SOME OF MY current favourite RELEASES...
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Music Playlists.
I started writing this in October of last year but I never exactly knew how to articulate myself when it came to expressing my views on this, so here goes nothing. Do we as a community lean towards ‘unserious artists’? And the thing is the lack of their severity isn’t based on the weight of their bars, yet how they present themselves. In music videos or any type of social media presence it is that they have, all indicate that somewhat toxic attitude that we’re drawn towards. We can’t avoid the idea that we like artist’s because of their music aside their personality, looks etc. Not saying I’d discredit an artist because I believe they’re ugly but, in our overall opinions these are extraneous variables. I said in another blog that we naturally resemble the artists we listen to, so is it a toxic community breeding toxic artists? I think we have to take into consideration that anything we enable is replicated in the industry, if the masses like it it’ll only be done more. I see it in myself too but I think it’s slightly different to others. I like artists that give off the ‘I don’t care vibe’ in terms of lack of care towards fame and popularity. To me when an artist cares less about this they always emit their natural selves in their music and you can always tell that they have fun with what they do, anything else is just a bonus. Not saying there’s anything wrong with seeing music as a career, but I’ve gauged that a lot of people that are under ‘tunnel-vision’ in that manner find it very difficult to accept defeat - as for one it’s not easy to get into the music industry - because they don’t know how to step out of their comfort zone. We also see a lot of that nonchalant vibe in the way artists take criticism from their music. There are definitely a lot of them out there that just release what they want all the time. Obviously they’re allowed to do this but after building a certain repertoire and fan base I believe we’re able to ask for the artist to represent specific sides that they’ve embodied in the past. Take for example Stormzy, the latest album he released was a disappointment to loads, it’s known that he’s in charge of his own creative directory but his fans were also missing grime Stormzy and I think it was slightly wrong for him to not take that into account. Again, it’s not him producing what the fans want because of the financial repercussions but rather because you want to keep the relationship you have with your fanbase; he’s built himself into a space where he’s allowed to have this much creative freedom but it’s always important to never forget your roots. And how can you desert a sound that put you into your current position? In the way I’m iterating it I make his fan base's reactions sound a lot more polite but in actual fact their approach of sharing their disappointment was nothing in comparison to how I’ve put it, sadly. That’s what makes our community toxic. It feels like everyone forgets what specific arts and artists have done for them over the years and lose all respect when one thing goes wrong, which might just be what’s causing our artists to rebel in such a stereotypical masculine manner. So how do we implicate this change we desire? And what effect will it have? I just believe that when artists reach a certain level it’s important that they do not get complacent or boisterous. Our society is very cyclical, those above us feeding negative energy will also be fed back negative energy, that’s just karma in her simplicity. Putting all types of energy into an artist's creation will naturally bring out the auras necessary for that project. Then the UK might be a tad less bad vibes. Is this what we represent? - Miriam.
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Music Playlists.
For the first month of 2023 I’ve come through with 6 of my consistent bumps and therefore favourite’s of January. So let’s jump into number 1 - no specific order you should know me by now. #1 The World - Rehum I’ve been streaming Rehum for a while and I’ve always been in love with his storytelling ability, clarity and the types of beats he chooses to do this on. As a producer he shells it every time and as far as his discography goes, it’s not disappointing at all. The verses on this are crazy catchy especially when Kezz comes in he drops a couple of those lines that we shouldn’t necessarily agree with but, that’s music. #2 Not Your Man - Odeal Now I may have spoken about this song before but I don’t think I fully recognised its talent. It took me a while for this tune to really sink in but I’ll be real, as far as Odeal goes he continuously makes bewildering music - take for instance that tune he’s got trending on tik tok, when that drops I’ve got a story to tell for that song already. It’s the way Odeal articulates himself on this one, I overlooked it at first but now I can’t stop replaying it. When he says, “Angelina Jolie or Minaj…” listen I scream that with all my being. #3 Martin’s Sofa - Headie One. I feel like Headie is so real