Right at the end of July, Philly artist Cove made his debut on our pages with “NOTAVAILABLE!” — a knocking release characterized by dimly-lit melodies, and more importantly, a song that felt like the introduction to something bigger than just a cool track from a new artist. While Cove has since removed the song from SoundCloud, he returns to the spotlight today with a brand new single entitled “GHOST¡,” continuing to build a world of his own creation. There are several aspects of this song to pick apart, from eclectic production to the lifestyle-driven songwriting — reflective of Cove’s illustrative lyrics and NÜÜNEPTUNE-tinted style — but perhaps the most impressive characteristic of “GHOST¡” is the vocal performance. Joshua Tree and Yuso lend background reinforcements, but Cove takes the center stage on his new single, seamlessly crafting a blend of punctuated declarations of truth with soaring bouts of high-noted singing. He creates a versatile, best-of-both-worlds vocal environment, and in the process of doing so, reminds listeners why he’s such an impressive songwriter — especially this early on in his career. Just listen to the lyrics. Needless to say, releases like “GHOST¡” are best left to speak for themselves, so I’m going to …

Being from the East Coast, I often find myself gravitating toward music from one side of the country. As a result, I’m admittedly a little out of the loop on a lot of West Coast acts, but have made a conscious effort to change this ever since I was put onto Big Sad 1900 and his fantastic album, Don’t Forget, a few weeks back (“Find A Way” is my personal favorite track). After hearing the project and gaining some insight on this burgeoning new scene of LA talent, I did a deeper dive and stumbled upon “Mainline” — an undeniable concoction of Los Angeles talent, joining the forces of P4K, Top5ivee, and 5Much with Big Sad 1900 and Slumlord Trill. Three minutes and forty seconds in length, “Mainline” lets each of the five featured artists give their own take on a breezy, West Coast instrumental, offering a sampler plate of uniquely compelling styles. Between wordplay, storytelling, and vocal inflections, “Mainline” matches substance with effortless, LA-bred style, marking itself as a perfect introduction for listeners like myself who are looking for an “in” to the current lineup of buzzing West Coast artists. Needless to say, this combination of slice-of-life lyricism and true-to-self style …

A few months back, we premiered a song called “HAKEEM” from New York group MHPG Sound. The track and its accompanying music video were a deeply catchy, limitlessly energetic binding of New York charisma and reference-heavy lyrics, tied together with an OVO Sound Radio premiere to mark the moment. Today, as “HAKEEM” has soundtracked the summertime in New York and beyond, 2219 Lee, Mali Smith, and Cash Cobain are here to revisit this one with “HAKEEM DRILL!”: a remix of the song which gives it Cash Cobain’s signature sample drill twist. Employing the same sample as J Dilla’s “Stop,” the “HAKEEM” spin-off pushes this song into soulful territories, breathing new life into a massively engaging set of performances from all three artists featured. There’s something about the combination of drill drums and soul vocals that never seems to fail, and “HAKEEM DRILL!” is proof — not to mention its historic merit, with Cash Cobain revisiting the rich, sample-heavy work of legendary producer forefather J Dilla. Lyrics about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Coi Leray still hit like they did when “HAKEEM” first dropped on this one, and honestly, I think this was a perfect release to re-engage listeners on a great song. …

Storytelling in music is crucial. Especially in rap, where regionality plays such a large role in identity, I often find myself gravitating towards artists who can communicate some sort of story through their music (lyrically or sonically), detailing life around them, what happens in their city, who they are as a person, and more. Just yesterday, I was put onto an artist who checks all of these boxes, displaying masterful storytelling and an unbendable sense of identity with “Lil Hurricane” — a mission statement kind of release from rising Havana, Florida talent Hurricane Wisdom. Backed by a soulful, whistling instrumental, “Lil Hurricane” introduces itself as “the story ’bout Lil Hurricane, before the trips to chasing chips and all the finer things.” Accordingly, it’s a personal release, and one that leads with an outstanding, melody-tinted lyrical performance which details the life of Lil Hurricane and the values that he stands on. Approaching the song in this way, Hurricane Wisdom creates a release that perfectly introduces himself to new listeners while pulling them in for the journey, not just the moment. This is the power of such true-to-self storytelling, and it’s the difference between here-and-gone listeners and lasting fans who are invested in the …

