Following the release of the BBC 1Xtra-approved track ‘Come Over’ (The Remix), featuring R&B queen Teedra Moses, RICARDO WILLIAMS serves up an irresistibly slick freestyle of Jodeci’s hit, ‘My Heart Belongs To You.’
The mini track serves as a stop-gap for more amazing things to come from the Birmingham powerhouse’s critically acclaimed EP, ‘Intermissions’…So stay tuned for that.
In the meantime, check out Ricardo’s freestyle below…
Exploring the idea of rap as a form of intellectual art, radical hip-hop artist and storyteller OTISH MENSAH releases his debut EP ‘Rap Poetics’ – a six track project challenging and breaking down the white-washed elitism of the art world.
Otis’ work reads like a stream of consciousness, documenting journeys of thought as he manoeuvres expertly throughout the project. Valuing art as a fundamental form of activism, Otis is opening up an important dialogue between himself and the ruling establishment, positioning emotional vulnerability at its core.
Lead single, ‘Grand Finale Funeral Show’ tackles the pressures of the art world – to continue to create, design and compose. Otis documents these journeys of thought with artful introspection, his experimental hip-hop rippling with themes of displacement and artistic vulnerability.
Recently making his debut book premiere with SAFE METAMORPHOSIS!!, a collection of poems and philosophical ideas exploring the voice of unspoken trauma, ‘Rap Poetics’ is a continuation of this earnest human expression, taking rap as an art-form in its own right – one that is raw and impassioned.
Describing the artist as “dynamic, skillful and radical”, former Lord Mayor and current MEP Magid Magid appointed Otis as the first hip-hop Poet Laureate of Sheffield in 2018. Having performed with the likes of Mahalia, Arrested Development, Killah Priest, Oddisee and Open Mike Eagle, as well as garnering support from The Guardian and EARMILK, Otis articulates societal injustices with innate precision and candidness.
Enjoy the video for ‘Grand Finale Funeral Show’ below:
Having written and produced with Burna Boy, Samini and Dappy, SS has been a creative musical genius amongst some of the biggest names in music of recent times. Stepping out to his own records over the last year including joints such as ‘Gasonlina’, ‘Late Nights’ and ‘How I Stay’, the young music prodigy is becoming the name on everyone’s lips as the heat starts bubbling around him and eyes are flickering in his direction.
Dropping his latest track ‘Best Life’, the track is pumped hip-hop energy and a blend of lo-fi, a sound becoming synonymous to SS. The syncretic and dark vibe is unmistakably mixed with his melodic and soulful high-pitched ad-libs and the laid-back yet confident delivery that he showers across the beat.
From the success of the audio so far, the visuals are immaculate, following a theme from the vocals, there is a darker eeriness with the thick bass, whilst SS shows off his best life in London. Collaborating with HoneywoodSix on the production this is pure, unadulterated vibes as the young music boss captures everything about what it is right now to stand out, and he does it with defined clarity and confidence.
Check out the visuals for ‘Best Life’ below…
Londoner LIAM PHELAN delivers another irresistibly hazy fusion of neo-soul/hip-hop, adding a lick of some rock riffs through his latest single, ‘Far Away.’
following single, ‘Khao San Road’, released earlier this year, ‘Far Away’ is from Liam’s second EP, ‘Finding Love Over Wealth’ out this Friday (1st November).
Check it out below…
THUGZ SNE‘s latest track,’We Ain’t The Same’, highlights all the things that separate him from the rest of the rappers of today.
The song starts with a sample of Brooklyn NY rapper Maino saying: “This year, I wanna be so honest… I wanna look a couple of these niggaz in their eyes and be like… Nigga…. I don’t like you” a sentiment that resonates all too well with the rest of the song.
The fast paced instrumental (pieced together by @farooqgotaudio) feels like the perfect foundation for such a brutally honest theme, apologetically stating: “we are not the same & I don’t like you” something which is made abundantly clear throughout the chorus.
The boisterous track also pays homage to the late great Nipsey Hussle by the way of: “I can never see you as my equal, fuck I wanna hear yo CD for?” a sample from his ‘Victory Lap’ single.
Available on all platforms, ‘We Ain’t The Same’ sets the pace for the next 12 months of singles and visuals. Get the taste of the first installment below…