for sharing this one with us, this song surrounds his come-up. It’s him telling us about how he would always end up back on Martin's sofa after shows, going out of town etc. It’s very wholesome to me because he’s indicating how cyclical life is, essentially we all come back to point A until we change where that point is. Very proud of this long awaited project and he didn’t fall short at all. “What haven’t I done on Martin’s Sofa?” #4 Shot Caller - TS Lagga Now I discovered this tune off of tik tok when someone was recommending it and by now you should know, I never turn down a recommendation. I definitely see the resemblance between the comparisons to Pa Salieu and Jhus, the flow and vocal range replicates them both quite nicely. I think considering his age he will only continue to build on his current ability to establish a permanent place in the scene for himself. #5 4 of Us - Clavish, Rimzee, Youngs Teflon & Tiny Boost. I’ve spoken about 4 of us in the top 5 of the album but to reiterate this is one of the first songs I’ve heard Tiny Boost rap and he shelled it for me. Youngs Teflon is always delivering and it was presented on a perfect platform with Clavish & Rimzee. click here to view in more detail. #6 The Return - Joresy. To start off I think this was the first song I’ve heard from Joresy and he’s actually dropping today at 7pm with ‘Snowman’ - another song I just know I’m due to love. I like his choice of beat here, the sample + 808’s and his comfortability on this song is what makes this one of my favourites from this month. When he starts singing? It was unexpected but it brings the song together perfectly and radiates good vibes. This tune is on repeat daily just because I can tell he’s having fun with his craft. This month’s update was a bit shorter than usual, I’ve spent more time catching up on old bangers and giving artists time to settle into the new year, either way that was my current music update. Recommend me something new - Miriam.
Music Playlists.
On Friday, Clavish gave us a 28 track album that he’s been building up anticipation towards which from what I've heard, had mixed reviews, so let’s get into it - not in ranking order. #1 Rap Game Intro I feel like I can attach a little memory to this one just because, as I’ve said previously, Friday was a weird day. As I was walking I could swear to you this song brought tears to my eyes, it felt so moving as we climb up a mountain of his experiences to see how he got to the top. I listened to this about 3 times before the last time I concluded my judgement. This was the best way Clavish could’ve introduced us to his debut album. Beginning with the instrumental, I mean what’s there not to love about this beat it has lavish written all over it. I like how solemn he speaks in general, but it really hits here as this is a very honest tune. #2 4 Of Us feat. Youngs Teflon, Tiny Boost & Rimzee. Now you can’t put tef, tiny boost & rimz on a tune as expect me not to like it. Youngs Teflon comes in with his iconic sound, this beat actually represented each artist very well - it felt like we got a piece of each of them through it. Then Rimzee comes in and shells, he has genuinely been doing his thing since he came out of jail and after his most recent album. Now Tiny Boost was a personality I’ve never really listened to - I won’t lie I thought he was just that, a personality. When he comes in and says, “Tiny boost AKA Mr Walk up and let it ring” it radiates his longevity in the scene no matter how many people may not know him. #3 Can’t Style Me feat. Mostack Mostack and Clavish is a collaboration I never expected. I love the way the hi-hats/snares come in after the first line. I think Clavish done a really good job in amalgamating other artists’ sounds within his own craft - it builds up his versatility but also provides them comfortability. Honestly stacko, provided his effortless self in this one and it’s so apparent. #4 Mariah Carey feat. Teeway. Now in terms of Teeway, as an artist I’ve not really streamed much unless it was hearing him on the Groundworks Cypher but nonetheless, there has never been an instance where I’ve thought bad about his artistry. Love the way Teeway delivers his verse towards the end, and Clavish is able to match his vibe throughout the entire tune. This one deserves a close listen. #5 No Interview I thought to include this one as I really like it. Another solely Clavish tune, and I think he’s being organic here, “you're watching out for evil eye, I’m watching out for evil ears.” His clarity through this song is just top tier, most of his bars are double entendres so you don’t even have to listen too hard to understand. I genuinely think this one deserves its flowers. Overall Clavish’s album was a good introduction to him, it could take a little tweaks and be a bit shorter but he delivered himself on a plate and I think it’s important that we all take a taste. Honourable mentions to ‘Trying feat. Kaash Paige’, & ‘Selling Dreams’, these two I also love just unfortunately didn’t make it into my top 5. Rap game just became a little better - Miriam.
Music Playlists.
