Browsing Tag

US Hip Hop

Edubb302 brought gangster rap back fiercely enough to give you whiplash with his latest single, Bout a Dollar

Posted on 26 August 2022

Despite his up-and-coming status, rapper and songwriter, Edubb302 is blazing across the airwaves and garnering plenty of hype with his top tracks. His latest single, Bout a Dollar, is for every rap fan that wants to throw back to the definitive era of hip hop while enjoying new school flavour.

The Wilmington, DE-hailing artist takes influence from the likes of Tupac, Mase, DMX, Lil Baby and Lil Durk; for his own sound, he went in his smooth domineering style that makes his tracks a minefield of instrumental and lyrical hooks you can’t evade before being pulled into the angsty hip hop flow, which Edubb302 honed during his time in state prison in Pennsylvania. If you are looking for the real deal. You will find it when you hit play.

Bout a Dollar is now available on Spotify.

Follow Edubb302 on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

UniqueSince3 set a score of cinematic minor-key hip hop in Make You Mine

Posted on 24 August 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sgqx62hE9vI

With their cinematically classic hip hop single, Make You Mine, the up-and-coming artist, UniqueSince3, sent emotional shivers up the spine of the minor key piano melodies.

After doctors wrote off his prospects with his autism diagnosis at the age of three, the rapper refused to subjugate himself to the same dim fate and strode into greatness. Notably, Make You Mine took him one giant leap forward.

As someone else that falls on the neurodivergent side of the spectrum, I can only imagine how much inspiration others will get when they look up to UniqueSince3 and his evocative wordplay powers.

Check out the official lyric video by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Young Swavey lit a fire with his fervent rap track, BAPE

Posted on 22 August 2022

With his seminal single, BAPE, hip hop artist Young Swavey lit a fire with his fervent rap bars that blaze across the trappy, slightly psychedelic indie instrumentals.

The up-and-coming artist professes to make his own way in the music industry, and BAPE affirms it. Any and all reminiscences to hip hop icons and contemporaries are extremely fleeting in the short and immersively sweet track, which is fresh enough to take Young Swavey up from the underground. There is plenty of personality written between the convictive lines that almost flow with freestyle energy. Get in on the hype.

Check out the official music video for BAPE on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

MOBBIN101 pays homage to Tupac in ‘How We Ride’

Posted on 9 July 2022

Tupac may not be here to verse us through the surrealism of 2022, but MOBBIN101 stepped up to the mark in his homage piece to the icon with his latest single, How We Ride, which brings Tupac energy around MOBBIN101 wit and originality.

From the chillingly cinematic production to the magnetism in the level yet strident bars, there’s no immunity to the intoxicating effects of How We Ride, which etches a gritty vignette of the mob life that reprieved us of one of the greatest voices in hip hop and continues to tear holes in societies. It’s as sobering as it is infectious. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more impressive hip hop luminary in any state.

How We Ride officially released on July 1st. Check it out via SoundCloud and Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rap revolutionary Muncy versed for the voicelessly oppressed in Not Being Heard

Posted on 9 July 2022

Taken from his 2022 album, Rhythm & Raw Rhymes, Muncy’s visceral rap track, Not Being Heard, is an anti-capitalist masterpiece which disembowels the seedy underbelly of institutional oppression and the silencing of those with every right to protest against it.

With every new bar energetically delivered, the emotion pick ups momentum around the cinematically jazzy and neo-classic-influenced hip hop instrumentals. There isn’t much room to wonder why so many hip-hop fans looking for a vindicating voice have jumped on the fearless vulnerability of the Michigan-hailing artist.

From calling out the government for their fake generosity to creating clever metaphors about inflation in his verses; evidently, Muncy has exactly what it takes to embolden his listeners with intellect and cause a revolutionary ripple through the music industry. His LP may have been the punkest thing to happen in 2022.

Stream the Rhythm & Raw Rhymes album on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: THISMINORITY welcomes us to the spiritual new age of hip hop with ‘MEDI’.

Posted on 5 July 2022

For his debut single, THISMINORITY brought hip hop into the realm of spiritual new age mindfulness to smash through the stereotypes and establish himself as a unique voice with an equally as distinctively cutting production style.

