EP Review: Dreamlife – J Kas

The reason why I admire this guy so much – and is forever welcomed on this blog – because he’s fearless, always coming with something different every single time.

His previous projects ‘Snapchat’ and ‘One Six’ is a mix bag of electro dance with Latin flair, spiced up banishment and smooth after hours jams. On the other side of the spectrum, his recent collaboration with Cellar Door Moon Crow sees the Sheffield hip-hop contender step up to the plate and rip through the sporadic rock chords.

Now J.KAS turn his hands to something completely different with latest project, ‘Dreamlife’. Named after a London producer who produced some of his past materials – including ‘Cali Dreaming’ and ‘To The Top’ (from One Six EP) – the four-track set possess a strong of presence hazy golden hip-hop/boombap, where this BBC introducing artist’s smooth delivery rapidly slides through the bars of each track.

Never the one to sit back and relax, J.KAS took his latest set on tour – named after the EP- across Europe, visiting Belgium, Paris, Porto and Lisbon where he encouraged the locals of each city to get involved in the creative process of the music videos.

Here’s your chance to check out the visuals for first single from the EP ‘Overtime’ released today…and expect a whole load of visuals from this guy in the near future.

In the meantime, hit the play button on ‘Dreamlife’ below:

Must Listens: Overtime, Sparkle

New Music Video: Ventilate – NattyBoi

Formerly known as King Dice O, NATTY BOI dropped the first series of videos through his introspective track, ‘Ventilate,’ coming from his forthcoming project, ‘I Am Who I Am.

Enter and world of the NATTY BOI and hit that play button…

New Track: Oh Jane – Otis Mensah

Following the release of mellow/melancholic track, ‘Day Dream’ back in December, OTIS MENSAH delivers another moody yet toe-curling piece, taken in shape of ‘Oh Jane.’

His collaboration with Berlin-based producer, The Intern definitely paid off as the two-and-a-half minute release oozes a hazy experimentation hip-hop and Jazz. Produced by Grit Multimedia, Otis Mensah and Raluca de Soleil,  the accompanied visual sees the Sheffield wordsmith poetically vents on the issue of depression, isolation, materialisation and love loss.

This one’s too good to pass up! Check out the video to ‘Oh Jane

New Music Video: Woah – Kritz93 (ft.E. Mak)

 

KRITZ93, E.Mak and Sunny Kale – the producer behind Stormzy’s hit ‘100 Bags’ – cooked up a straight-talking banger entitled ‘Woah’. Taking a unapologetically raw street approach, this brand new hot collab is already tearing up the underground grime scene.

Gaining initial exposure from DJ Target, who cherry picked the record as his ‘Targo Embargo’ in early January, KRITZ93 took to the BBC Radio 1Xtra airwaves to introduce himself and his record to the nation and it has since been hot on the selection lists across Kiss Fresh, Radar Radio, Westside FM.

A newcomer to the game, KRITZ93 spent the entirety of 2017 recording and releasing music, freestyles and videos online, building a respectable stock of well-received and supported music. He was also found collaborating and featuring on a selection of tracks, which included ‘G’s Dem’ for DJ P Montana’s Rah Boy – Vol 1 mixtape. Teaming up with E. Mak on the record, who’s profile has recently soared from his release ‘Yo!’, the pair chopped it up over a hybrid of melodic genres and vowed to jump back in to the studio together quickly, resulting in the creation of ‘Woah’…check out the video.

New Track: Celebrate – K*ners (ft. Incredubwoy)

Championing a sound that captures the heart and soul of hip hop, Bristol native K*NERS released his conscious single ‘Celebrate’.

Activating a deep sense of nostalgia through looping samples and a crisp vinyl feel, K*NERS paints a myriad of pictures and thoughts via his sharp wordsmithery with a throwback delivery.

Building his foundation as a ragga MC on a sound system, K*NERS is the latest in a succession of musical innovators from Bristol treading a path beaten by Wild Bunch, Massive Attack, Portishead, Tricky, Roni Size and more recently, dubstep producer Joker. Connecting the dots between the worlds of Ragga and Hip Hop,K*NERS has a fine-tuned sound that lies across both spectrums of the genres.

Creating a catalogue of music spanning over the last decade including his debut album ‘K In Da Flesh’, as well as his recently released second album ‘Voice of the City’, K*NERS has built a strong following over the years. He has also performed along the likes of legends that include Sugar Hill Gang, Mos Def, GZA/Genius (Wu-Tang), Tinchy Stryder and Mark Ronson.

“Celebrate, is the song to celebrate the fact you can start off in the hoods, slums and ghettos in life but still come out and reach your goals and live your dreams.” – K*Ners

Check out ‘Celebrate.’