In celebration of J Hus announcing that he’s releasing mid-year this year let's do a top 5 on my favourites by him. #1 Dancing Man I love this song just because I discovered it so late. At the time of the drop of the Big Span EP there was a lot of traction to the song ‘Dark Vader’. This song was undoubtedly a good tune but I think because it was so good it took the spotlight from the other two songs on the EP. When I actually came across Dancing Man to me it deserved exactly what Dark Vader got, and it was on infinite replay and gets me hype every time I hear it. #2 Samantha What this song did for the economy is something I can’t put in words. To this day I can spit Dave’s verse like I‘m Dave himself and it was such a movement in 2017 - I don’t know what that year would’ve been like without that song. #3 Playing Sports EP (Free Up & Playing Sports) I never appreciated this in 2016 - honestly 2016 was such a good year for music there were some projects that I never got to until later. ‘Playing Sports’ is such a Hustla tune from the instrumental to Hus’ flow and all, “big boy like you making school boy errors” - a bar he repeats in the Big Conspiracy album on ‘Fortune Teller’. Then ‘Free Up’? Oh free up is a classic. From before the beat drops you’re already lit, Hus has such an iconic sound it is incomparable - this one is such a party vibe and cannot be overlooked in the EP. #4 Lean & Bop Oh my days. Like if you know how we bumped this tune in 2015? You wouldn’t believe it. The instrumental is so unique because solely I would never imagine J Hus on a beat like this. Hustla has so many movement songs that took over in these years, his discography is one not to be messed with. #5 Dem Boy Paigon. It would be wrong if I didn’t include this song in my top 5 because I would still go crazy for this tune any day. Rapping this makes me feel as greezy as hustla, I even have a video from last summer of me singing to this, it’s genuinely irreplaceable and timeless. I think this song amalgamates the idea of feeling empowered by a song yet knowing after 2 minutes and 39 seconds? Our hood phase is over. We were really telling guys "go get a day job" when we ourselves weren’t employed. I am genuinely so happy that J Hus is returning to the scene this year, he’s been cooking and dropping us previews over the past 2 years but it’s time for him to show us what he’s on now in 2023. Can hustla top his best vibes? - Miriam.
Music Playlists.
On the last month and day of the year, I wanted to bring you guys my current music update but with a slight twist. In today’s edition of music of the week we’ll detail my favourites of the month plus the entire year - similar to the playlist on Apple Music if you click the link above. Starting with my first we have, Bootleg CD - IZCO feat. Ramonie. In the last edition I touched on Ramonie and how I stumbled across him and he’s further represented my faith in him through this release. IZCO’s production goes without saying, immaculate. Recently I’ve even turned back to older tunes he’s made like ‘Stack & Grind’, ‘Warrior Chant/Ps In’ and ‘Shooot Day’- they all encapsulate the artists in such different ways and still are recognisable sounds provided by IZCO. #2 R.I.P Freestyle - Chiraq Now Chiraq is one I watch closely because he’s an up and coming artist. He recently just appeared on the U18’S Blackbox Cypher which was released only a couple of days ago. He has a clip from the cypher that is currently circling the internet, showcasing his desire of longevity within the music scene. This one right here is definitely one of my favourite songs that he’s released so far, it’s up there with ‘Better Know’ . The production on this one is brazy, his flows? The way he plays with his cadence at the end is genuinely what makes the entire song for me. Throughout the tune you can hear explicit clarity which aid his bars. “I’m the biggest stepper, King Of the Hill…” Hats off to him for real. #3 Index & Twenny-Nine After Two - Odeal It doesn’t feel like a music update without mentioning Odeal’s name at this point. This month he dropped the MIBA EP - “Maybe I’m Best Alone” - which consists of my two of my favourites, ‘Twenny-Nine After Two’ and ‘Index’. Index was previewed so long ago - I’m sure I still have the Instagram live somewhere in my phone - and was definitely overdue. Twenny-Nine after Two is euphoric, with this one O takes me to a place of self-recognition when he said, “Even though we got somewhere to be, I realise what the problem is”. I love this one with all my being, especially since it was new to me in the drop and kept that element of surprise that you feel with a new artist. With both songs he makes any kind of sexual and emotional interaction seem so much more than surface level. In terms of over the year though we have to start with ‘Soso’ + the entire Boy Alone album by Omah Lay. I did a music of the week blog on this one already, but this project found me when I was most vulnerable and that’s why it had such a big impact on me this year. “Soso take my pain away.” #2 Lagga - M1llionz I chose this song specifically because earlier on this month I re-watched the Groundworks cypher of 2019 and wow? Digga D was a huge part of this because between a lot of artists you could see the brotherhood he has with them just by knowing their lyrics. The vibe I felt when M1llionz performed this song was unparalleled and it reminded me why he is where he is within the music industry - deserves all he has and more. #3 Side A & Side B - Youngs Teflon Both EP’s he dropped this year are honestly immaculate and he puts a whole new meaning behind storytelling rap. Every single time I re-listen I remember why I love this rapper so much. click here for side A review. click here for side B review. #4 Who Wanna - K-Trap + Krept & Konan. K-Trap has had an amazing run this year and this album alone proves it. The entire ‘Last Whip II’ was a piece to remember but this song here, I believe it has everyone in a chokehold. It was in my Top 5 when I spoke about it on music of the week and with hindsight I wouldn’t change it at all. Overall, you can tell my annual favourites were also pieces I listened to at the time of their release and then furthered to dominate my playlists as the year went on. I’m genuinely so grateful for all the good music that has been dropped this year, started off strong and we’re ending off in the same manner. That was my update for December and a wrap up of the pieces that above all were special to me. Happy New Year in advance - Miriam.
