Browsing Tag

Reggae Hip Hop

Sojourn to Tijuana with The Dream X’s Latest Serving of Hip-Hop Exoticism

After The Dream X racked up over 600k Spotify streams with his sophomore single, Tijuana, we had to know what the hype was about, and we quickly found it within the instrumental exoticism of the vibrant sojourn of a release which will leave you riding high on the waves of the oceanic production.

With the hazy melodies working in contrast to the bitter-sweet lyricism which explores the anti-climax of post-breakup hook-ups, there are as many layers to the emotions as there are to the genre-fluid instrumentals which fuse Latin guitars with a pseudo-trap backbeat and afrobeat colour.

Tijuana is the kind of track you’ll hit play on and feel the compulsion to crank up the volume until it’s slamming through your speakers and melodiously reverberating through you so you can savour the honeyed elixir which pours from The Dream X’s vocal harmonies which groove between his rap bars.

The Utah-based rapper, singer, producer, and actor is a fucking phenomenon, and we’re already desperate to hear what comes next.

Stream Tijuana on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

iluvmali, Philly? & Michael Liriano get luxe in their collab, Saks Fifth

Let your speakers feel the heat in the sun-soaked summer hip hop single from the collaboration between the rap luminaries iluvmali, Philly? & Michael Liriano.

Saks Fifth melds pockets of deep reggae groove with indie vibes and, for instant arrestive appeal, the snaking sonics of Eastern rhythms. The shimmering instrumentals almost pour as much dopamine into the mix as the optimism breathing rap bars, which deliver hook-y lines on a very 2022 brand of luxe romance.

If iluvmali, Philly? & Michael Liriano stay on the underground after this infectious hit; there is something decidedly wrong with the industry. The sheer satisfaction from the first hit of Saks Fith is beyond words.

Saks Fifth is now available to stream on all platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Corey Morris takes us to introspective church with his latest single, Can I

Hip Hop and old school soul coalesce in Corey Morris’ latest sun-bleached single, Can I, which conceptually allows the lyrical tone to contrast with the mellow, celestial instrumentals. With choruses repetitively asking, “can I live, can I motherfucking live”, Morris expresses his internal conflict as a result of the external chaos that leaves us all aware of how far we can fall.

While the track sonically encompasses the beauty, compassion and soul that we can find in the world, Morris’ pulls you back down from the dreamy plateau that the instrumentals put you on with his gritty introspection that asks the question that is never too far from any of our minds.

Can I is available on apple music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Flipp from the West put a subversive twist on old school hip hop with his single, ‘I’ll Make You Hurt’

Everything about Flipp from the west and his latest single, I’ll Make You Hurt, is subversive and enigmatic. His tendency to use ominous and sometimes macabre imagery with funk-riding reggae-infused beats unequivocally establishes him as a ground-breaking artist.

In I’ll Make You Hurt, you’ll find everything from West Coach sun-bleached vibes to nods to the gritty styles of old school gangster hip hop, but you’ve definitely never heard old school hip hop quite like this before.

After releasing eight EPs, Flipp from the west has left a wealth of ingenuity on the airwaves; his prolific rate of production proves he’s got the hunger, each track, individually, proves he’s got the talent.

I’ll Make You Hurt is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

B7ayre prepares us for ‘Summer Days’ with his latest single

Instead of dropping a mindlessly archetypal summer hip hop track, B7ayre is here with his latest single, ‘Summer Days’, which resoundingly reminds you that the days getting longer isn’t a guarantee of your life instantly getting better.

With the sun-bleached reggae and blues-infused Hip Hop beats bringing the high vibes and B7ayre’s bars demanding that you stay grounded in reality while the track runs through, it’s an exceptionally subversive track that breaks the mould and blows your mind while doing so.

