Tag: hip-hop

Song of the Day: Flossed Up – MC Salum x Nova

Continuing his run of exceptional collaborations, MC Salum’s latest single ‘Flossed Up’ features Nova, the winner of Scottish Album of the Year in 2020, and DJ Mag’s Best of British ‘Breakthrough MC’ award. 2022 has seen MC Salum on a roll of versatile singles after his debut album ‘Crocodile DD’ in December, including Bambooz Me feat. Nayme and We Talkin’ feat. Jazz.

Flossed Up uses an edgy, experimental beat from producer Jack Dean, showcasing the two rapper’s ability to work with any rhythm, showing off their versatile nature.

Dundee born, MC Salum encapsulates all things that make a modern artist; MC, producer, rapper, collaborator, and visionary. His sound is laden with a variety of influences, the future of music which has learnt so much from the past. His infectious character draws people to him with each release, asserting a youthful presence in the Scottish scene. He collaborates closely with his good friends and his talent for scouting guest vocalists makes each track fresh and exciting. Together they have fused a sound of R&B with alternative hip hop, all under the umbrella of alternative pop.

Sitting amongst artists like Little Simz, Ghetts and ENNY, Nova won the award for Breakthrough MC/Vocalist in the DJ Mag Best of British Awards in December 2021.

Flirting with drill, rap and RnB sounds, Nova brings a high energy performance to every beat she steps on. Known for her feisty lyrics and stunning performances, she is a multi-award-winning rap artist and singer unafraid to challenge stereotypes as she experiments to create tracks with an independent sound.

Her hard rap debut album ‘Re-Up’ earned her the title of the youngest ever winner of the Scottish Album of the Year Award in 2020. Since then she has released the softer EP ‘WWND’ before turning her focus to writing and releasing singles.

Have a listen to ‘Flossed Up’ below…

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Song of the Day: Like That – Young Franco (ft.Pell & Jafunk)

There is a special energy created when a rapper and stellar producer have an undeniable synergy. Sydney/Eora based YOUNG FRANCO (pictured on the left) and US based rapper Pell are becoming an international duo that perfectly tap into and reflect the power of collaboration, now releasing their 4th collaborative effort ‘Like That’ alongside fellow Perth raised, Berlin producer Jafunk.

Sonically, Young Franco and Jafunk combine to create a track that reflects the golden era of club driven rap music, pioneered in Virginia by production greats including Pharrell, The Neptunes and Timbaland. Its bounce-ready percussion runs perfectly with quickly strummed guitars and a slapping bass line. On the top line front, Pell is in no rush to get his slick bars off, gliding over the beat with an elegance and class before riding it out with an infectious hook its final third.

Young Franco and Pell have a track record of creating successful musical outings. Their first outing, Juice spent 9 weeks at the #1 position on Spotify’s flagship indie playlist Front Left, BBC Radio 1 Spins from Annie Mac and Molly King, as well as featuring as Zane Lowe’s ‘Next Wave’ artist on Beats1. Then followed Fallin’ Apart alongside Denzel Curry, which featured as the soundtrack for an Apple Airpods campaign, which was viewed over 4 million times. It also sat at #1 on the US Shazam discovery Chart for 4 weeks and has seen over 5 million likes on TikTok and 700 million views.

Jafunk enters the equation with distinct swagger and energy. The Perth raised; Berlin based producer has become renowned in local circles for his funky & soulful take on traditional house music. His remix of Set Mo’s Chasing Forever has achieved over 5 million streams, with his follow up songs receiving millions on plays being hosted on tastemaker channels including Majestic Casual, The Sound You Need and Selected.

Young Franco’s past two years have been his biggest yet. He’s currently sitting on over 135 million streams across all singles to date, with over 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify. In that period of time he sound tracked the new-look Australian Football League, and has received global sync’s for brands including Apple, Starbucks, Topshop and Kia. Currently, he’s touring the United States and has locked in massive festival slots at Lollapalooza, Falls Festival, Spilt Milk & Lost Paradise.

Have a listen to this bad-boy tune below…

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Album Review: Pinky’s Boy – DeShaunJay

Coming all the way from San Antonio, rapper DESHAUNJAY delivers his highly anticipated album, ‘Pinky’s Boy.’ Weighing in at a solid 16 tracks, the project saw no previous single releases as DeShaunJay gives fans the entire album in one drop.

Jay delivers solid rhymes and clever lyrics throughout the entire album over trap-esque arrangements that are often sinisterly dark coupled with chant-like overtones. The 29 year old artist shows that he could hold his own, as he takes on each beat with confidence and ease, flourishing from the first track to the one with different flows and topics, keeping the prospective listener engaged at all times.

All in all, DeShaunJay offers up dope rhymes mixed with dope beats creating the perfect feast for those who well and truly appreciate hip-hop. Have a Listen to ‘Pinky’s Boy below…

Must Listens: Reunion, Calvin Ellis, Acrobatics, Pray For Me, On The Line, Schemin

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ATO Returns With EP ‘Side B’ + Video For ‘Nu Balance’.

Rising Northern rapper ATO (pronounced: atu) follows his 2021 Side A EP with the second chapter to the story – ‘Side B’ released last Friday (29th July) via MCMXCV.

Featuring recent singles ‘COLD’ and ‘COURTS’, featuring Jay Bahd, and new unheard singles ‘nu balance’, ‘Straight Light’ and ‘outro’, this highly personal body of work was predominantly written in ATO’s bedroom. Always looking to tell his story both visually and sonically, dropping alongside the EP today is the video for ‘nu balance’ that sees a documentary style snapshot into the life of ATO from the other side of the lens.

Speaking on the EP, ATO says:

“In the time of making SIDE B, I was feeling the fragility of the world around me and found myself more committed to pushing through different feelings and emotions. The project is so desperate to find answers that the honesty is admittedly impulsive and naive at times. I feel that as a result, the vulnerable sides collide with the more resilient moments and give a more holistic reflection on the themes of love, mental health, masculinity, coming of age and pride explored.

Whilst SIDE A marks the birth of what now feels like my sound, I believe SIDE B is more refined than any of my previous projects. The wide range of production influences from stevexcooper, Jonathon Ng and singular balance, inspired me to take steps beyond my comfort zone and experiment more with melody and freestyle than I have done in the past.”

Why not check out ATO’s new EP here and his new video below…

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Listen To WhoisOrion’s Latest Track, ‘Wagwarn King’.

London-based rapper WHOISORION continues with his consistency of releases this year with his latest track ‘Wagwarn King’.

His signature bar-heavy style laces the throwback hip-hop beat produced by established producer, Marow. For this single, WhoisOrion has taken a different approach than usual, touching on more conscious topics. The catchy hook is an easy one for us to sing along to and gives space to take in the message of the record.

‘Wagwarn King’ was released last Wednesday (27th July). Why not hit that play button below…

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