Music Playlists.
I know this is very late, to be honest I’ve had this one in my archives for a while but there’s been so many new releases it’s been impossible to get through - and this week I genuinely don’t feel like talking about a project I’m not entirely in love with. Without further ado let’s get into the Top 3 of Tems’ EP, ‘For Broken Ears’ in order too, might I add. At number 1 we have Damages: I had come across this song before the project dropped and I had it on repeat. At the time I’d heard nothing like it and it was a part of my introduction into Afro-soul. Remembering this time is so healing because lockdown was a difficult stage for all of us and how this song resonated with me at the time? It was unreal. This song was also the first I had heard of Tems and she did more than make me a fan; damages UNdamaged me to say the least. #2 Higher On top of being a consistent consumer of this specific song, when she dropped the live performance on Genius? I was sold for real. Tems’ voice is just so moving and what she’s singing about is angelically delivered. Higher definitely had us in a chokehold on TikTok and every other app I’d open. “When you speak all I can hear is silence”. #3 Interference Interference to me sounds like competition within yourself as it's like, "you thought this was my threshold? think again." I love it though because it doesn't come across as unhealthy at all - except when applied to relationships. I think this song was a perfect introduction to the project itself, on my first listen I wasn’t necessarily intrigued by this song but as I look back, the EP honestly couldn’t have started any other way. “If you thought I was disturbed before, baby boy I’m gon’ disturb you now.” I just want to touch on the “Témìládè Interlude'' quickly. I think in an African household we’re always so auspicious and ‘knowledgeable’ about these kinds of things. But what I especially love is when we’re fulfilling prophecies of our parents' beliefs for our lives. To me it’s very wholesome to know that your parents saw potential in you - beyond all they have to - and you as the child, made sure it came to pass. Honourable mentions to Free Mind, Ice T and The Key, all honestly amazing songs in this project and it wouldn’t have been what it was without them. Like, “I make Iced tea and I make it with your lemons,” who can hate this?? Genuinely I am so grateful to Tens for dropping this in 2020, it reached me at a time where I was most vulnerable and she’s stuck with me ever since. I’m excited to see what more she delivers in 2023. ‘No man can curse what God has made’ - Miriam. Music Playlists.
