Toronto hip hop artist K-RIZ‘s afterhours single, ‘What A Shame’, documents the depths of accountability and his own part in the dissolution of a past relationship.
“Sometimes I think as men we don’t take enough responsibility for our part in relationships failing,” K-Riz says. “I have made my share of mistakes, and sometimes loving someone is not enough. I’m in a very honest place in my life right now, and this EP is an expression of that.”
‘What a Shame’ forms part of his new EP, ‘The Room’, released last Friday (18th December). The EP was written by K-Riz while recovering from injuries sustained in a June 2020 car accident. The title signifies the room in which the album was conceived and the mental space and time he was given to reflect and create.
The five-track set includes track, ‘A Place Where Love Is’ which offers up a brightness to the unrelenting events of 2020. Built around jazzy piano loops and whip smart verses, the track features the honeyed notes of Calgary songstress Yolanda Sargeant (of Sargeant X Comrade).
Following his debut on the blog’s Song of Day hotspot with neon-trap single, ‘Demon’ back in the summer, FAYME bounces right back with brand new single titled ‘Ghost’.
For this release, the Leicester-based artist/producer teams up with Australian producer, Avalon, who gave ‘Ghost’ its simple acoustic melodic introduction in order to create a folk song, inspired by Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes. The tranquil intro was later joined by melancholic synths (inspired by James Blake’s electronic sound from ‘The Colour In Anything’) and dancehall drums, giving the production a hard-hitting yet a very edgy/catchy vibe. The track invites us – the listeners – to channel the emotions of a ghost who is lonely and misses his lover.
Fayme describes his offering as electro folk…personally, I would described this single as electro Afro. What do you think? Have a listen to ‘Ghost’ below…
South London artist and producer AINA MORE could easily be described as one of UK rap’s best kept secrets, or perhaps one of the UK’s best new and emerging rap artists.
Having already been championed by tastemakers such as BBC Radio 1, The FADER, MTV and BBC 1Xtra, among others, and with The BRIT Awards featuring her on their BRITs compilation album a few years ago, the British Nigerian native should firmly be on your radar. On the off chance that she isn’t, Aina More is back in the frame to make sure of it!
She closes out 2020 with a fiery new track titled ‘Destiny’ and an equally fierce music video to go with it. Co-produced by Aina More herself and long-time collaborator Musiek Mambu, the track opens with an attention-grabbing sample of the Seun Kuti afrobeat classic ‘Bad Man Lighter’, before Aina More gets in her bag for two minutes straight, as she waxes lyrical in braggadocios fashion, about everything from her superior rap skills to decrying false prophets to the excellence of black women, while giving listeners an update on what she’s been up to this year.
Speaking about the inspiration behind ‘Destiny’, Aina More says, “With what I’ve been creating lately, there’s so much that I’m going to give of myself musically in the coming year, I have this unquenchable hunger to express myself freely, and ‘Destiny’ is the first part of that. Lyrically, I needed to remind everyone of just who Aina More is, and overall, I feel it represents my identity well, even down to the Oye 2.0-directed visuals – I’m very authentically Yoruba, but I’m also that girl that grew up in London, and sometimes I let my ego just do its own thing”.
With a fusion sound that can be described as a cross between Kendrick Lamar, Skepta and Fela Kuti, and a performance prowess that has seen her touring with Professor Green and opening for her idol Lauryn Hill, Aina More is typified by her unapologetic lyricism and cutting edge sonics, as highlighted as far back as her 2016 EP ‘For People With Short Attention Spans’ as well as subsequent tracks like ‘Girls Killing It’, ‘Afrikan Lady’ and ‘Healer’ that led to rave reviews and support from the likes of BBC Radio 1, The FADER, MTV and The BRIT Awards.
Calgary rapper Lyrique has unveiled the video for his track, ‘Hunger,’ coming off his recently released debut full-length album, P.I.M.P. (Poetry Is My Pleasure). With wielding flashy future beats and a ravenous flow, the track’s message is simple: stay hungry.
Against a backdrop of contemporary landmarks and freshly painted murals (see: Jae Sterling’s homage to Black Albertans and an abstract work by artists Wilmer Aburto, Rosa Sana, Colin Menzies, and Harvey Nichol, who also appears in the video alongside Lyrique), the video is as much a love letter to the rapper’s vision of Calgary as it is a display of solidarity to other tenacious young artists striving for greatness.
Check out the video to Lyrique’s track ‘Hunger’ below…
A true force to be reckoned with and an artist at the top of his game, Norwich-based pop singer/songwriter MULLALLY creates powerful material that genuinely connects to listeners through his passion for music, dedication and conviction that can be heard in every word he sings.
Using his music as a platform to maintain a conversation on mental health, ‘Lonely Too Long’ is written about the apprehension of falling in love because of the fear of heartbreak and being left lonely all over again. With loneliness being such a big theme in his writing, Mullally has decided to work with The Marmalade Trust to bring awareness around loneliness, especially during such harrowing times.
Speaking more on this, Mullally explained: I wanted to capture thesadness of being lonely and the joy of finding someone, all in the same track. This track is really close to my heart because even though it’s written about a very particular point in my life, it manages to pop back up and be relevant over and over again as life continues. I wrote this almost 3 years ago with Eg White and Jon Green, two amazing musicians, so I’m thrilled that I can finally share this song. I’m also excited to be working with Marmalade Trust to bring awareness around loneliness in the UK.
He’s a rapidly rising star with building dialogue around him having had support from Radio 1’s Huw Stephens, 1Xtra’s DJ Target, Beats 1 and MTV along with supporting Annie Marie, Jess Glynne, Rag ’n’ Bone Man, Clean Bandit and many more on tour.
Make sure you look out for more powerful material from this talented guy in 2021…but for now, check out ‘Lonely Too Long’ below:
Toronto hip hop artist K-RIZ‘s afterhours single, ‘What A Shame’, documents the depths of accountability and his own part in the dissolution of a past relationship.
