Chart-topping rapper, RICH HOMIE QUAN has premiered the official video for latest track, ‘Risk Takers’ via YouTube yesterday (21st September). The song is the second single off his forthcoming project, Family & Mula, due out on October 4th 2022 – the same day as Quan’s birthday.
The video, directed by MarCell JB and Darrien G, depicts Quan hanging out with friends, eating well, flossing, and accumulating more and more money. On the surface, it appears to be a day in the life of Rich Homie Quan, but interspersed with footage of him playing dice, the message rings loud and clear. Rich Homie Quan lives the life he dreamed of because he gambled on himself and won.
The inspirational track recaps the resilience and resoluteness it took for Quan to triumph over his many adversities and to get to where he is now-successful and ready to release more music. Check out the video below…
“Wow, this guy [Diamond D] is one of the all time greats,” Chris Rock professes on the opening track of D DIAMOND‘s latest album, ‘The Rear View’. That statement isn’t so much of a stretch when considering a legacy that helped architect a sound, bridge regions in Hip-Hop and launch the careers of other all time greats like Fat Joe, Big L, Big Pun and DJ Khaled. Released on all digital streaming platforms via Dymond Mine Records/EMPIRE, The album Diamond D’s ode to both his own legacy and resilience.
Considered the best producer on the mic by his contemporaries and critics, the hip-hop legend explains the meaning behind the 15-track release: “Whatever you did in the past, honor and respect it, but always move forward. I don’t want to [harp on] what I did twenty years ago. It doesn’t mean I don’t respect or acknowledge it, because it’s all made me who I am today. The title of the album ‘The Rear View’ means to always look back, but focus on where you’re going… What’s in the rear view should stay there. Going into recording this album, I wanted to show why I’m considered one of the best producers on the mic who rhymes with his own pen. I also want listeners to appreciate my growth as a producer and artist who came on the scene in the early ’90s, and is still here consistently producing and putting out new music today.”
Arriving a month short of the 30th anniversary of Diamond D’s 1992 classic debut Stunts, Blunts and Hip Hop, ‘The Rear View’ serves as Diamond D’s sixth full-length solo album and follows his 2021 collaborative album Gotham with Talib Kweli. Guest features include De La Soul’s Posdnuos, Westside Gunn, among others, while heavyweights such as Nottz, Aftermath’s Focus…, and more assist with the album’s production.
So it’s time to check out the album below…(hint, not to be missed!)
SKRIPTURE is a modern renaissance man of sorts: morphing his artistry at will — actively switching between emceeing, singing and beat-making. Embodying all of his signature traits in one tight-knit package — the West London rhymer has returned with his long-awaited grime-laced gem ‘Who Don’t Love Me’.
Slated as the lead single from the rapper’s upcoming album ‘One Accord’, ‘Who Don’t Love Me’ is constructed with Black Belt-adjacent lyrical acrobatics throughout. Skripture’s wordplay is boundless as ever on ‘Who Don’t Love Me’ — and it’s only getting better with time.
Residing in a realm between trap, drill and grime, Skripture unleashes a melody-driven refrain before the track erupts into a cavalcade of molten bars: effortlessly complemented by the skippy, self-produced instrumental.
Outside of being an active rapper, vocalist and producer: Skripture is a one-man studio, regularly mixing, mastering his own tunes and penning tracks for other artists.
Skripture was a founding member of the collective The Truth Movement. The group had the likes of Michael Kiwanuka, Prgrshn & Dornik as active members of the crew. The Truth Movement both produced tracks and performed as a live band, supporting many throughout the UK scene.
Additionally, the rapper was also a member of the trans-Atlantic urban rock group The Score. The Score boasted members including GRAMMY Award-winning producer Taylor Graves [Thundercat, Kimbra] and his brother Cameron Graves [Kamasi Washington, Jada Pinkett]. They recorded material with starts like will.i.am and a laundry list of other household names.
As a solo beatmaker, Skripture has produced records for Bashy, Tinchy Stryder, Dappy and many more. Skripture has also had a considerable amount of sync success with his music used by brands and networks such as Adidas, F1, MTV, CNN and Netflix.
With a steady influx of singles released throughout 2022, Skripture is showing no signs of slowing down. His latest body of work, ‘One Accord’, is shaping up to be the crystallisation of his work ethic — and ‘Who Don’t Love Me’ is just the beginning. Check him out below…
A true representation of the alternative in London, Hackney rapper and model NICKI KNIGHTZ returns with an introductory video in anticipation of her third solo project ‘Lonely Girls Hearts Club’ produced by her genre-bending duo member – artist and producer Henny Knightz.
‘Lonely Girls Hearts Club’ tells of how Nicki came to refer to herself as a ‘lonely girl’ relaying her experiences of council estate living and being painfully different from the accepted norms. It also celebrates the solace she found once discovering equally talented and artistic outcasts. The video exhibits Nicki and three fellow ‘lonely girls’ that the world has turned its back on. Though they experience extreme highs when together, once alone they are left grappling with sombre thoughts and intense emotions. Inspired by the hit movie ‘Set It Off’ in order to fight back they take their destinies into their own hands.
‘Lonely Girls Hearts Club’ comes in the wake of Nicki’s prior EP ‘For The Uninformed’ a sonically and lyrically dark exploration that splices live instrumentation with avant garde alternative hip hop and explores the heartache of being mixed race in and out of the ends. The project’s single ‘India Arie’ was championed by Radio 1’s Toddla T making it his ‘coldest record of the week’ and BBC1XTRA’s Jamz Supanova. The project’s third track ‘1964 (Howlett Drive)’ was played on Radio 1’s chillest show with presenter Sian Eleri claiming it to be “…the coolest bassline in East London”
Check out the video for ‘Lonely Girls Hearts Club’ below…
North London rapper ASHER KOSHER – founding member and cornerstone of the Hackney-based Root 73 studio and artist community – is back with the second single to be lifted from his forthcoming, as-yet-unannounced new project. ‘Focus’, featuring long-time collaborator Eerf Evil, is out now on Root 73.
Launching fresh off the back of first single ‘On Our Street’ ft. Bel Cobain back in March, ‘Focus’ turns the next page in Kosher’s dexterous lyric book, as he trades verses with Eerf Evil; another artist with strong ties to Root 73 and The Silhouettes Project – an off-shot platform (and acclaimed multi-artist album of the same name) launched in 2019, dedicated to showcasing the next generation of UK hip-hop, jazz and soul.
Raised on a diet of A Tribe Called Quest, Tu-Pac, Eminem and later, UK rappers like Dizzee Rascal, Sway and Choong Family – as well as Benjamin Zephaniah’s 2004 book, ‘Gangsta Rap’ – Kosher’s love of lyricism runs deep.
After spending years honing his craft – including supporting hip-hop royalty in The Pharcyde and KRS1, as well as legendary UK rapper, K Koke during his early twenties – ‘Focus’ lands as another entry point to the reincarnation of Asher Kosher; rapper, thinker and pillar of his community….Check him out below…
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