to keep RnB pop contemporary should hit play on Slow Down and grab a pen.

Emotions may run high in the amorously intense mix which captures that all too familiar feeling of needing to hit the breaks and set boundaries in a relationship, but all in all, this smooth soul-filler boasts a rare cathartic potency which you’ll want to indulge in time and time again.

Slow Down is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

MADHAPPY prove that pop, trap and electronica combined is the perfect formula for high-vibes with ‘Freethrow’

Posted on 17 February 2021

MADHAPPY is the electronic alt-pop project by bedroom producers, Adam Coe and Spencer Vann, with their influences combined, they’ve created the perfect formula for high-vibe EDM.

With nuances of pop, trap and punk grooving through their latest track, Freethrow, the earworm isn’t just fresh, it’s galvanising. After starting with muted staccato guitar chords, the track doesn’t hang around before revealing the infectious potency of the melodies. From there on out, the hooks will leave you ensnared until the dizzyingly  subversive breakdown.

When dancefloors are accessible, Freethrow will undoubtedly fill them. If this is the future of EDM pop, colour us excited for the electronica of tomorrow.

Check out MADHAPPY’s latest mix via Spotify

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mookie helps us ‘Through it All’ with his deeply compassionate pop trap single.

Posted on 14 February 2021
https://soundcloud.com/alexmookie/through-it-all

Up and coming artist, Mookie, started out as an EDM producer, but if his latest pop trap single ‘Through it All’ is anything to go by, it would have been criminal to carry on leaving his melodies unpaired with his unfiltered heartfelt lyrics.

If lyrics as raw as ‘sometimes I get emotional but it’s all I have’ don’t leave a lump in your throat, you can safely assume that your soul checked out a while ago.

Lockdown may have inspired plenty of uninspired songs, but Mookie adds a unique voice to the conversation which allows you to see the beauty in the sadness. Through it All may have come from a place of deep isolation and longing for normality, but it’s impossible not to let yourself be consoled by Mookie’s sweetly affectionate slightly reverb-tinged vocals as they run in synergy by the deftly mastered beats..

Any fans of Lil Peep, Lil Xan or Juice Wrld will want to make room on their playlists for Through it All which is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast