The team behind the late K1 released his posthumous 11-track mixtape, ‘Love Never Dies’, with a portion of the proceeds going to two charities selected by his family, Teenage Cancer Trust and Treetops Hospice. Under the direction of K1 before he lost his battle with the illness, the mixtape is a tribute to him, his hard work, and his legacy that will live on. Losing their loved one so young has been incredibly difficult for his family and friends to process but they will do everything they can to help leave a lasting mark on a scene that K1 loved. ‘Love Never Dies’ includes some familiar fan favourites such as ‘Toxic Veins’ and ‘Tomorrow’ featuring KKEDA.
Born and raised in the East Midlands, K1 made a massive impact since his second single, ‘Broken Hearted Crook’ went viral and firmly put him on the map within the UK’s thriving Rap scene. Coming from outside of the capital fuelled his drive and pushed him to work harder and fight for his place, not only for himself but for Derby. There was so much more than meets the eye with this lyricist, he didn’t want to make one specific style, and he aimed to become one of the most versatile Rappers in the scene, and he did exactly that. K1 cited Eminem, Juice Wrld, XXXTENTACION, Little Tjay and Drake as his biggest influences as an artist.
Some of his career highlights included performing at Wireless Festival, Link Up TV’s HB, Mixtape Madness ‘Cold Room’, and GRM One Mic. K1 had already completed his debut album, which he had planned to drop this year. The whole team behind him are committed to continuing to set out his dream, just as he had intended. Please continue to support K1 and his music – ‘Love Never Dies’ –
Must Listens: Different Man, So Close, Believe, Ain’t Fair,How I Feel In Love
Multi-genre vocalist ILLAMAN (PENGSHUi) reveals an honest new album ‘Sometimes Relax’, with the help of pensive producer Pitch 92 (High Focus). The fresh collection features Dabbla, Dubbledge, PAV4N, fattybassman(PENGSHUi) and Ruby Wood (Submotion Orchestra).
Pairing ILLAMAN’s off-kilter rap style with Pitch 92’s rich, reflective instrumentals, their 14-track project is contemplative and conversational. It expresses the struggles and successes of finding balance in closure, offering an intimate LP of personal and emotional development.
Leading the album is the seamless boom bap vibes of the title track which is accompanied by ILLAMAN’s straight and personal bars. Watch the music video for ‘Sometimes Relax’, Shot by KRUPA.
BAILEY COATS‘ latest single ‘Lying to myself’, is probably her most honest work to date.
Co-written with veteran producer of The Rascals’, Khris Riddick-Tynes – also known for his work with Ariana Grande, Kehlani, and SZA – ‘Lying to myself’ reflects a real-life experience of putting aside her ambitions and passions for the sake of making someone else happy. Worrying about potentially missing out on life, she realized that she had evolved and was no longer the same person she was when she started her romantic relationship. The end result is this lyrically honest track that Bailey hopes encourages her listeners to embrace the truth in themselves and pursue their passion – even if it’s not the easiest choice.
Ready to captivate the hearts of millions globally, Bailey began working with vocal coach Robert “RAab” Stevenson (Justin Timberlake, Dave Matthews, Rihanna, Pharrell Williams, etc.) in 2017. Two years later, she started working with VP of A&R and co-head of Urban Music at Arista Records, and Grammy-award-winning producer, Khris Riddick-Tynes (Ariana Grande, Kehlani, SZA) to provide his expertise and experience on her upcoming projects.
Bailey went on to release her debut single with The Rascals titled ‘Stranger Things’ in 2020 which has amassed over 100k+ streams alone on Spotify. Throughout 2021 and 2022, Bailey continued to release numerous singles, but chose to focus on various songwriting opportunities during this time including her contributions to ‘Clarity’ by ZOE Music which has gone on to amass over 200k+ streams on Spotify.
To start off 2023, Bailey will release more singles leading up to an EP set to release later on this year in addition to several features and collaborations with other artists throughout the year. Bailey strives to be a positive influence on all ages both on and off the stage and she especially desires to be an empowering role model for young individuals everywhere. With a diverse catalog and an ambitious work ethic, each of Bailey’s songs reflects her authenticity and passion as an artist and an individual.
Three years after the release of her seminal debut album ‘The Almanac’, which was championed by the likes of COLORS, HotNewHipHop, and Ladygunn, among others, multidimensional Baltimore lyricist, songwriter, composer, and producer NERU THEE FOURTH FUGEE is finally ready to go again, as she begins to share details of her long-awaited sophomore album titled ‘Greater Than’, which is set to be released in the summer. To whet the appetite for the highly anticipated project, the Maryland native has unveiled the project’s lead single ‘End Daze’ featuring US rap royalty BbyMutha.