I know no one asked for a part two, but I had more to say, click here for part one. Music is a very psychological creation, earlier this week I was asked about why I believe the artists we listen to reflect our characters, as I specified in ‘The Impact Music has on Society’. My response began with the fact that often we look for music yet, music finds us when we’re most vulnerable. A lot of our favourite songs have memories attached to them and so the song ultimately becomes more than a song but a characteristic building influence. We listen to people, through song or not, and so acknowledge that someone older than us may have some wisdom or expertise in a sector we’re yet to go through. To me, music is a comfortable way of hearing the uncomfortable, when I’m in my more political moods for example and I listen to artists like J.Cole, he puts into perspective societal suffering and also individual problems. And yet when he expresses these things, we still see all the positives through the negative. Side noting this though, the ageing of music has provided this cushion for award ceremonies. The MOBO awards for example, created a lot of rubble this year with their categories when presenting awards. It became apparent that a lot of the contestants within each category were either deemed to not have, done enough to be there, become anything other than generic, or just had a good repertoire prior to this year and therefore became an easy choice. To make a clearer example, Little Simz conjoined with Knucks won the album of the year award, but I think artists like Rimzee and K-trap were more deserving yet, they weren’t even contestants. To us, it was like someone used their Spotify wrapped to draft up what they assumed the rest of us consumed. I mean let’s not even get into streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify, in terms of providing a platform for newly established artists, it’s like witnessing a robbery in broad daylight. Back to the original point though, this year's draft comes across as though we’re being steered into a direction of containment. If we’re told who was the best this year and we’re stuck listening to artists that continuously promote the wrong ideals, it is ultimately an inevitable downfall when it comes to the creativity in music, never mind the creativity in consumption. Every song has a different approach and I feel that’s what creates creativity and originality in music. I think this has helped music develop because it’s opened up more genres. Genres to me represent the different cultures in music, Dancehall, Afrobeats, R&B the list goes on. But the one thing these denominations have in common is breeding the gate-keeping characteristic. It seems a lot of people develop selfish attributes when it comes to music as there’s this fanatic about being a ‘number one fan’ or being someone that ‘discovered an artist’ - when in actual fact through millions of streams your singular consumption is invisible and furthermore, who hired you as A&R or marketing? This characteristic also seeps through cultures as many ethnic people that consume these genres of music are also very boisterous about their heritage, at least that’s what they’ve been taught by these musicians. As opposed to a creation that was once made to wind down, it has now encouraged egotistical behaviours – funny enough a stereotype attached to men. All in all, music affects us in ways we don’t even recognise - our day-day is so consumed by melodic expertise that we don’t realise how much we embody these things. Play your favourite song, and tell me what you remember from the first you heard it - Miriam.
Music Playlists.
It seems to me that I’ve waited way too long to do this top 5 so with that being said let’s just get right into it. These are not in order purely because my favourites on this project are subjective, one week I like one song more than another and I just can’t decide. #1 jULie feat. the Caveman Now I love this song because this was the first proper afrobeats vibe I had heard on my initial listen, this tune specifically made me think of Ghana high-life and literally how much I love it; I‘m glad I still have a piece of that moving into modern day music. I think it’s when the cavemen first come in that I feel that nostalgia, funny enough. The instrumental on this is brazy, that alone I could sit and listen to without fail. #2 late4dinner When I first listened to the project I thought this was my favourite, even after hearing Julie it still was so apparent to me. ‘You be my servant servant serve…’ is just so catchy and lingers around and lives in my head honestly. I also love the picture he’s painting in this song, alongside creating a tune for a casual bop Azanti has actually painted a scene for me to indulge in. #3 Vanity I just love his voice on this, I love the way the songs blend and uphold the feeling we were introduced to in the beginning. There isn’t much to say about this song but it just clicked for me and I can’t stop replaying. ‘There’s nothing I need, just me and you together my love.’ #4 AnTENNa As soon as this kicks in you’re already pulled in, if I didn’t know any better I’d think Azanti was trying to seduce me with this one. I love everything about this one his vocals down to his pronunciations and annunciations, “be like say you done find another nigga,” no way not with you around. From start to finish this song is heavenly even the way he says this lyric, “and the thing wey you dey do a done dey tamper with my soul,” I could listen to that snippet all day. #5 no.1 LoVER Talk about a song to introduce the project?? This one is out of this world. Quite ironic that I put it at the end but it sets the best precedent for the EP and with multiple listens you genuinely begin to understand. The 808’s on this are brazy, and the way Azanti‘s vocals glide on top of this brutal instrumental is so crazy I still can’t believe I’ve heard something like this. “Trust me, I’m your number one lover”. Unlike some other projects that I’ve heard this year, I knew I liked this project from when I’d first heard it. It’s actually a shame that my introduction to Azanti was just this year, I’m looking forward to catching up on his catalogue. I couldn’t be any happier with the body of work he’s produced. Honourable mentions to, ‘pressure’, ‘gettin’ hot’ and ‘wants and needs’ which are also songs that were so close to making it on my list - I mean the beat on gettin’ hot? Flowers need to be given to all his producers - but I don’t love them any less. Took me back many years so yes, nostalgia and best of all, he stole my heart - Miriam. Music Playlists. So a couple week’s back I went to ‘The Ultimate Seminar’ to watch panel’s discuss music in a way I have never heard before. I genuinely believe all artists, big or small, should go to these events - either to network, or to learn tricks of the trade; as someone who doesn’t do much in the industry I still enjoyed it. They touched on some interesting topics which I wanted to discuss today. I remember one of the panellists bringing up the fact that us as a music streaming community have trained our minds to become very low in attention span. With apps like tik tok in terms of music, if it doesn’t sound good within the first 30 seconds we scroll. We don’t realise but this actually affects artists and music production as now they’ve had to start asking questions that since before covid, no one even thought about. For example funding for music videos are now being put into short clips for tiktok and Instagram reels, for better consumption. Music videos are being overruled these days, I mean I genuinely had to ask myself when was the last time I watched a music video - excluding songs that are exclusive to YouTube only. I’ve even seen artists use the tactic of dropping the audio first and then video next, but let’s be honest once you’ve given me the song unless I feel the dire need to support I won’t go to watch the video. If anything they need to do that in reverse order, forcing more people to watch the video you spent so much funding on. It is sad though, the depreciation of music videos is not one I thought I’d be seeing anytime soon but nonetheless it’s the churning of society's development. In passing I also recall one of the panellists mentioning Rema and saying he references his music as rave music. In that moment I want to just include a screenshot of what I wrote down to depict the feelings that statement evoked. It’s quite funny actually but as I sat and listened I understood his perspective from them. The thing is the word rave has a very specific connotation in my environment, it’s a type of party that would have all sorts of flashing lights and very oonts oonts music, if you’re picking up what I’m putting down here.
But rather he chose this word to associate himself with implying that his music is the type of music when you go out to a party you would hear, you need to be on a vibe to listen to Rema otherwise he won’t hit as well as he should. During this panel there were constant references back to Central Cee as an independent artist. I think the prevailing factor of this is that he is teaching a lot of undiscovered artists, producers, and marketing teams how it is possible to build your own platform, whilst doing it in an innovative way. Honestly kudos to Central Cee, he’s building a legacy that none of us could’ve imagined. Divulging a little, in the current music update I uploaded last week the artist Strandz was mentioned in his ability to create sample rap that isn’t generic. I felt unable to take up the review's shine, battling with myself so I left my feelings for now. I genuinely feel like that point needed to be made because I know it wasn’t just me that felt stagnant in music for a while. If it wasn’t rapping someone else bar’s in a different order it was sampling old tunes. To be honest, anything being released at that time wasn’t sufficient. I’m not saying Strandz will ever be able to keep this consistent trend but a breath of fresh air was good for us all. But back to the seminar, the panel that I witnessed was filled with many people that worked in A&R and Marketing. People in the industry that worked in places like Sony, Spotify, Def Jam, Apple Music, the list goes on. They mentioned many artists I could just dream of meeting. There were also a couple of famous faces like Ms Banks, Cee Beats but sadly I missed their panel. I can say with my hand on my heart I’d like to be in full attendance to their next event with a couple more of my friends and I honestly can’t wait to go to more events like this! An ultimate lesson from the ultimate seminar - Miriam.
Music Playlists.
