New York’s underground hip-hop heavyweight, SON OF TONY rallied up his troops, fellow underground hip-hop heavyweights, Micky Factz, Skyzoo, Tish Hyman and Ren Thomas for his highly-anticipated debut album, ‘Son On A Sunday’, released on Friday (8th January).
‘Son On A Sunday’ seamlessly transitioned from modern laid-back hip-hop/boombap, (that’s so toe-curling,) to old style rap with samples of old-school soul. The album also features dauntingly airy soundscapes with a rhythmic drumming providing a hard-hitting bass, where each rapper’s flow adding a raw gangstra vibe (listen to ‘No Mercy’ and ‘Zoo’).
So if you’re the type that’s well into underground hip-hop, then you know that ‘Son Of Tony’ and the mentioned featured artists are on top of their game – and you should know that this album should NOT be overlooked…check it out below…
Presenting LARA, a 19-year-old Australian-based keys player, singer/songwriter and producer into today’s hot spot, with her soothing self written alt-pop single, ‘Better Now’.
Classically trained on the piano since the age of eight, Lara has since diversified into R&B/soul, funk, disco, contemporary and electronic music. For the last two years, she has studied music on scholarship with Berklee College of Music in Boston and ventured out on the scene with her debut album ‘Bored Games’, released in late 2019.
2020 saw German-born Lara releasing singles, ‘Wall’ , ‘Circles’ and ‘Better Now’, with an album to follow shortly. ‘Better Now’ was chosen as the blog’s Song of the Day for its serene feather light electropop backdrop, providing the way for the guitar riffs, giving off a 70s inspired soulful rock vibe with harmonic vocals that’s reminiscent of 70’s Stevie Hicks (of Fleetwood Mac)
Lifted from her most recent EP ‘For The Uninformed’, rapper NICKI KNIGHTZ‘s visuals for 1964 (Howlett Drive) tells the tale of Nicki’s mother, a woman from Norwich who, after falling pregnant, found herself living in deepest Hackney.
The Saul Ali-directed video juxtaposes scenes of Nicki recording the track, and having to recall them visiting Norwich, with its canals and parks, a simpler life where survival is not so hard to maintain. She then smacks back to the grim reality of how her mother lost her financial independence and became despondent on the block.
The Detroit music scene has begun to take notice of Rashmi Pandian – otherwise known as MYNA – after releasing her debut EP, ‘ROY G. BIV’ in 2018 fresh out of High School.
Her debut single from the EP ‘Lemon Tree’ has received over 30,000 streams and she was chosen as one of four finalists for the Inaugural 2019 Motown Musician Accelerator, beating over 400 local Detroit based applicants. The young songstress was also selected as a featured artist to represent Detroit at the 2020 SXSW Music & Media Conference in Austin TX.
2020 also saw the release of her second album, ‘I Don’t Wanna Be Here’, a collection of 14 new original songs which possesses a more risque sound, reminiscent of Rhiana’s ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’. Lifted from the 2020 album, MYNA kicks of the year with single, ‘Shady B!tch’. Boasting a strong driving groove, MYNA’s new single talks upfront about two faced friends.
This is one HARD joint…check out the visuals for ‘Shady B!tch’ below…
At the forefront of the Scottish Rap scene, RANSOM FA has built a catalogue of outstanding music which thrust him into the centre of UK Rap, conversations with tastemakers and on to line ups with the UK’s most respected stars including Skepta, Mist and M Huncho. His remarkable lyricism and audible accent makes his music stand out from a competitive crowd, as demonstrated in his starring role in season 1 of the BBC’s ‘The Rap Game’ hosted by DJ Target, Krept & Konan and on recent single ‘Table’ which hit the BBC Radio 1Xtra playlist as BBC Introducing ‘Track of the Week’ and was also handpicked as Jack Saunders ‘Next Wave’ on BBC Radio 1.
Celebrating his wins and affirming his position as ‘Man of the Moment’, Ransom FA’s latest single, comes with production from PenHouse and breathes an air of bold, confident lyricism from the Scotsman.
Ransom FA’s sign out of 2020 is a well-deserved one. A passionate activist in using his platform to pass on opportunities for young Scottish artists, his achievements are a result of his motivation to become a notable black figure in the Scottish music industry and not only inspire but also help to pass on his knowledge. Having built his own studio ‘Ransom HQ’ in Aberdeen to give access to upcoming local musicians, Ransom FA has also completed his own TV show alongside Scunthorpe based rapper F.O.S. on BBC 3 – ‘The Rap Trip’ where the duo travelled the UK to discover and explore the burgeoning Rap communities emerging across Great Britain.
2020 has also seen a slew of releases across YouTube and digital platforms, collaborations, premieres with tastemaker sites Link Up and GRM Daily, support across national radio and celebrated entertainment sites, collaborations with Amazon to grace the pages of Notion magazine and has continued to build his upward spiralling fanbase of over 55,000 followers to go alongside the hundreds of thousands of YouTube views and streams that sit across his online repertoire.
Set to have a momentous 2021 that will continue to break through boundaries and elevate his work in music, TV and philanthropy, like Ransom FA is going to be the ‘Man of the Moment’ for the foreseeable future.
Be sure to check out his EP ‘Momentum’ dropping soon…for now, hit play
New York’s underground hip-hop heavyweight, SON OF TONY rallied up his troops, fellow underground hip-hop heavyweights, Micky Factz, Skyzoo, Tish Hyman and Ren Thomas for his highly-anticipated debut album, ‘Son On A Sunday’, released on Friday (8th January).
New Lease Music 