West Coast indie Hip-Hop juggernaut BLU, Bronx rapper MICKEY FACTZ, and Grammy-nominated producer NOTTZ (of 9th Wonder’s Soul Council) have joined forces for EP, ‘The Narrative’, out now via SCHMTCS/Soulspazm.
‘Roll Up’, forms part of the six-track set, which finds Blu and Mickey trading bars about some of the turmoil the world has experienced in the past year and a half– not the least of which is the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to claim the lives of loved ones –over a haunting sonic backdrop laced by Nottz.
‘Roll Up’ is The Narrative EP’s third leak, following the singles ‘Stay Down’ and ‘Reign’. Check it out below…
DIZZY RAMBUNCTIOUS is one of the few producers featured on the blog over the years for his dramatic, attention-grabbing bangers. So when he dropped his latest project, ‘Lightheaded III‘, I had to hunt down this New Jersey beat master to find out how he comes up with such out-of-sight productions in the 12-track set.
NLM Hey, thank you for taking part in an interview with NEW LEASE MUSIC. How is 2021 treating you so far?
DR: Ummm 2021, is definitely something else but it’s definitely better than last year haha. I’m hanging in there for sure
NLM: You releasedyour album, ‘Lightheaded III’ backin June. What is the public perception on the project so far?
DR: Yes, I released it back on June 25th. my fans were very excited when they found out that I was finally dropping the album after teasing it with multiple snippets, new listeners enjoyed it as well because last year I started twitch streaming during the start of the pandemic/lockdown, I stream playing video games and I would play my music in the background so that new viewers can hear it and follow up on my entire discography. Those people from the gaming community I created joined a live listening session I hosted for lightheaded III before it dropped on midnight on all streaming platforms and they had a great response to it.
NLM: How would you describe the album’s soundto potential fans?
DR: The sound of the album is definitely dark and very spacey, it will definitely uplift any emotion you’re feeling when you listen to this album from front to back, it’s like you’re entering into my mind if that makes sense haha
NLM: What inspired you to produce the album?
DR: So basically what inspired this album is of course when lightheaded II dropped back in 2018 it was about a heartbreak from a relationship. Lightheaded III is a follow up after me finally recovering from that heartbreak but then other life situations hit me. Job loss, friend’s cutting me off, and dealing with anxiety from the pandemic/lockdown. It’s been hard but I’m in a great position right now in life mentally such as being in a very healthy relationship and having a better circle of people who I can trust.
NLM: What is/are your favourite single(s) from the album and why
DR: I love this question! Definitely my favourite songs has to be “The Deep End” with my bros Free Samuda and Lil Bear because When I was making the beat for it, I was in the mood like “Don’t fuck with me, don’t make me go off the deep end” and I was very excited when I heard the final product, F.E.A.R as well because the title is the main message of the album. You face everything and rise.
NLM: What message would you like the listeners to take away from your album?
DR: No matter what you’re going through with life, it’s only temporary and you will overcome it.
NLM: If you had to feature one mainstream artist on the album, whowould it be and why?
DR: interesting, I like this question. I usually would wanna feature artists that are not really too too mainstream but like people know them really well, but if you’re talking mainstream I would say Don Toliver because he would’ve made this album so much more spacier and his sound would’ve definitely fit so well with the album.
NLM: Do you have other project(s) for 2021?
DR: Yes I do actually, I’m currently working on the 5th instalment of “The Blu Tape” series, I’m hoping to get it out there before the year ends if not early 2022.
NLM: How can potential fans find you?
DR: You can find me on the block! Just kidding haha but you can find me on Twitter/Instagram @Im_DizzyR and “Dizzy Rambunctious” on all major streaming platforms.
NLM: Finally, any special shout outs to those involved in the production of ‘Lightheaded III’ ?
DR: I definitely would like to shoutout the features on the album. TRPLSVN, Free Samuda, Lil Bear, Donnie Durag, & Willy Gonza, without them this album wouldn’t have the sound and direction it has.
New York-based singer-songwriter MAE KRELL‘s shares single ‘rest stop’, an undeniable emotional rawness. Underscored by layered, lush instrumentation, Mae’s vocals bristle with palpable emotion as they come to terms with the loss of a friendship.
Mae started to write the single when their car broke down in the trucking area of a rest stop. They were feeling lost in life, both figuratively and literally. “I was sad and still processing a really painful friend breakup and just overall not in a great place,” Mae says. “In writing ‘rest stop,’ I was learning that sometimes getting healthier and becoming more independent can end in a loss of a relationship .And, as this specific friendship ended, I started to realize that maybe it wasn’t as good for me as I thought it was.”
For the accompanying music video, Mae hit the road with visual artist Caro Hallock to revisit the aforementioned rest stop. The video chronicles the journey back to where the song was first conceived through nostalgic and timeless road trip footage. Check it out below…
Acting as a reinforcement of a much-needed mantra, LA based trio, FORTUNO, explores the unequal yet undeniably beautiful path toward success and self-exploration in their single, ‘Right Way.’
