With production credits for UK rap legend Lowkey, Tournier, rising UK R&B songstress BINA (The Fader, The Pit LDN), Awate (Noisey, BBC 1Xtra, The Line Of Best Fit) and Unsigned Music Award nominated songstress Davina Oriakhi, as well as previous support from the likes of Earmilk, GRM Daily, The Pit LDN, and SoulBounce, for his production work, London producer and musician JUST RYDER slips through his brand new single titled ‘Go’, alongside Tournier, IzzyOT, and Ghanaian rapper Pure Akan.
An international collaboration spanning London, Manchester and Accra, ‘Go’ sees Just Ryder bringing together the disparate musical influences of UK Drill and the eastern-style strings that soundtracked his upbringing as a child of immigrants, supported by driving drums and a grooving bassline that pierce through a soundscape of synths. Through this, he creates a concoction in which heavyweight drill harks back to the sampling of Middle Eastern music by producers such as Timbaland and Scott Storch in the 90s and 2000s. Check it out below…
Mike Body’s Album, ‘Man Myth Legend’ Offers Light After Darkness.
With each track possessing his infamous b-line, which becomes progressively heavy, MIKE BODY‘s latest mixtape, ‘Man Myth Legend’, is a collection of his appreciation for the man upstairs for all the good times after coming out of the darkness and stirring him out of trouble.
containing 11 tracks of life experiences that almost everyone encounter in their lifetime, Christian rapper Mike builds up a line-up who add nothing more than pure spice – Nynandra adds her blazing flow to the sombre bass in second track, ‘God Design’. Further down the line, singer Kendell Kelly adds a smooth soulful touch to ‘Promise’ and M.BENNETT adding his gliding flow to the vibrant guitar-led R&B production, ‘By This All I Know.’
Although he shows appreciation for the Most High, Mike Body also shows love to friends and loved-ones who showed nothing but pure love and support throughout his life. In short, Mike Body urges us to do the same through this tight EP…check it out below, plus the blog’s song recommendations below…
Must Listens: Once Upon A Time, God’s Design, Heartbreak, Grove King, Reach 4 the Stars, How Far We Come
Rapper D’Shaun Taps Producer Benji For EP ‘MDNGHT’
MDNGHT is an EP brought from San Antonio’s D’SHAUN and fellow collaborator, Benji. Texas and Austria connect respectively to bring the 4 piece to your music libraries, filled with nothing but bangers that simultaneously bring smooth vibes along with them. With Benji on the boards, D’Shaun is able to place his full attention to his raps along with mixing and mastering the EP, making sure the project is spicy yet sweet at the same time. DeShaun Jay is the lone feature on the outro ‘God”s Gift’ as both D’Shaun and Jay continue to raise their number of collaborations with one another.
When asked about his and Benji’s relationship, D’Shaun says “I’m pretty sure we met through Instagram a few years back. He is a great producer but even a better dude to just chop it up with, he’s just a real cool dude”. It’s not just “business” between both artists when it comes to collaborating, it’s more of a mutual friendship between two people who happen to be creatives. That relationship makes their art shine even more due to knowing one another on a personal level even if it’s through social media.
“We wanted to see what a whole EP done by us would sound like after he produced some songs on SD2. Even before then, we both agreed to make something spacey and wavy together, Benji really likes spacey sounds”.
MDNGHT stays true to that statement as each track makes you feel like you are floating in the sky, racing through clouds on your own flying nimbus while the project play’s through your headphones.
Hit play on the new EP from both D’Shaun and Benji below…
Must Listens: THE LIFE, 4KEEPS
April Jai Shares Single, ‘Stop Fighting It’
After scooping the number one spot on NEW LEASE MUSIC’s Top Ten Songs of 2022 with powerful ballad, ‘It Ends With Us’, APRIL JAI returns, gracing her presence with a fresh sound for 2023 with new single, ‘Stop Fighting It.’
Sporting a rhythmic bounce of an electro bass, later joined by raucous guitar riffs, ‘Stop Fighting It’ shows the London pop songbird’s sultry side as she seduces a prospective lover who’s trying so hard to resist temptation.
To date, April has released two original EPs as well as a stream of singles – including the TikTok viral hit ‘It Ends With Us’ – which has moved April from “the girl with the guitar next door” to “the queen of sad songs”. April’s ability to tug on emotions through her songs, combined with her trademark chill pop production style gives her the key to her audience’s heart.
Now she turns up heat in her new titillating single…Have a listen below…
Song of the Day: Just Another Day: Asher Kosher (ft. Manik MC & C.REM)
North London rapper ASHER KOSHER – founding member of both the Hackney-based Root 73 studio and acclaimed multi-artist label platform, The Silhouettes Project – returns with the fourth single to be lifted from his forthcoming, as-yet-unannounced new project.
Following opening singles ‘On Our Street’ ft. Bel Cobain, ‘Focus’ featuring Eerf Evil and the biting social commentary of ‘Mug’, ‘Just Another Day’ turns the next page in Kosher’s lyric book. Joining forces with friend, long-term collaborator and COLORS alumni, Manik MC, as well as C.REM, ‘Just Another Day’ paints an unfiltered picture of inner-city life; the grind, the pressure, the vices, but also the friendships forged along the way.
Released alongside a self-directed official video shot across greying London streets – interspersed with shots of Kosher, Manik MC and C-REM enjoying a game of pool in a soft-lit local pub – ‘Just Another Day’ adds more fabric to the patchwork Kosher continues to weave, as he moves closer to announcing his new full-length project.
Raised on a diet of A Tribe Called Quest, Tu-Pac, Eminem and later, UK rappers like Dizzee Rascal, Sway and Choong Family – as well as Benjamin Zephaniah’s 2004 book, ‘Gangsta Rap’ – Kosher’s love of lyricism runs deep.
After spending years honing his craft – including supporting hip-hop royalty in The Pharcyde and KRS1, as well as legendary UK rapper, K Koke during his early twenties – ‘Just Another Day’ lands as another entry point to the evolution of Asher Kosher; rapper, thinker and pillar of his community.
New Lease Music 