Tag: unsigned rapper

Song of the Day: Nubian Farlow – Varnish La Piscine

VARNISH LA PISCINE‘s jazz-inflected new single ‘Nubian Farlow’, oozes a lush, sprawling instrumentation, where the young artist glides between smooth bars and vocals in this breezy introduction to the world of Varnish La Piscine.

As visually compelling a storyteller as he is sonically, the release of ‘Nubian Farlow’ is accompanied by a hypnotic visualiser focusing on a chef filleting a bowl of fish. The playful shot is taken from Varnish’s self-directed 4-part short film which is being released episodically in the lead up to his EP release this March.

Both an audio-visual and musical work, the four episodes are inspired by the absurd humour of the Coen brothers and the stylised intricacy of Wes Anderson and were shot over 8 days at a lakeside location with the help of the production company Dissidence. The plot revolves around the lake and its magical fish who, for better or worse, entrance the local population with Varnish himself playing the role of a young fisherman (as well as many other actors, including new-gen French rapper Rounhaa).

‘Nubian Farlow’ is joined on This Lake Is Successful by recent release ‘Ring Island’, with the 7-track project comprised of a form of refined pop made up of diverse influences: rap, bossa nova, electronic synth, surf music, reggae and underpinned by Varnish’s singing and rapping as well as three guest artists Makala, Rico TK and Snubnose Frankenstein.

In the six years since the rapper, producer and singer arrived on the scene, Varnish La Piscine (Jephté Mbisi) has crafted a brilliantly creative universe inspired by his love of the iconic rappers and producers of the 2000s and the decade’s swirling, colourful music videos. Growing up in Switzerland surrounded by a family of music lovers, the music at home swung between his parents’ Congolese beats alongside 90’s greats like Sade, Sting and Phil Collins. But it was his love of the 2000s that made Varnish the artist he is today. Admiration for his first musical hero Pharrell Williams imbued in him the importance of combining creative genius with visual flair and that to create something interesting, you need to be different.

With props from the likes of Tyler the Creator and Pharrell Williams himself; the future looks bright for Varnish La Piscine…have a listen to Nubian Farlow below…

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Listen To K1’s Posthumous Mixtape, ‘Love Never Dies’

The team behind the late K1 released his posthumous 11-track mixtape, ‘Love Never Dies’, with a portion of the proceeds going to two charities selected by his family, Teenage Cancer Trust and Treetops Hospice. Under the direction of K1 before he lost his battle with the illness, the mixtape is a tribute to him, his hard work, and his legacy that will live on. Losing their loved one so young has been incredibly difficult for his family and friends to process but they will do everything they can to help leave a lasting mark on a scene that K1 loved. ‘Love Never Dies’ includes some familiar fan favourites such as ‘Toxic Veins’ and ‘Tomorrow’ featuring KKEDA.

Born and raised in the East Midlands, K1 made a massive impact since his second single, ‘Broken Hearted Crook’ went viral and firmly put him on the map within the UK’s thriving Rap scene. Coming from outside of the capital fuelled his drive and pushed him to work harder and fight for his place, not only for himself but for Derby. There was so much more than meets the eye with this lyricist, he didn’t want to make one specific style, and he aimed to become one of the most versatile Rappers in the
scene, and he did exactly that. K1 cited Eminem, Juice Wrld, XXXTENTACION, Little Tjay and Drake as his biggest influences as an artist.

Some of his career highlights included performing at Wireless Festival, Link Up TV’s HB, Mixtape Madness ‘Cold Room’, and GRM One Mic. K1 had already completed his debut album, which he had planned to drop this year. The whole team behind him are committed to continuing to set out his dream, just as he had intended. Please continue to support K1 and his music – ‘Love Never Dies’ –

Must Listens: Different Man, So Close, Believe, Ain’t Fair, How I Feel In Love

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Neru Thee Fourth Fugee Links Up With Bbymutha For New Track, ‘End Daze’

Three years after the release of her seminal debut album ‘The Almanac’, which was championed by the likes of COLORS, HotNewHipHop, and Ladygunn, among others, multidimensional Baltimore lyricist, songwriter, composer, and producer NERU THEE FOURTH FUGEE is finally ready to go again, as she begins to share details of her long-awaited sophomore album titled ‘Greater Than’, which is set to be released in the summer. To whet the appetite for the highly anticipated project, the Maryland native has unveiled the project’s lead single ‘End Daze’ featuring US rap royalty BbyMutha.

Written, arranged, and composed by Neru Thee Fourth Fugee herself, with additional production from Serbian beatsmith Shotta Beatz, ‘End Daze’ is a hard-hitting collaboration from two female rap powerhouses, which sees both Neru and BbyMutha in incomparable form, as both artists flex their lyrical prowess throughout the track from start to finish. ‘End Daze’ is signature braggadocious rap in its best form, with Neru and BbyMutha addressing any detractors, whether those are old school classmates trying to act familiar, or their rap competitors, or the “bxtches hating” on them.

Speaking about the inspiration behind ‘End Daze’, Neru says, “The song was inspired by MF Doom and Vince Staples, while the title itself is a double entendre on ‘End Days’, referencing a catastrophic end-of-the-world event, and ‘In Daze’ connecting those moments when you find yourself lost inside your thoughts. ‘End Daze’ brings a lot of boastful and confident energy, and that’s how I want my listeners to feel when they hear the single – powerful and confident like they can take on the world. I wrote ‘End Daze’ to continue to create balance with my music, but to also show that I cannot be categorized or boxed in – my music and style transcend genres”.

With a genre-defying sound that fuses hip-hop with neo-soul, ambient, funk and psychedelic music, to create her own musical universe, Neru Thee Fourth Fugee stands out for her abstract lyricism, transcendental harmonies, and trance-like kaleidoscopic soundscapes – her music offers a thought-provoking mind-bending listening experience that allows you to use both hemispheres of your brain simultaneously. Neru Thee Fourth Fugee might remind you of early Parliament Funkadelic music, with sprinkles of the great Ms. Lauryn Hill, but she remains firmly in her own artistic lane.

Neru Thee Fourth Fugee is also the founder of Baltimore creative community, AstroKnot Collective, which she birthed in 2021, and has grown to become a staple in Baltimore’s art scene. With a common goal to elevate, cultivate, reciprocate and be great, Neru currently mentors fifteen different artists across the US, through AstroKnot. Made up of diverse musicians, visual artists, designers, and activists, among others, Neru’s AstroKnot collective curate youth drives, art residencies, music videos, concerts, community events, and more, all over the city of Baltimore.

With two critically acclaimed EPs and a seminal album already under her belt, Neru has also shared the stage with stalwarts like The Roots, Danny Brown, Oddisee, Princess Nokia, and JPEGMafia, just to mention a few, while she counts the likes of Pigeons & Planes, COLORS, Brooklyn Vegan, HotNewHipHop, and Sway’s Universe among some of her supporters. In 2023, she plans to release her sophomore album titled ‘Greater Than’, which is set to feature Wu-Tang’s Killah Priest, Metaphor the Great, and BbyMutha, with whom Neru has unveiled her brand new single, ‘End Daze’. Check it out below…

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DeShaunJay Drops Second Album ‘Phone Call 4’ Filled With Love & Lust

‘Phone Calls 4’ is packed with 12 new songs that show a different side of slick rapper DESHAUNJAY when comparing this new release to his last album, ‘Pinky’s Boy’. Both projects are filled with solid song structure and verses that are mixed well with the chosen production for each track, but there is one key difference between both albums.

“Pinky’s Boy was my first actual rap album so I wanted to make a statement as far as my ability to adapt to different types of beats as well as my ability to rap in general” says Jay when speaking on the comparison of the projects.

In his own mind, the San Antonio native is taking somewhat of a gamble releasing an album that isn’t what his fans are used to hearing from him, and releasing no single before the drop made it even clearer that the artist was ready to take a huge leap with ‘Phone Calls 4’. DeShaunJay finds himself in the midst of late night hook ups and potential relationships as he speaks on those topics with verses like “Pull up to the spot/bullin with the squad just wasn’t expecting your presence/couldn’t run from it/didn’t need your number I knew how to send you a message/RnB name/coke bottle frame/and plus she had Mya’s complexion” on third track, ‘Only’. His tenth effort ‘Outside’, has Jay somewhat infatuated with a female as he is ready to switch things up and drop everything for her, including any side pieces.

DeShaunJay enlists help from producers Trevv, Vovo, NoSalez, Dionso, Kyduh, Ricci, Havio Beats, and PK, with a lone feature from D’Shaun as he provides his talents with the hook on ‘Switch’. ‘Phone Calls 4’ is a ride filled with emotions, love and lust, with each song sharing a different insight into Jay’s recent roller-coaster of a love life. It’s time to check out the album plus the blog’s songs recommendations below…

Must Listens: Fallin, 1-10, Clueless, KO, Rush

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Juice Cannon Drops His Album, ‘Marriott Hotels.’

JUICE CANNON‘s latest album ‘Marriot Hotels’ is his first full-length R&B project, adopting warm atmospheric glow inspired by 90s afterhours R&B (as featured in ‘Ghost’ and ‘You’), while tracks ‘P Valley’, Ride 4 Me’ and concluding track, ‘Toxic’ bring on the infectious bass-heavy anthems that’s very fitting for creating those party vibes in the upcoming warms months.

Juice enlisted a pretty decent line-up (Anthiny King, Londa B, 3rd Na’ tree) whose vocal performance further evoke the overall comforting feel from the collection.

‘Marriot Hotels’ is Juice Cannon’s first release since last summer, due to a unfortunate situation beyond his control. After grinding for over a decade, building his name within the underground hip-hop scene in his hometown New York City, and gaining an impressive online presence of over 26 millions streams, Juice Cannon was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, which forced him to take a break.

At the turn of 2023, he bounces right back into the spotlight with a new silky mesmeric sound – a far cry from his previous full-on braggadocious projects.

So, get comfortable and hit the play button on ‘Marriott Hotels’ below…

Must Listens: P Valley, Ghost, Baby Making Music

Connect with Juice Cannon via:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/JuiceCannon1
T: https://twitter.com/Juicecannontm
IG: https://www.instagram.com/juicecannontm/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@juicecannon21

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