You can check out the official video to Summer Days that dropped on March 1st via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

3ripleD has dropped their blazing blasé single ‘I Don’t Mind’

Rolling, thumping, and with some sublime flow, comes Dallas-based 3ripleD’s new single ‘I Don’t Mind’. Leading into his new album ‘Practice Makes Perfect’, ‘I Don’t Mind’ is fast, cracking hip hop, all metaphor and lyrical poetry, delivered in a sing-song vocal overdramatic chiming synth, bass, and beats.

It’s an excellent sampler for 3ripleD’s work, reminiscent of artists like Lil’ Wayne, Biggie Smalls, 2 Chains, or Young Money. 3ripleD is clearly a talented artist with plenty to say, his rhythmic and elegiac delivery matched by the composition of the track behind. Look out for the full ‘Practice Makes Perfect’ album, and check out ‘I Don’t Mind’ right now.

Hear ‘I Don’t Mind’ on Spotify; check out 3ripleD on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

Kel Domo is set to liven up your Hip Hop playlists with their hedonistically sun-kissed single ‘Mardi Gras’

Kel Domo

‘Mardi Gras’ is the forthcoming single from Hip Hop luminary, Kel Domo. With a hypnotic flow and the artist’s boundless energy, it’s a track with the capacity to adrenalize even the world-weariest Hip Hop fans.

Kel Domo’s blazing high-vibe hit will undoubtedly make a lot of people feel infinitely better about missing out in the annual hedonism fix. With Mardi Gras on your playlists, there’s no reason why you can’t celebrate and indulge all year round.

You’ll have to wait a little longer before you can check out Mardi Gras for yourselves which will be released in 2021 as part of Kel Domo’s mixtape. In the meantime, you can head over to their SoundCloud and check out their earlier releases.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nana Motobi has dropped their high-vibe hustler anthem ‘Paper’

http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1540266765?ls=1&app=itunes

Vibes don’t come much higher than the ones oozing from breaking Alt Hip Hop artist Nana Motobi’s latest release ‘Paper’.

The spaciously sun-kissed melodies set the upraising tone while Nana Motobi breaks the monocultural mould by weaving in Jamaican Reggae vibes and experimenting with an African Pidgen Rap style. More refreshingly, Nana Motobi veers away from the usual Hip Hop narrative when it comes to riches and excess. While many artists are flaunting the luxury that they’ve hired for the weekend, this ground-breaking artist cooked up an anthem for anyone who knows the hustle is real. The hustle will undoubtedly be made a lot easier for Reggae Hip Hop fans with Paper on their playlists.

You can check out Paper for yourselves by heading over to Apple Music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Orange Joe has delivered an off the Richter Hip Hop hard-hitter with ‘Royal Blue’

Bounding into play like an excitable puppy chasing its own tail and looking expectantly for belly-rubs comes Orange Joe’s ‘Royal Blue’, all 1’43” of Akon-meets-Arrested Development grooving hip hop charm. It grinds, it’s got serious flow, there’s humour and irony in the lyrics but there’s serious bump’n’grind in the track too.

‘Royal Blue’ is audacious, full of pep and vitality, a proper party hip hop summer track, all lowrider and air-suspension of a tune with lift and drop and full-on, funky in-your-face charm.

See the video for ‘Royal Blue’ on YouTube; check out Orange Joe, and the Purple Spirit project, here.

Review by Alex Holmes

Tarono x Macho – Trap in a Maze: Sweet Sun-Kissed High Vibe Trap

Tarono & Macho sweetened up the airwaves with their recently released summer Trap single “Trap in a Maze” made in collaboration with Doubleapproved.

If you’re looking for urban good vibes, you won’t find many tracks with the ability to take you as high as Trap in a Maze does. The effortlessly melodic Trap beats flow through rhythms influenced by world music to create the perfect platform for the artist’s smooth Reggae RnB-style vocals.

Trap in a Maze drips both earworm and commercial potential. It’s easy to anticipate big things to come from Tarono x Macho in the future. Get them on your radar. You won’t regret it.

You can check out Tarono & Macho’s single Trap in a Maze which dropped on June 13th by heading over to Apple Music or Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast