Tag: unsigned music

Song of the Day: Anna’s Arcade – Ash Shakur

Illustrator and experimental hip hop artist ASH SHAKUR‘s blissfully witty jam, ‘Anna’s Arcade’, takes you on a nostalgic trip down memory lane, via the arcade to play everyone’s favorite video games. Sonically, 8-bit game inspired sounds are woven into a boom bap beat produced by Masked Man, whilst Ash delivers playful bars based around his youth, unrequited love and his video games obsession. Listen out for lots of gamer references, as Ash uses video games as a metaphor for life’s obstacles, as he explains:

“The first verse explains a small part of the music game and how you have to watch out for those bowers! I wanted to draw parallels of life’s challenges to the levels on a video game”. The last verse highlights the theme of, how people play games ie: she’s playing hard to get – or he’s a player. I want Anna’s Arcade to be the place you think about having the most fun. Every time you listen, I want to bring you back to this feeling.”

The south Londoner is known for his leftfield take on hip hop, mixing witty storytelling with smooth melodies and catchy choruses his unorthodox style and flow has won fans across the globe. ‘Anna’s Arcade’ follows previous single Horror Flick’ which was supported by Adidas on Spotify and Indie Shuffle, whilst other tracks. ‘Lead The Way’ (released on Kitsuné Hot Stream), ‘Never Alone’, ‘Nokia’ and ‘Shine’ have courted wide spread media support from BBC 1Xtra, Noisey, Complex UK and Notion.

Ash is also the co-founder of Art Life Central, a collective that expresses creativity and freedom through music and fashion. He aims to inspire people through his vibrant visuals and incorporates this art direction across all of his musical content.

Check out Ash’s vibrant track below…may I take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas.

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K-Riz Shares R&B Throwback, ‘What A Shame’

Toronto hip hop artist K-RIZ‘s afterhours single, ‘What A Shame’, documents the depths of accountability and his own part in the dissolution of a past relationship.

“Sometimes I think as men we don’t take enough responsibility for our part in relationships failing,” K-Riz says. “I have made my share of mistakes, and sometimes loving someone is not enough. I’m in a very honest place in my life right now, and this EP is an expression of that.”

‘What a Shame’ forms part of his new  EP, ‘The Room’, released last Friday (18th December). The EP was written by K-Riz while recovering from injuries sustained in a June 2020 car accident. The title signifies the room in which the album was conceived and the mental space and time he was given to reflect and create.

The five-track set includes track, ‘A Place Where Love Is’ which offers up a brightness to the unrelenting events of 2020. Built around jazzy piano loops and whip smart verses, the track features the honeyed notes of Calgary songstress Yolanda Sargeant (of Sargeant X Comrade).

Have a listen to K-Riz’s ‘What A Shame’ below…

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Song of the Day: Mama Dance – Muzi

It has been a hugely successful year for the global genre-bending South African artist, MUZI. The producer and DJ continues his streak of ahead-of-the-game with the second track ‘Mama Dance’ and accompanied video from his internationally acclaimed 2020 EP, ‘MAMA’.

MUZI says of the track, “My mom loved to dance. It’s actually how she met my dad; they were both lovers of music. I wanted to make a song that celebrated that part of her – just a full on dance tune, because she loved these types of songs on my previous albums.”

Enlisting globally recognised and award-winning dancer, Zoyi Muendane as choreographer and lead, the video gives fans and viewers a glimpse into MUZI’s memory of his mother’s love for dance and music.

‘MAMA’ EP singles, ‘Don’t Let Me Go’ and ‘The Calling’ have made a huge impact all over the world with features on Spotify’s New Music Friday (South Africa), Made in Africa, Afro Indie, Organica, New Music Friday (France), Apple Music’s Vibes (Electronic) and Sho’t Left (African), and Deezer’s New South Africa and Electronic playlists.

Here’s your chance to check out the epic official music video for ‘Mama Dance’, produced and directed by Clout Killed the Kids.

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Fayme Rounds Up The Year With Single ‘Ghost’

Following his debut on the blog’s Song of Day hotspot with neon-trap single, ‘Demon’ back in the summer,  FAYME bounces right back with brand new single titled ‘Ghost’.

For this release, the Leicester-based artist/producer teams up with Australian producer, Avalon, who gave ‘Ghost’ its simple acoustic melodic introduction in order to create a folk song, inspired by Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes. The tranquil intro was later joined by melancholic synths (inspired by James Blake’s electronic sound from ‘The Colour In Anything’) and dancehall drums, giving the production a hard-hitting yet a very edgy/catchy vibe. The track invites us – the listeners – to channel the emotions of a ghost who is lonely and misses his lover.

Fayme describes his offering as electro folk…personally, I would described this single as electro Afro. What do you think? Have a listen to ‘Ghost’ below…

 

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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…

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