rescuing musical virtue in distress.
Music which owes its origins to the hip-hop scene of the early 70’s, which is essentially everything which can be loosely termed urban music, has always worn its heart on its sleeve. Plus, there has always been a central duality in its message. It is music from the streets dealing with the tough grind of... Continue Reading →
Blending trap beats and trippy sonics, laid-back lyrics and understated soundscapes, Ded Diary Volume 4 is the 5th EP from multi-disciplinarian and rapper Ded Stark. There are many routes to be taken through the urban music landscape, some obvious and aggressive, confrontational and cock-sure, others more understated, more intimate and it is the latter path... Continue Reading →
Stuntboi Nard hasn’t got time for your chit chat, his time is too precious, he has more important things to do with his life. That’s the message at the heart of the aptly named Chit Chat. Taking his trade mark trap grooves, skittering percussion running over depth-charge bass pulses, he lays out his sonic mission... Continue Reading →
City Inside The Desert is, in many ways, a love letter to Phoenix, Arizona. But it is also one based in reality. Rather than mythologise and pander to the cities image, Rocadopolis takes an honest look at his home town's beating heart, pulling no punches whilst clearly proud to be from that place. And it... Continue Reading →
Hip-hop has always dreamt big. Whereas many quarters of music have struggled with the battle of perceived integrity versus commercial success, Hip-hop artists have largely been okay with proudly saying - “I want it all and I want it now!” It pays to be honest, I guess. Ro$ewood Renegade is one of those artists happy... Continue Reading →
You get so used to hip-hop and rap being built of sharp lyrical edges and pounding backbeats, of being bombastic and in your face that when something like Live to Ball comes along it seems like a wonderful breath of fresh air. What King Femi seems so good at is taking all those tried and... Continue Reading →
As this album kicks off with short opener Hate Me, you wonder if your speakers are going to survive. The bass line that drives the song is less about creating a groove and more akin to sonic warfare, a strange blend of rap, industrial drone music and sonic aggression. From there things calm down a... Continue Reading →
If rap and hip-hop and the more modern sounds which have coalesced around them are defined largely by the lyrical flow and dexterity of the delivery, then one listen to Trust from Lil Dream’s latest e.p. proves that this is an artist who deserves to be on a very exclusive short-list. Not only does he... Continue Reading →
There is redemption in creativity. More and more often people are turning to artistic pursuits - art, poetry, writing and particularly music - to help combat inner demons and past problems and that is exactly the reason that Austin Arndt was drawn to the music making process. Under the name YT (a stylised version of... Continue Reading →
Despite current divisions which may suggest otherwise, The USA has always been a land of cultural cross-pollination. A place where different cultures creatively crash together to create the sights and sounds of the future. Prince Ngu, a Cameroonian artist who now calls Boston home, is the perfect example of this process. Energy is the sound... Continue Reading →
I’m sure if one of those early hip-hop pioneers could time travel from their 70’s South Bronx street corner to the present day, they would be amazed at how far the scene that they set in motion in those youth centres and parties has come. But that is the point isn’t it? It’s all about... Continue Reading →
There is a strange mixing of worlds going on in the sonic fabric of Jonathan Scott’s new release. It balances the expected skittering trap beats and a lazy R&B groove with some less expected sounds, shimmering harps and cascades of oriental strings but then why not? Why look to the music of the past when... Continue Reading →
The great thing about being in what I refer to as the “post-genre” world is that it encourages people to be truly experimental. Go back a generation or two, to a time when music still displayed its tribal qualities, and this was not the case. Genres were boxes into which music had to fit, strict... Continue Reading →
Hip-Hop and therefore rap and all the other sub-genres that it spawned has always been an authentic way of talking about the underground and often dangerous lifestyle of those making such music at a grassroots level. Commerciality may now be more of a driving force for the music being made by people from those tough... Continue Reading →
This is the third time I have reviewed a release from this artist in as many months, you can’t deny that he has to be one of the hardest working rappers out there. You would have thought that by now I would be getting quite familiar with his style, his approach, his attitude towards making... Continue Reading →
Not every piece of music has to start revolutions, similarly not every track has to merely re-invent the wheel, and between the cutting edge and the tried and tested you find ether.UNLIMITED, a blend of old-school, grooving hip-hop, confident street level rap and skittering backbeat vibe. Okay, we have all heard something similar before, sort... Continue Reading →
I’m always wary around rap, hip-hop, urban…call it what you will... music. Not that there is inherently anything wrong with such genres, of course not, it's just that as part of my music writing income there is a place where I am employed to review new, emerging and unsigned music from a more A'n'R point... Continue Reading →
There is one line in particular that stands out on this debut from Ben Green, "Don’t go dumb while the world goes stupid, gotta stay above it all keep that bird's eye view," a phrase charged with a lot of relevance to the world today. It could refer to anyone, the everyday person in the... Continue Reading →
Reem is telling it like it is. One of the great things about rap music is that it looks you in the eye, shoots from the hip and draws first, firing off salvos of reality, truth bullets packet with explosive honesty. But what do you do when it's those closest to you that are the... Continue Reading →
Revelling in the past is all very well and good but the best music, or at least the most original, seems to be made as people move things forward. It’s all about evolution, it’s about forward-thinking, it is the way the world turns. Living My Life is the sound of the world turning and music moving... Continue Reading →
Hip-Hop and therefore rap and all the other sub-genres that it spawned has always had a love of the hedonistic lifestyle. Commerciality may now be more of a driving force for the music being made on those tough streets but it never lost its sense of wanting more, craving success and the glamour of the... Continue Reading →
What's in a name? Ambient hip-hop? Trip-rap? Space-Trap? Sure, I’m just making things up now but truly original music requires you to do that and Living My Life comes from a truly original place. Rap, hip-hop, urban music, call it what you will genres are a thing of the past anyway, has come a long... Continue Reading →
Revelling in the past is all very well and good but the best music, or at least the most original, seems to be made as people move things forward. It’s all about evolution, it’s about forward-thinking, it is the way the world turns. Eye For An Eye is the sound of the world turning and music... Continue Reading →
Leading Nuh Race is a strange creation, one which sits at the cross roads of a number of conflicting ideas. It combines a soundtrack feel with a forward thinking rap work out, it has the honesty of a live take, an improvised flow (check out the unedited noises before the vocals start) but comes with... Continue Reading →
As previous releases have proved, Hot Dizzy speaks about the world as he sees it. He doesn’t trade in fantasy scenarios or dream-laden ambitions, he trades in stories that reflect his own life, spins tales where he is the central character commenting on the highs and lows of life from a very personal point of... Continue Reading →
Not every piece of music has to start revolutions, similarly not every track has to merely re-invent the wheel, and between the cutting edge and the tried and tested you find Gutta Mayne, a blend of old-school, grooving hip-hop, confident street level rap and skittering backbeats vibe. Okay, we have all heard something similar before,... Continue Reading →