New Music Video: Smack ’em All – J. Kas (ft. Cryptic Wisdom)

Sheffield spitter J.KAS has been cooking up some new material which includes a brand new visual for track, ‘Smack ’em All’ from the EP ‘Hometown’.

The the four-minute production came to fruition when the BBC Introducing artist was in the process of moving home and had two burning bins in the backyard for unwanted items. A lightbulb moment came and J.KAS called a local upcoming videographer, Shakeel Robinson – and here it is!

The video is a filler in the run up to the official release of the ‘Snapchat EP’ (June 2017), which will be accompanied by videos to ‘All Night (Sugah, Sugah)’ and ‘Snapchat (Ain’t No Killing My Vibe’. Also there will be a another track dropping titled ‘Dem Gyal Deh’, which features Sheffield alumni Franz-Von of K.O.G. And The Zongo Brigade.

Mixtape Review: First Things First – Kid Cut

First things first – no pun intended – KID CUT is not messing around with his debut project, ‘First Things First’ . His ambition for a place in the underground hip-hop scene is felt in his fire-skippy flow and every word he presents.

The collection caught fire from the very beginning, alternating between uptempo blazing beats and laid back, after hours mixture of R&B and hip-hop, driven by a go-all-hard bassline. Deeper into the mixtape and that bassline only gets infectiously dense with KID CUT going all in by putting that extra oomph into his delivery.

I’m telling you, this guy is a real contender; check out his work.

Must Listens: Feel Alive, Scrub, Telling Lies, Unreachable, Love Kid Fuck Cut.

New Track: Opposite Interests – Artan

Cultivating a buzz in the underground music scene, ARTAN elevates the levels even further with the release of his brand new single ‘Opposite Interests’.

Entwining slick melodies with clever rap verses, ARTAN gives a fresh dimension to his music as he makes a seamless transition between singing and rapping- alternating between different flows.

The enchanting instrumental consisting of xylophone and piano samples echoes through the introduction and bleeds into his opening hook. The production, courtesy of Katmundu, oozes with summer vibes and gears us up for the season.

2016 opened the floodgates to a wave of interest following his debut release on Bl@ckbox, where he demonstrated his fiery flow. This consequently lead to an array of support from major online platforms such as Link Up TV, GRM Daily and SBTV for his latest releases.

‘Opposite Interests’ is taken from his debut E.P ‘Breaking Stereotypes’, released last Wednesday, which captures ARTAN’s eclectic sounds and delivery.

So here’s your chance to check out the first installment from his latest E.P.

New Track: Sacrifice – A1 (Drake cover)

A1 kicks off Monday with his take on Drake’s slammer, ‘Sacrifice’. The cover track is the third installment from the series #A1Mondays, where this Washington D.C. emcee put his spin on recent hip-hop hits from the mainstream, on Mondays of this month.

A1‘s previous installment, Honey was recently named Song of the Week by NEW LEASE MUSIC…let’s see if his latest offering follow suit…check it out!

EP Review: Art 2 – Ugly Savaje

A few weeks back, a young rap contender by the name of UGLY SAVAJE hit my mailbox with his latest EP, ‘Art 2’, requesting some feedback on the set…and naturally, I was honoured give my opinion…

The mini project started off on a strong footing, with ‘Set it Off’ and ‘That One Love Song’. This young emcee knows how to slam down an electrifying flow against the chilled out, seriously head rolling bass.

Going further along the EP, the flame created from the start, begins to extinguish. It’s a crying shame as the quality of the beats come heavily distorted which, unfortunately, drown out the upriser’s delivery. It’ll be great if UGLY SAVAJE mix it up with arrangements that’s fun and uplifting, perhaps fusing hip-hop with R&B or pop music.

Personally, ‘Art 2’ doesn’t fully showcase UGLY SAVAJE as a creditable wordsmith, but with the right background tracks, he has the potential to be great.

Have a listen for yourself.