Oxford collective 916 (NIKZ & BOODA) latest drop ‘Motion’, is injected with an infectious hook and R&B flavour, where the pair deliver their individual styles to this smooth guitar-laced track, perfectly showcasing their unique synergy as a collaborative entity.
Of Punjabi heritage, the collective 916 burst onto the UK music scene with their first single ‘Nobu’, they have since coined their own unique sound, following up with tracks ‘Blue’, ‘Pull Up’ and now their latest drop ‘Get To It’.
Despite being fairly fresh to the industry, they have impressively maintained an effectual style and sound throughout the span of their career, with focus on remaining unique and conceptual both visually and sonically.
Since their journey into music, Nikz & Booda have already accumulated a string of accolades including support from BBC 1Xtra’s Sian Anderson, who featured their track ‘Pull Up’ as her ‘Online Find’ upon its release, radio play on BBC Asian Network, Reprezent and Radio2Funky, as well as press coverage from notable UK music platform Creative Gen. Check them out below…
A massive fan of G-Funk, CNFMUS pays homage to the genre, that emerged from the West Coast scene in the late eighties, with new summer blazing joint, ‘Sophisticated Lady’.
Produced during CNFMUS’ time in Hong Kong, ‘Sophisticated Lady’, emcompassess all the ingredients of the genre – smooth synthesized melodies, lush chords, squishy basses, and classic drum machine samples.
So if you’re also a huge fan of G-Funk, you’re probably itching to check out the single that’ll be add extra fire to your summer…well, go ahead and check out ‘Sophisticated Lady’ below…
There is a special energy created when a rapper and stellar producer have an undeniable synergy. Sydney/Eora based YOUNG FRANCO (pictured on the left) and US based rapper Pell are becoming an international duo that perfectly tap into and reflect the power of collaboration, now releasing their 4th collaborative effort ‘Like That’ alongside fellow Perth raised, Berlin producer Jafunk.
Sonically, Young Franco and Jafunk combine to create a track that reflects the golden era of club driven rap music, pioneered in Virginia by production greats including Pharrell, The Neptunes and Timbaland. Its bounce-ready percussion runs perfectly with quickly strummed guitars and a slapping bass line. On the top line front, Pell is in no rush to get his slick bars off, gliding over the beat with an elegance and class before riding it out with an infectious hook its final third.
Young Franco and Pell have a track record of creating successful musical outings. Their first outing, Juice spent 9 weeks at the #1 position on Spotify’s flagship indie playlist Front Left, BBC Radio 1 Spins from Annie Mac and Molly King, as well as featuring as Zane Lowe’s ‘Next Wave’ artist on Beats1. Then followed Fallin’ Apart alongside Denzel Curry, which featured as the soundtrack for an Apple Airpods campaign, which was viewed over 4 million times. It also sat at #1 on the US Shazam discovery Chart for 4 weeks and has seen over 5 million likes on TikTok and 700 million views.
Jafunk enters the equation with distinct swagger and energy. The Perth raised; Berlin based producer has become renowned in local circles for his funky & soulful take on traditional house music. His remix of Set Mo’s Chasing Forever has achieved over 5 million streams, with his follow up songs receiving millions on plays being hosted on tastemaker channels including Majestic Casual, The Sound You Need and Selected.
Young Franco’s past two years have been his biggest yet. He’s currently sitting on over 135 million streams across all singles to date, with over 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify. In that period of time he sound tracked the new-look Australian Football League, and has received global sync’s for brands including Apple, Starbucks, Topshop and Kia. Currently, he’s touring the United States and has locked in massive festival slots at Lollapalooza, Falls Festival, Spilt Milk & Lost Paradise.
Following on from singles, ‘Forgotten’ (released in April) and ‘Like A Ghost’ ( released in June), dreamy alt-pop act, BITE THE BOXER dishes up his third release, ‘Way Out’, which combines a gritty and melancholic influence from 90s trip-hop with lush synths and vocal production from modern alternative pop, to set a mood that takes the listener on a journey to a dark place but in a comforting way.
Bite The Boxer (AKA Matt Park) often produces his music live on Twitch streams and has this to say of his process: “Writing music live with people watching encourages me to trust my instincts and produce by feel; nobody wants to watch me do fine tuning and tweaks for 2 hours. I try to avoid over-thinking the process. If I can finish a 2.5 hour stream with the bulk of a song finished, and it sounds good then that’s an ideal result.”
‘Way Out’ was released last Friday (5th August) across various music platforms. Check out the video for the single below…
Coming all the way from San Antonio, rapper DESHAUNJAY delivers his highly anticipated album, ‘Pinky’s Boy.’ Weighing in at a solid 16 tracks, the project saw no previous single releases as DeShaunJay gives fans the entire album in one drop.
Jay delivers solid rhymes and clever lyrics throughout the entire album over trap-esque arrangements that are often sinisterly dark coupled with chant-like overtones. The 29 year old artist shows that he could hold his own, as he takes on each beat with confidence and ease, flourishing from the first track to the one with different flows and topics, keeping the prospective listener engaged at all times.
All in all, DeShaunJay offers up dope rhymes mixed with dope beats creating the perfect feast for those who well and truly appreciate hip-hop. Have a Listen to ‘Pinky’s Boy below…
Must Listens: Reunion, Calvin Ellis, Acrobatics, Pray For Me, On The Line, Schemin
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