While I’ve been itching for someone with a little more knowledge to make this a full feature article at some point, there’s a really interesting conversation to be had about how the blues has stuck around in music, assuming different forms and reaching new audiences because of these ever-changing forms. Right now, so much of “melodic rap,” for lack of a better term, can be considered the modern day blues, with personal songwriting and heartfelt vocal tones as two of the lane’s defining characteristics. One artist, in particular, who just debuted a very strong new offering in this style is Newark, New Jersey artist Hadii Bandzz with a song and video entitled “You Not.” At just 17 years old, Hadii is a strong example of the aforementioned point about rap being the modern day blues. Even at such a young age, the level of emotion present in Hadii’s songwriting and singing is designed to offer strong resonance with listeners, personal in inspiration yet universal in thematics. In this way, the Jersey teenager displays a level of artistry and introspection far beyond his years, guided by soul-stricken lines like “I thought you was here but you not” — simplistic yet deeply …

SOPHIETHEHOMIE has been on my radar ever since we covered “Home Demo” for the site way back in May of 2020. In the time since, she’s grown deeply as an artist and eventually put out my favorite release of hers to date: “Natural Disaster,” which I’m here today to cover. When this song first released, I couldn’t keep it off of repeat. The alternative-leaning sound offers a level of vulnerability that speaks to the song’s themes of anxiety and frustration, while Sophie’s vocals lay atop this production in a way that makes “Natural Disaster” all the more impactful. This is a heart-led release, and from production to deliveries and songwriting, all the way down to the smallest details of Sophie’s vocal inflections, she lets everything out with the utmost sincerity, capturing a powerful display of artistry in the process. Only adding fuel to the fire, the video contextualizes Sophie’s emotions not only in regards to setting, but in facial expressions and body language as well, nailing down the meaning of the song and the weight behind its every word. Taking all of this into consideration, “Natural Disaster” is the type of release that reminds me why I love music, capturing …

SoundCloud never fails me. Whenever I dig around the platform, I’m presented with gems in a variety of genres, and always find myself with way too many tabs open and a batch of new artists to listen to. A few weeks back, during one of these SoundCloud wormholes, I stumbled across Florida artist Melody and her only offering to date, “As It Seems.” Having written poetry for several years at this point, Melody has a natural knack for songwriting and delivery that seamlessly bleeds over into her music. Needless to say, upon my first listen of “As It Seems,” the song immediately struck me as a masterful example of the marriage between the two and how they interact. When executed thoughtfully, this marriage of writing and delivery can add considerable bouts of personality to a release, just as Melody has accomplished with her ever-so-catchy debut single. She’s storytelling, and her vocal inflections make all the right words pop in a way that rounds out the emotional context of the story and adds an entirely new layer of meaning to each word. Plus, it just makes the song fun to listen to, which Melody certainly doesn’t have trouble with. Being that this …

Between “Catatonic” and “Blush,” we’ve featured Damon Rush on our pages a few times in the past. Following this coverage, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to speak with Rush over the past year or so, and to say the least, there is a very short list of artists that are potentially more dedicated to their craft than he is, if any at all. No better release embodies this than his latest, the deeply exciting new song and debut video for Rush, “parasites.” Entirely self-funded and created/ideated/executed by Rush & the incredible Ayodeji, “parasites” surpasses nearly every visual I’ve seen this year, or in at least the past five years, for that matter. No label, no financial backing, no big camera crew, no nothing. Just two brilliant artistic minds with a nearly-manic dedication to making something that lasts and a very high tolerance for sacrifice in the face of great art. The two traveled around the country for this video, stealing snacks, surviving on Krispy Kreme Donuts for days at a time, doing odd-jobs to make money for the next flight out whenever applicable, and not taking any shortcuts or “no”‘s along the way. If there’s a shot that only looks …