In our month of November we’re here once again to hear my current music update - be it new music, old, albums, EP’s, singles - we’re talking about what I’ve been consuming over the past 4 weeks. Firstly we have… Reek0 by Reek0 - Moody, More & Stonie. These three titles are my personal favourites from this project. My introduction to Reek0 was actually through Ramonie, I’ve always been fond of Frenzola and Arz so it was only right that I explored the third member of their friendship group. The first time I actually heard Ramonie spit, aside from the tune C.I.D with Arz, was the BRK cypher. It took some delving through his discography and socials to bring me to this project. It began with Stonie being my favourite but as I re-listened countlessly I stumbled on More and then Moody. It’s quite ironic actually that it seems as if I listened to the project from bottom to top as opposed to first to last. I don’t know if it’s solely me but with certain songs it just takes a specific day and ‘mood’ for it to click. But I always prefer when songs grow on me or I feel like I missed out on a gem because it has, without fail, put into perspective the amount of music I consume. Recently I’ve been feeling a lot of rappers that are on the slow rap vibe, Bawo - who we’ll come to in a second - Jordy, Dizzilo etc. I think this body of work encapsulates that idea so well, especially Reek0 himself, being constantly able to meet the standard of those types of beats. I think this creation here is perfect for headphone consumption, you need to be entirely attentive to this one. Honourable mentions to Ramonie, S.I. and Capo Lee for creating my favourite songs on this EP. Same Team - Bawo ft. Reek0 Bawo is yet to disappoint me with his lyrics, flow, let alone a song. I like his harmonies on this and when Reek0 comes in he fully fulfils the entire tune. These two together was something I didn’t know I needed but now I have it I question why I’ve never heard these two on a song before. They compliment one another tremendously and as I was talking about before, that slow rap vibe will never miss. “Man get attached to the game, it’s peak”. Luv Language - Interlude & Indomie. Now I won’t lie, as of recently Romzy hasn’t created my favourite music but these two songs here? They’re a reminder of what he’s about. I’ve spoken before concerning his ability and also his come-up so far and I genuinely don’t want him to depreciate but, next year we are definitely going to need to see more than this. Interlude for me personally is when the EP actually started these two songs technically being the only new songs on this EP, as the other two were released prior to this, I feel somewhat confident in. Interlude obviously is an interlude so I can’t expect it to be any longer, but that feeling when you’re being provided what you came to consume is what it introduced to me. I don’t know any compliment bigger than that. Indomie is a great song - ranging from the beat to Romzy’s vocals and ability to showcase his versatility. I also love the female feature, it compliments him stupendously and reminds me of when I first ever listened to one of his songs. He’s honestly in his bag when it comes to rap songs, or love songs if executed well. Definitely no Romzy hate around here, he’ll continue to grow and develop over time. Luv 4 Rent - Modennaminute, Garden Lady & Settle Down. Modennaminute was my first favourite on this album, this song feels like seven minutes long which is ironic because it is called more than a minute but I think it’s because Smino gives us a mashup plus an interlude all in one song. When I first listened to this and the interlude came on I had to check my phone ‘cause I said he blended these songs too well, only for it to still be the same tune. And even that transition into Defibrillator is way too smooth, I love the harmonies, the call snippet at the end, it’s just such a continuous vibe. Garden Lady? When it gets to about 1:10 up to where he goes ‘imagine we taking this for granted’ is genuinely the bit that I love the most, the entire song is a heavenly sound. It’s so difficult to even describe you lot just need to take a listen for yourself ‘cause that outro too? He needed to have been high to make this tune. Settle Down gives me a ‘Silk Sonic’ approach - probably because of them 808’s - but like toned down heavily with the softest rap. I don’t know how Smino does it but he just serves every time, I’m still not even over when he dropped ‘Wild Irish Roses’. It seems in ‘Modennaminute’ he’s still looking for backwoods, ‘It ain’t no backwoods on this side of town’. Us Against The World - Strandz As it’s been said multiple times before this song was even dropped and it was just a snippet on TikTok, he effortlessly provides us that 50 cent sound. From the instrumental to his lyrics and even the music video. For a lot of people this song feels nostalgic as we’re remembering that 50 flow but I think it’s very exciting to see replicas of the older music generation in the current day. Not to say Strandz will do anything or everything like him ever again, but he’s evidently showcased that unestablished artists aren’t stuck under just ‘sample rap’ making the most generic tracks ever. Crocodile Teeth - Beezy Online & Dezzie This song depicted to me how much Dezzie has grown within the music scene. Honestly both of these artists deserved for the preview to blow on Tik Tok because the amalgamation of culture and rap is something we definitely need to see more. I’m expecting this one to go off in the motives ‘cause there’s that jumpy feel to this one. Even actually the other day I had seen a video of Headie One & Dezzie freestyling together and Headie gives that ‘proud Dad’ look at Dezzie which in itself showcases growth. A big step up for these two with this song. It feels like this update is a little shorter but as you can tell it’s a lot less sporadic due to me talking about more projects than singles. Nonetheless I hope you guys are streaming all the music I have mentioned today, see you guys next month. Chale y3nko - Miriam. |