Song of the Day: Destiny – Aina More

South London artist and producer AINA MORE could easily be described as one of UK rap’s best kept secrets, or perhaps one of the UK’s best new and emerging rap artists.

Having already been championed by tastemakers such as BBC Radio 1, The FADER, MTV and BBC 1Xtra, among others, and with The BRIT Awards featuring her on their BRITs compilation album a few years ago, the British Nigerian native should firmly be on your radar. On the off chance that she isn’t, Aina More is back in the frame to make sure of it!

She closes out 2020 with a fiery new track titled ‘Destiny’ and an equally fierce music video to go with it. Co-produced by Aina More herself and long-time collaborator Musiek Mambu, the track opens with an attention-grabbing sample of the Seun Kuti afrobeat classic ‘Bad Man Lighter’, before Aina More gets in her bag for two minutes straight, as she waxes lyrical in braggadocios fashion, about everything from her superior rap skills to decrying false prophets to the excellence of black women, while giving listeners an update on what she’s been up to this year.

Speaking about the inspiration behind ‘Destiny’, Aina More says, “With what I’ve been creating lately, there’s so much that I’m going to give of myself musically in the coming year, I have this unquenchable hunger to express myself freely, and ‘Destiny’ is the first part of that. Lyrically, I needed to remind everyone of just who Aina More is, and overall, I feel it represents my identity well, even down to the Oye 2.0-directed visuals – I’m very authentically Yoruba, but I’m also that girl that grew up in London, and sometimes I let my ego just do its own thing”.

With a fusion sound that can be described as a cross between Kendrick Lamar, Skepta and Fela Kuti, and a performance prowess that has seen her touring with Professor Green and opening for her idol Lauryn Hill, Aina More is typified by her unapologetic lyricism and cutting edge sonics, as highlighted as far back as her 2016 EP ‘For People With Short Attention Spans’ as well as subsequent tracks like ‘Girls Killing It’, ‘Afrikan Lady’ and ‘Healer’ that led to rave reviews and support from the likes of BBC Radio 1, The FADER, MTV and The BRIT Awards.

Check it out below…

Song of the Day: Lemme Know – Lydia Singer

Hailing from Milton Keynes, LYDIA SINGER finds influence from the pop heavyweights including Ariana Grande and Camilla Cabello. However, cleverly, she stays authentic with a sound which will catch you off guard with her nail-biting vigour.

Her latest, ‘Lemme Know’ is a testament to her signature sound as soars with confidence, and vocally Lydia shines radiantly taking no prisoners with her upfront approach to song writing.

‘Lemme Know’ is a diary of Lydia’s adventures, and she leaves no room for any ambiguity with her articulating clearly with every spoken word. Musically, Lydia delves deep into the pop realm with her returning with the jewels. As a result, the beat is piercing, and the rhythm and melody prove captivating.

Released last month, ‘Lemme Know’ comes straight after receiving airplay on BBC 1Xtra with ‘Games’ and having another single in the top ten of the club charts, as well as racking up over 150,000 Spotify streams combined for her previous releases.

So you know you’re in great company here…check out the music video for the single below…

Song of the Day: No Speaking – Juice Menace

Continuing to make serious waves whilst only a few singles deep, Cardiff-hailing rapper JUICE MENACE unveils her latest track ‘No Speaking’.

With a self-assured and assertive 2020 so far that’s seen an impressive run of singles, the young rapper ups the ante once again on this up-tempo, quintessentially drill production. Complete with all the bass, bounce and flex, Juice shows off her rap dexterity, delivering sharp lyricism, mean flow and an unwavering aggressiveness as she is boastful about being about her business.

Involved in multiple aspects of her craft, Juice developed the treatment of the video herself and ‘No Speaking’ positions her not only as a talented creative but also a leader of an artist with the confidence and demeanour to reach the upper echelons.

Check out the official video for Juice’s ‘No Speaking’ below…

Listen To Terreur Nocturne’s New Joint ‘Nécropole’ ft. OstiOne

New single from the group with the legendary OstiOne from the K6A collective as guest. Big dark beat with a trap flavor and obscure poetry raising a morbid cynicism specific to this deeply Phonk project.

TERREUR NOCTURNE is a Quebec rap duo made up of Mc Phylis (Mc Phylis and Maxime Robin, Arvida Crew) and BeatMaker-rapper Max T (Trunk 25, Token of Hate).

The project aims to be a spiritual hip-hop journey in which the two rappers exhibit a deep sense of cynicism, disgust and revenge without ever taking themselves seriously. It’s not Horror Core, nor Trap strictly speaking, it’s just rap made by two disillusioned thirty-something and a little bored of making art to entertain the plebs. All highlighted against a trap-vintage sound background: 90’s south rap, brag rap, vintage sampling, horror, old school video games, dragon dungeon, mysticism.

For the real music lovers, it’s good québ rap more nested, more underground which puts more on the tech, the flow and the darks beats.

Discover the more ofTerreur Nocturnes’ previous music on: http://squashcomp.ca/artist/terreur-nocturne/ 

Polish Rapper Schafter Taps UK’s Newcomer Houston X For New Track ‘Need Help.’

With all the chaos that 2020 has presented, this didn’t stop rappers SCHAFTER and HOUSTON X from dropping one hot collaboration titled, ‘Need Help’.

A refreshing and electric trap-wave combo, ‘Need Help’ kicks off with rhythmic percussion which is layered by synthy impressions where the pair deliver fresh and flex worthy verses that detail their flashy lifestyles and fly-boy ways.

The accompanied video-shot in Warsaw and London – embodies the theme of the track which is inspired by the idea of trying to get away from something but being unable to.

Quickly becoming a phenomena in his country’s ever-evolving hip-hop scene, Schafter is known for his take on melodic trap. Last year, he burst onto the scene with ‘Hot Coffee’ which accumulated over 27,000,000 streams on Spotify alone. UK’s upcomer Houston has built a steady cult following for his distinct, genre-defying sounds, ranging from hip-hop, R&B to rock and pop. Houston X was previously featured on NEW LEASE MUSIC with track, ‘Scarlett Red’

Check out the video for ‘Need Help’ which was shot during lockdown…