Following their appearance with music video for track, ‘Sometimes Relax’ which claimed the blog’s Music Video of the Week over on Instagram, rapper ILLAMAN and producer PITCH 92 returns with another video for banger, ‘Absolutely Tidy,’ featuring Foreign Beggars’ own PAV4N. This is the fourth video lifted from ILLAMAN and Pitch 92’s joint album, Sometimes Relax.
Check out the video below, directed by Honey JD…
Philippines-born, Las Vegas-based multi-faceted musician, EZ MIL, who both raps and sings, shares the official music video for track ‘Podium’ out today. The tenacious, versatile deluxe version of his second album, DU4LI7Y: REDUX, out everywhere now following his recent signing to Eminem and Dr. Dre’s Shady Records/Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records. Mil joins the likes of 50 Cent as only a few of the artists signed directly to all three labels.
Ez Mil’s latest music video for ‘Podium,’ directed by Alexey Figurov, is an ominous, dark visual shot in black and white that accompanies his relentless, haunting flow. On the track, Ez Mil begins to process his new role as a rising rapper–someone others might look up to–and the mix of fear and excitement that comes with it. Though Ez is used to directing and editing his videos, he enjoyed letting Figurov help create his vision. Ez Mil says the video, to him, is raw, adding, “It is an unfiltered reflection and a glimpse into my artistry.” Figurov says the video aims to, “recreate the complexity and versatility of the human personality. To explore our negative sides and a person’s craving for self-destruction.” The video’s black-and-white color scheme complete with red accents was a creative suggestion from Eminem himself.
Ez Mil shares the song is, “dedicated to the powers that be. It sheds light on how rappers or writers sometimes feel like politicians with the truth behind what they say and the fear they feel of what might happen as someone in a position of influence.” Aware of his role as someone with a platform and a microphone, Ez Mil hopes to make friends and family proud as he propels into the next phase of his flourishing career. Check out the video for ‘Podium’ below…
Canadian hip-hop artist ARLO MAVERICK‘s video for new single, ‘Night Shift,’ offers a portrait of a person wrestling with the increasing demands of getting by and fulfilment, and positions Maverick as a chronicler of modern day working-class woes. The tune will appear on his upcoming release, Blue Collar, set for release on 20th October.
On the track, Maverick ponders the tension between balancing making ends meet and material success, and the overwhelming sacrifices made to reap the rewards. The video, co-directed and edited by Maverick and featuring emcees KazMega and Just Moe, depicts various people – a labourer, an office worker, and a janitor – grinding through a day of work.
“We wanted the video to be an honest representation of what sacrifice sometimes looks like for people hustling to get ahead,” says Maverick. “Being able to share the fruits of that labour with family is what makes it all worthwhile.”
Through a succession of buoyant, march-like beats, the track mirrors the monotony of work, while Maverick delivers the bleary-eyed refrain, “Working that night shift/I just want to go home/I just want to go home/I just want to go home.”
“This song shows the impact of shift work on your health and happiness; how you miss important moments in your family’s lives, and how these typically dead end jobs offer no possibility for advancement,” Maverick adds. “The dilemma we face in trying to live our best lives and make our families happy is often more overtime and less time together.”
Much of the themes on Blue Collar revolve around a universal pursuit of purpose, prosperity, and happiness, from the disillusionment of the job market after graduating from college to the gratification of indulging in material things to being undervalued at a 9 to 5. It’s an album that tries to capture the seemingly endless balancing act to meet our personal needs, satisfy our wants, and get ahead in an economic environment that makes it harder and harder to do so.
‘Night Shift’ is out now, with more to come from Maverick as he preps the release of his second full-length solo album. Check out the video for the track below…
Exacting their focus on 2023, rising Leeds collective GOTTS STREET PARK unveil their sultry new single ‘Mountains’. The track is the latest from their forthcoming debut album, ‘On The Inside’, releasing 13th October 2023 via label-home, Blue Flowers.
Close behind recent singles ‘Got To Be Good’ ft. Pip Millett and ‘Fuego’, new offering ‘Mountains’ sees Gotts Street Park deliver a remarkable rap-soul reckoning with ‘Peng Black Girls’ hitmaker, ENNY. A union from its early notes that submerges listeners into another cinematic Gotts Street Park experience.
Replete with their seamless grooves of reel-to-reel keys, guitars and snares, ‘Mountains’ doubles down on the rising trio’s mesmerising, moving and marvelously inventive sound. A sound that demands to be shared, while marking a milestone in the evolution of one of the UK’s most spellbinding collectives.
Debut album ‘On The Inside’ is a 12-track window into Gotts Street Park’s world. It’s a world that has been expanding since the group was formed in Leeds by Josh Crocker (bass, production), Tom Henry (keys) and Joe Harris (guitar). What began as an outlet for their shared love for sixties Motown, soon became a jewel in the Yorkshire scene’s creative crown, with over 65 million Spotify streams to their name and some of hip-hop and pop’s most exciting emerging voices requesting collaborations: Celeste, Kali Uchis, Yellow Days and Rachel Chinouriri are just a few of the acts the band have individually written/produced for. In 2021, the trio dropped Diego, a cinematic EP inspired by The Godfather and the works of Japanese auteur Yasujirō Ozu. After building legions of fans with velvety singles like Everything feat. Devon-born singer Rosie Lowe and Favourite Kind of Girl feat. Swedish talent Flikka, it was a cinematic curve-ball that underlined their impossible-to-pin-down energy.
Diego bolstered Gotts Street Park’s reputation as analogue-inspired visionaries carving something new from something old, with Loud and Quiet, BBC 6 Music, Clash and The Line of Best Fit among the outlets singing their praises.
Check out the suitably moody black and white video for ‘Mountains’ below, directed by Harvey Pearson.
Known his dynamic delivery and witty wordplay, veteran rapper BULLET BRAK returns with an old-school inspired joint, ‘Fan Blades’, out now across various music streaming sites.
The spellbinding Maryland-born entertainer is now living in SouthWest, Florida and has worked with heavyweights such as Papoose, Grafh, OT The Real, The Beatnuts, Noreaga, Curren$y, The LOX, Gunplay, Torch, Ty Dolla $ign, Torae, Chevy Woods, Termanology, Chris Rivers and more.
‘Fan BLades’ follows his track, ‘Done With It’, featuring OT The Real. Check out the video below…
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