Eli, Ellis, and Tobi share a lot. Beyond being bandmates, the trio shares a taste for nostalgic tunes and ambient sounds as well as a passionate and genuine connection to their craft. That said, each of them has their own specific paths both as artists and as humans. That’s where ‘Right Way’ comes in. Simultaneously chilling yet warm, the final single off their EP speaks to the unique path each person must go down for their personal development. Echoing a sentiment that the guys’ hold onto themselves, the single shows that once you figure out that there is no ‘Right Way,’ you end up finding yourself exactly where you’re meant to be.
For Fortuno, the right place is LA. In 2018 on the shoreline of southern Maine, music majors and local cover-band mates Tobi and Ellis joined forces with their former high school classmate and current USC jazz guitar star, Eli. Together they celebrated and struggled, as young adults do, and eventually made their way to Southern California to dive headfirst into a full-blown music career. Not only was this the best decision they collectively made, but it also clearly created inspiration for their music. Their EP is a mosaic of their years of moving and committing to a “make-it-work” mentality, and ‘Right Way’ is both a gift to listeners as well as a gift to themselves. Like a mantra, the lyrics remind Fortuno of the good, the bad, and the ugly, yet the result is a harmoniously haunting hymn fashioned with modern trap elements and a soundscape of comfort.
With Eli and Ellis on production and Tobi on the mic ,the trio has danced throughout the Los Angeles music milieu since their debut and through the speakers of the millions who stream their songs. Playing at The Roxy, The Peppermint Club, and shows with Sofar Sounds, Fortuno cemented their unique sound as one that is here to stay in the So-Cal scene. Their single, ‘Home’ has amassed nearly 1.5 million streams while their previous songs have garnered applause from music industry legends and local fans alike.
This one’s a must listen…check out ‘Right Way’ below…
Following the success of his last album Augustine’s Legacy, which was dedicated to his late father and his first child and has now accumulated over 16 million streams on Spotify alone, Texas-based international rap artist S.O. releases new EP. ‘Larry Ginni Crescent’, which sees him tracing his footsteps back to his hometown in Nigeria, where he was born and raised. The new project is nostalgically named after the street in Lagos, Nigeria that S.O. lived on as a child called Larry Ginni Crescent.
Written and composed by S.O. and produced by long-time collaborator and Grammy Award nominated producer GP, alongside burgeoning Nigerian producers TBabz (Travis Greene, Faith Child, Aaron Cole) and SteveRawd, the Larry Gini Crescent EP is driven by lead singles ‘Kinda Love’ and the previously released ‘Corner (O Ti De)’ – the former is a summer-ready afropop love song from S.O. dedicated to his wife, where he exudes the virtues of their love, while the latter is an infectious head-bopping track that sees S.O. boasting about who he has in his corner, as he sings “no babalawo in my corner, just God putting things in order”.
Chronologically, the EP opens with the infectious up-tempo ‘Prosper’, which was penned in direct response to S.O. losing his grandmother last December and sees him putting an afrobeats twist to the popular Bible verse “no weapon formed against me shall prosper”. Elsewhere on the EP, S.O. is full of gratitude on the uplifting sing-along number ‘Good To Me’, while the up-tempo dance floor filler ‘That One’ sees S.O. fusing afrobeats, rap and a motivational message together to great effect. The EP then winds down with the sexy R&B driven ‘Want You’ and the afrohouse influenced ‘Wonder’ with its cautionary tale about battling sin and temptation.
Speaking about the inspiration behind his new Larry Ginni Crescent EP, S.O. says: “This is a project that is connected to my African roots – Larry Ginni Crescent is the name of the street I lived on as a child back in Lagos, but it’s also deeply sentimental for me and it is dedicated to my grandmother who passed away from COVID late last year. As a proud Nigerian, I have always loved my heritage, from the food and the language to the music and the culture, and afrobeats is one of the branches on the Nigerian tree that’s rooted in the diaspora.
This project has been something I’ve wanted to do for a while and the lockdown opened the door for that. I got to collaborate with two special Nigerian producers TBabz and SteveRawd, as well as my long-time collaborator GP. Not only am I a Nigerian but I am also a Christian and that comes out in this project. So ‘Larry Ginni Crescent’ can be described as deeply Christian and deeply Nigerian. From the songs about faith, to songs about love, everything connects to this one point – al that we do, all that we experience, can be used for our art. I hope it moves you”.
With over 40 million global streams and sold-out shows across America, Europe and Africa, and having also lived in Lagos, London and now Texas, S.O. is the true definition of an international artist. Since his now classic debut mixtape 5 Solas, S.O. has gone on to chart in the top 10 on the Billboard Heatseekers album chart, in the top 30 on both the Billboard Rap album chart and the Billboard Christian album chart, and in the top 5 on the iTunes Hip-Hop/Rap album chart across his four albums and two EPs. As his new project Larry Ginni Crescent arrives, S.O. is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Check out the blog’s song recommendations below:
Must Listens: Corner (O Ti De), Good To Me, Kinda Love, Want You
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