Song of the Day: Never Truly – Ria Carval

Recognising that displaying raw emotions is very underrated in today’s music industry, 19-year-old RIA CARVEL presents her heartfelt ballad, ‘Never Truly’, which spans from her personal experience in wanting to know what real and passionate love feels like, through her well-poise and emotive vocals, making a soothing addition to the piano-led production.

Currently a Junior at college, the young singer/songwriter from New York has released two singles, two collaborations and a five-track EP – all self-written and self-produced. Her previous single, ‘Reflections’ garnered over seven million streams across music platforms.

This songstress is well on her way to a very promising career, as she was twice nominated in the BSU Awards at her college for best artist/performer on campus. Have a listen to ‘Never Truly’ below…

Song of the Day: Shell – Marie-Clo

Singer/songwriter MARIE-CLO wrote single ‘Shell’ when she was incredibly sick with polycystic ovary syndrome…and just as her music career was taken off, she found a lump in  breast. As you can imagine, she felt defeated as well as petrified.

Possessing a soothing alt-pop drive, ‘Shell’ chronicles Marie-Clo’s above journey and her fears of death. Despite the uncertainly for the future, she pushed through her anxiety and trauma – along with a cocktail of emotions she was experiencing – and continued with her first love – music.

Taken from her brand new EP, ‘Shell(e) Pt II’, out now on all various download/streaming platforms, ‘Shell’ is a message for anyone – especially women – to keep on shining, no matter how great the battle appears to be.

Watch the video for the single below, directed by Aaron Desilva.

Song of the Day: Triggz – CGAF

Making his debut on grime legend D Double E’s independent label ‘Bluku Music’, East London rapper TRIGGZ delivers his hard hitting single ‘C.G.A.F’.

As the first signing to the label, D Double E explains what it is about Triggz that led the way for the partnership, “we go way back, he is one of the coldest rappers, he’s been rapping before it was the ting in the UK”.

Bringing a mix of grime, trap and rap with a visual blessing for ‘C.G.A.F’, D Double E’s comments are quickly confirmed as Triggz touches the mic. The single has a dark and gritty feel with a ‘matter of fact’ delivery from Triggz with his cold punchlines and metaphors. Having always been in the standing of grimes legends since the early 2000’s, Triggz first found his status as part of ‘G Force’, making tracks including ‘Blast You’ featuring Kano as well as working with D Double E, Jammer and the wider East London grime scene, quickly gaining a reputation for his weighty raps and emcee skill.

With Bluku Music being the brainchild of D Double E and his cousin/manager Danny Dixon, the duo have welcomed major success to the label via D Double E’s independent releases and first studio album ‘Jackum’. Based on a strong foundation of grime and DIY experience, it is now that they are branching further into the scene to nurture the genuine grime sound and major players as demonstrated with Triggz and further signings that include Mytus and producer Diamondz.

Hinting at a slew of further releases, that also include a collaborative mixtape that will undoubtedly include more hard hitting lyricism from Triggz, D Double E says “We got some special bits for you to hear very soon. And trust me the Bluku Music Mixtape is going to be a mad ting”.

Get your first taste here and check out the video for Triggz’s ‘CGAF’ below…

Song of the Day: 9 Deep Breaths – Fabian Secon

FABIAN SECON‘s self-written single, ‘9 Deep Breaths’ is probably his most honest work to date. The track encapsulates his lo-fi, genre-spanning sound with Fabian revealing his battle with anxiety on a daily basis:

“Anxiety’s the villain to my brain / Looks to kill me anytime of day / My guilty thoughts rain on my parade / And 9 deep breaths to get me through the day”, he sings. But there’s also a sense of determination and hopefulness in the lyrics too: “But I’m strong as an ox or tiger teeth / No I won’t let this defeat me / Screaming out, how hard can it be? / Facing myself the enemy”.

Fabian has built up an impressive fanbase organically over the last couple of years, with over 30 million streams globally across all platforms – a huge feat as an independent DIY artist. On Spotify alone, he currently has close to 250,000 monthly listeners and several tracks that have crossed the one million barrier.

So if you’re currently suffering from depression or anxiety, remember you’re not alone as this guy has been through it all, despite his impressive record in the industry. Check out the Lyric video for ‘9 Deep Breaths’ below…

Song of the Day: Roots – IYKZ

London based Nigerian rap artist IYKZ has been releasing music independently since 2012, and has always felt that something’s been missing; a connection of some sort. The story; his story, the good the bad and the ugly. The story of his background, IYKZ’ Roots.

“The process of being comfortable in our own skin takes years, and such growth should be celebrated.” – IYKZ

IYKZ is of African decent, he’s Nigerian, patriotic and proud. Having previously collaborated with the likes of Maleek Berry and gaining millions of streams on Spotify, as well as support from tastemakers at BBC 1Xtra and KISS Fresh, IYKZ continues his upward trajectory. This single is what he feels those feelings of inner love and peace sound like. With the rich afro-inspired rap production from Ransom Beatz (Davido, Big Tobz, Runtown), IYKZ explores memories of his childhood, showing his journey much gratitude and adoration….

Why not join him on his nostalgic journey and have a listen to ‘Roots’…