Self-awareness is a journey, but on the basis of MEDI, the New Orleans-born, Brooklyn-based rapper and lyricist is already leagues ahead of most with his recognition of the importance of the narratives we spin to ourselves.

His melodic stormer allows you to think just as fiercely as it compels you to feel as the atmospherically old school track runs through its cinematic progressions. While the 808s steadily rattle, the monochromatic vignette that THISMINORITY etched to portray the darkness he pulled himself from keeps you hooked into the classy yet juxtaposing gritty synthetics.

Here is what THISMINORITY had to say about his debut:

“Medi is a reflection on my newfound passion for mass connection and how entertainment, fame, etc come with it. Exploring the concept triggered the epiphany that the things that we need to feel good can destroy us in excess.

Satisfaction, confidence, and love can ultimately lead to greed, ego, and lust. How do I balance? I meditate…”

MEDI is now available to stream on Spotify & SoundCloud.

Follow THISMINORITY via Facebook & Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jeremiah Kingston has launched his infectiously dynamic hip hop debut EP, You’re Not Gonna Like This

Posted on 29 June 2022

Hip hop debuts keep charging onto the airwaves in 2022. Few appeared with as much style, energy, and sub-genre-melding distinction as Jeremiah Kingston’s debut EP, You’re Not Gonna Like This. From party rock hip hop to jazzy tracks, smoky enough to set off your smoke alarms through the sheer sepia-tinged luxe air; it is almost progressively dizzying.

Using reverse psychology in a debut EP title was a bold move, yet it sets a tone for the daring expression contained within. The Charlotte, NC hip hop newcomer created the EP after taking a look around at his life, hating the view and making a move to change it. No stone was left unturned.

Track 3, YNGLT, starts with the cutting lyric, “If my people found out what was going on in my head, they’d leave me in straits”, before launching into a frenetic admission of inner turmoil; that we can all probably relate to these days.

Jeremiah Kingston reminded me exactly why I fell in love with hip hop in the 90s. The larger-than-life personality, the wild energy, the eccentric instrumentals… Anything goes in Jeremiah Kingston’s debut and everything goes together seamlessly, making it one of the most promising we’ve heard this year. We hope there is plenty more in the pipeline.

You’re Not Gonna Like This is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link. Follow Jeremiah Kingston on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Don Favelli rivals Al Pacino in his cinematic new wave rap track, Mobstas Interlude

Posted on 27 June 2022
Don Favelli

Taken from his dynamic hip hop album, COSMIC, which enmeshes old school with the new wave, Don Favelli’s standout hit, Mobstas Interlude, lets the vibe lead the track as much as the 808s that rattle in the minimalist production under Favelli’s dominant rap bars.

With cinematic melodies running against the bars that make it impossible to guess who inspired Favelli to step to the mic in the first place, getting immersed in the atmosphere of Mobstas Interlude is non-optional.

Since making his debut, the San Diego-hailing up-and-coming artist has allowed his lyrical storytelling and cutting introspective to define him. Sonically, he’s all over the urban spectrum. Paying little attention to squeezing his expression into pigeon holes, ultimately aiding an expansive feel to every track.

Check out Don Favelli on his website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

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

Posted on 10 June 2022

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

Lyrical hip hop gained a new laureate with the drop of Dayo’s single, Eat You Alive

Posted on 6 June 2022

Taken from his latest EP, Sui 3: Man in the Mirror, Dayo’s seminal stormer of a single, Eat You Alive, delivers devilishly sharp wit, luxe West Coast hip hop textures, and vocals that will force you to feel every ounce of vehemence thrown into this upraising single.

Ultimately, Eat You Alive proves that pain is your enemy; you should no sooner get into bed with your archnemesis than swallow the self-defeating lies fed to you by your suffering. Do yourselves a favour and make Eat You Alive a playlist staple, it is the perfect reminder that only you can remove the teeth of torment. He’s gone beyond one to watch. He’s one to get fanatic about.

Check out Eat You Alive now on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast