Receiving support from Spin Millz on Reprezent and Kalex Willzy on This Is Westside, Direction Recordingz and London’s upcoming artist, ASHTON RUSSELL release the brand new single ‘Might Aswell’.
Accompanied by cinematic visuals directed by Ashton himself and Sponge, the radio-ready anthem sees Ashton delivering melodic vocals amongst bars that echo the sentiment of living a ‘YOLO’ lifestyle at life’s crossroads.
With his ability to create a genre-fluid sound, Ashton endeavours to become a household name with this impressive new single. The piano-laced production on this record comes from Power and Zay.
From the richly talented Philadelphia hip-hop community comes the new single ‘On Top’ from impassioned rapper JONRAH featuring $Harllan, Black Steel and Breadman.
The new single is one of the first releases to hit the streets from Breadman’s new moodGroov imprint and is already receiving highly positive reviews from local DJs and radio programmers. With top-notch beat production from Andyr, ‘On Top’ is cream of the crop. Check out the official video for the single below…
Following his indefinite break from music and social media over the summer, UK cloud rap artist, producer NTHN returns with single, ‘REINTRODUCTION’, an announcement of his continuation with music and a recount of his journey so far as an artist.
Delivered as spoken word over a haunting, hazy instrumental, he describes his experiences through a stream-of-consciousness approach, directly addressing the listener. In this intimate monologue, NTHN references his previous releases and describes why he continues to create after nearly giving up on music, detailing his struggles with mental health and as an independent artist in a highly competitive industry. The accompanying video shows the artist in silhouette in his home studio where he wrote and recorded his previous project, Skylight EP.
NTHN – also a member of independent collective eighteenSAINT, founded with close friends Fletcher, James & Teorstan – followed up ‘REINTRODUCTION’ with ‘Apologies’, a Dark R&B/Cloud Rap crossover, exploring feelings of unnecessary self-blame and the journey to overcome them.
Following the release of his last single, the soulful and aspirational ‘Up & Up (Heavens Above)’, which was supported by the likes of Capital Xtra, KISS FM, Amazing Radio, No Signal, Wordplay Magazine and GUAP Magazine, among others, British rap artist and producer AKS aka the “three letter man” is back with an introspective and deeply personal new single titled ‘PARITY’, as he continues to tease towards his long-awaited third EP As Plane As Day: Departures & Arrivals, which will conclude the South London wordsmith’s long-running ‘Modes of Transport’ EP series.
Produced by AKS himself, under the veiled moniker #3Letters, with live instrumentation from guitarist Adrian Remedy (Ed Sheeran), bass player Benjamin Muralt (Ledisi, Ill Camille, Pixie Lott) and keyboardist Charlie Stacey (Yussef Dayes), ‘Parity’ is a rich and textured rap track, layered with lush synth keys, glorious melodies and vibrant guitar licks, over which AKS wears his heart on his sleeves in truly captivating fashion. Switching up his rap flow into a bouncy melodic quickfire rhyme iteration that captures your attention, AKS speaks honestly to the pressures and aspirations of a black father.
Speaking about the inspiration behind ‘Parity’, AKS says, “The song is about purpose really. The notion that we do the best we can for our kids so that their starting point in life is beyond where ours was. I’m sure that was also our parent’s aim, and in that from generation to generation, there’s a sense of commonality in that. Parity. I wanted to explore generational differences – both the things that separate us from the generations that came before us, and those points of commonality that unite us. Like, wanting the best for your kids is universal right?”
Unpacking the record further, AKS adds that ‘Parity’ was “born out of conversations I was having with other parents about the hopes and dreams that they had for their kids and the struggles they had with their own parents. More and more, I realised that many of the choices that we’re making as parents are the same choices that our own parents were faced with, and try as we might to step with our best foot forward and usher in a world that we’d be happy for our children to inherit, some of those aspirations don’t come to fruition. We’re all learning on the job. Still, we pour out our best for them”.
Heralded as one of the finest lyricists in the UK by the likes of Hypebeast and Okayplayer, with co-signs from Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Jay-Z collaborator Young Guru, AKS has always had a real sense of palpable excitement around his music from fans and critics alike. While his last EP Train Of Thought earned him two nominations at the inaugural Unsigned Music Awards, and his last single ‘Up & Up’ was championed by DJ Semtex at Capital Xtra and KISS FM’s Ellie Prohan, the South London native is excited for what’s to come as he gears up to close out his ‘Mode Of Transport’ series in 2022.
Memphis rap star NLE CHOPPA‘s energetic single ‘Jumpin’, featuring Chicago rapper Polo G serves as the first release from Choppa’s EP ‘Me vs. Me’, released last Friday (3rd December). The fiery track finds the duo in search of cash and come ups. An accompanying cinematic video explores similar themes, featuring the pair in a multi-act heist story fit for the big screen.
‘Jumpin’ puts Choppa’s precise flows at centre stage. Flipping through flexes and delirious threats, the track lets him show off what he does best. “Play with my cash and I’m on your ass,” he raps. “Like the pockets on the back of your pants.” His ability to blend clever one-liners with a sense of menace is on full display, an approach that Polo also adopts on his melodic verse.
The accompanying visual plays like a classic heist film, with Choppa and Polo serving as the stars. Armed with guns, masks, an armored truck, and dazzling grills, the duo embark on an epic bank robbery, only to get into a shootout with the cops. Like Robin Hood, though, the crew escapes, and the pair end the video chuckling with one another, thumbing through their spoils.
Last year marked his first Top 100 single and 1Xtra playlist in the UK with ‘Walk Em Down’ featuring Roddy Rich and this along with his release with Lil Baby ‘Narrow Road’, another UK success was supported by Tiffany Calver, Tim Westwood, Kenny Allstar
This new collaboration is the latest track in a wildly successful year for NLE Choppa. In August he released the hard-hitting ‘Mmm Hmm,’ which followed June’s poignant, introspective ‘Letter to My Daughter.’ On April 1, he dropped his beloved ‘First Day Out,’ a freestyle over SpotemGottem’s ‘Beat Box.’ The video has since achieved 65 million views on Youtube and the track was eventually reissued as an official remix called “Beat Box 4.” Back in January, Choppa dropped ‘Picture Me Grapin,’’ with a video paying homage to Tupac Shakur. The visual was released at 11:11 AM on January 22, playing up Choppa’s fascination with numerology and spiritual enlightenment.
Choppa continues to push himself and the culture forward. He crashed the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 with his 2020 debut album, Top Shotta. He achieved a record run of 24 weeks atop Billboard’s Emerging Artists Chart. To date, he has gathered 5 billion-plus global streams, six RIAA-certified plaques, a spot on the 2020 XXL Freshman list, and a nomination for the 2020 BET Hip-Hop Awards’ Best New Artist and was recently featured on Billboard’s “21 Under 21” list.
With ‘Jumpin,’ Choppa continues his run as one of the most exciting MCs out, in addition to proving his mettle as a worthy collaborator. With Polo G joining on the ride, NLE Choppa has converted his momentum into another hit.
Why not check out the video for ‘Jumpin’ (released on NLE Entertainment/Warner Records)
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