Written, arranged, and composed by Neru Thee Fourth Fugee herself, with additional production from Serbian beatsmith Shotta Beatz, ‘End Daze’ is a hard-hitting collaboration from two female rap powerhouses, which sees both Neru and BbyMutha in incomparable form, as both artists flex their lyrical prowess throughout the track from start to finish. ‘End Daze’ is signature braggadocious rap in its best form, with Neru and BbyMutha addressing any detractors, whether those are old school classmates trying to act familiar, or their rap competitors, or the “bxtches hating” on them.
Speaking about the inspiration behind ‘End Daze’, Neru says, “The song was inspired by MF Doom and Vince Staples, while the title itself is a double entendre on ‘End Days’, referencing a catastrophic end-of-the-world event, and ‘In Daze’ connecting those moments when you find yourself lost inside your thoughts. ‘End Daze’ brings a lot of boastful and confident energy, and that’s how I want my listeners to feel when they hear the single – powerful and confident like they can take on the world. I wrote ‘End Daze’ to continue to create balance with my music, but to also show that I cannot be categorized or boxed in – my music and style transcend genres”.
With a genre-defying sound that fuses hip-hop with neo-soul, ambient, funk and psychedelic music, to create her own musical universe, Neru Thee Fourth Fugee stands out for her abstract lyricism, transcendental harmonies, and trance-like kaleidoscopic soundscapes – her music offers a thought-provoking mind-bending listening experience that allows you to use both hemispheres of your brain simultaneously. Neru Thee Fourth Fugee might remind you of early Parliament Funkadelic music, with sprinkles of the great Ms. Lauryn Hill, but she remains firmly in her own artistic lane.
Neru Thee Fourth Fugee is also the founder of Baltimore creative community, AstroKnot Collective, which she birthed in 2021, and has grown to become a staple in Baltimore’s art scene. With a common goal to elevate, cultivate, reciprocate and be great, Neru currently mentors fifteen different artists across the US, through AstroKnot. Made up of diverse musicians, visual artists, designers, and activists, among others, Neru’s AstroKnot collective curate youth drives, art residencies, music videos, concerts, community events, and more, all over the city of Baltimore.
With two critically acclaimed EPs and a seminal album already under her belt, Neru has also shared the stage with stalwarts like The Roots, Danny Brown, Oddisee, Princess Nokia, and JPEGMafia, just to mention a few, while she counts the likes of Pigeons & Planes, COLORS, Brooklyn Vegan, HotNewHipHop, and Sway’s Universe among some of her supporters. In 2023, she plans to release her sophomore album titled ‘Greater Than’, which is set to feature Wu-Tang’s Killah Priest, Metaphor the Great, and BbyMutha, with whom Neru has unveiled her brand new single, ‘End Daze’. Check it out below…
It’s very rare to come across a song that’s a VIBE, which really resonates sonically and lyrically with the soul, but singer/songwriter NONA BROWN perfectly encompasses those qualities in her single, ‘Latter Days/Greater’, out now on various music platforms.
The soothing drive of contemporary soulful jazz arrangements, alongside Nona’s robustly smooth vocal performance (a cross of Ann Nesby of Sounds of Blackness and Patti LaBelle), helps to hone in on the message of the inspirational single which is to: hold on in those dark moments as greater days are coming.
Nona Brown knows all too well what it’s like to be in the depth of despair when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Despite the terrifying experience, the San Francisco native was determined to fight! ‘Latter Days/Greater’ is a testament to her strength and trust in God during this experience; she’s now an eight year cancer survivor. With the turmoil behind her, Nona is now living life to her full potential and was recently elected as the President of the San Francisco Chapter of the Recording Academy, the first black women to serve in that capacity.
Spanning over 25 years, Nona’s music career includes some amazing accomplishments as an arranger and background vocalist on the GRAMMY Award winning Best Children’s Album, ‘A Colorful World’ by Falu and 2022 Telly Award Winner for her ‘Black Lives Matter’ music video co-written with Tony Saunders. Along with her fruitful solo career, Nona is also a member of the jazz trio Brown, Sturgis & Brown.
Nona recorded her first single, ‘I’ll Sing My Song’ back in 1997. In 2019, after writing music for years, she emerged with her Billboard Gospel-charting sophomore release, ‘Songs from my Journal Volume 1’, ranking #14 and #21 in weeks one and two.
She now follows up in 2022 with the project ‘Songs from my Journal Volume 2’ with ‘Latter Days/Greater’ as the lead single, which is a massive favourite with her fan base. The instrumental version of ‘Latter Days/Greater’ features the amazing sound of saxophonist Kevin Moore and has gained the attention of jazz stations around the globe.
Before you head out, have a listen to the stunning single below.