Browsing Tag

Queens Hip Hop

Loud Monsta wrote a bold testament in the legacy of hip-hop with ‘THE SHHH’, ft $lims Casino

Posted on 4 June 2024

For their latest single, THE SHHH, the hip-hop kings of Queens, Loud Monsta, collaborated with $lims Casino to carve out their own monument in the future of hip-hop.

If it weren’t for the synergy between the polished-with-cinematic-finesse beats and the killer cadence of the bars that shoot to kill with mind-bending wordplay which unravels with superlative metric precision, the rough-with-grit vox and the evocatively affecting luxe production would be a complete juxtaposition. Yet, everything meticulously pulls together to exhibit PlatNum and Mick Manis as unreckonable juggernauts in the contemporary hip-hop scene; instead of leaving the enduring appeal of the old-school by the wayside, Loud Monsta infuses it into their edgy cuts.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Loud Monsta in the rap duo hall of fame alongside Blackalicious, Run the Jewels, and Methodman & Red Man if they don’t let the momentum in their career slip.

After the official music video dropped in April, it has already racked up over 43k streams; be part of the THE SHHH hype by heading to YouTube and catching the rhythmic fever.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Navy the General is off the melodic hook in his old-school hip-hop track, If I Had a Lifeline

Posted on 27 August 2023

Mixing the attitude of old-school hip-hop with the experimentalism of new wave trip-hop, the latest single, If I Had a Lifeline, from Navy the General is enough to get anyone off the ennui hook.

The poetically sharp flow of the smooth and steady rap bars and the succinct melodicism of the downtempo instrumentals invite the listener to dip their toe into a cathartic pool of originated hip-hop that works its way deep into the psyche.

The reprise of “if I had a lifeline, I’d call on you” gives the track a soulful touch, but there’s no obliterating the grit that spilt into the soundscape as a courtesy of the up-and-coming artist’s Queens, NY roots. If I Had a Lifeline is a sign of even bigger things to come from Navy the General, it won’t be long before he makes a perpetual mark on the NY hip-hop map.

If I Had a Lifeline is now available to stream on Spotify; for more ways to listen, follow this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Grab a Seat: Elevated Focusion embraced the future of fusionism with his alt-electro hit, Tabla Tea Party

Posted on 22 July 2023
https://on.soundcloud.com/KERbZ3gaPJ9vjupF8

The Queens, NY electronica pioneer Elevated Focusion, AKA Johnny Rhythms, caused a solid eight on the Richter scale by dropping his ground-breaking fusionist LP, featuring the standout single, Tabla Tea Party.

The rocksteady release became the ultimate celebration of the vibrant culture in NY by stitching a tapestry of contrasting facets of counterculture against each other to create a galvanic forcefield of friction your rhythmic pulses won’t want to resist.

With East Coast hip-hop and afrobeat bringing the danceable rhythm and the vocal lines breaking the monocultural mould while lavishing the soundscape with rock n roll attitude and soul, every new progression in Tabla Tea Party is a sonic revelation.

By putting mixing and mastering in the hands of Chris Conway, who worked on every LP that inspired the Elevated Focusion project, the East Coast flavour packs a mouth-watering punch; grab your seat at the Tabla Tea Party while the hype is hot.

Stream Tabla Tea Party with the rest of Elevated Focusion’s eponymous LP on SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast