A lot of people who aren’t familiar with Chicago’s very own Lucki might hear people describe his music as conscious rap and automatically group him in a lane with artists like J. Cole or Kendrick, yet he is in a lane of his own, and listeners wouldn’t understand that until tuning in for themselves. He is just so ethereal that his songs seem to naturally ooze out of him as his deepest and darkest thoughts come to life through his nonchalant, almost sleepy delivery that caught me off guard almost a decade ago and kept me coming back for more with every new release he put out. Late last night, he decided to surprise listeners once again with a brand-new two-track EP that came out of nowhere, yet I couldn’t be more thankful. The first song is called “LifestyleBrazy” and features production from one of my all-time favorite producers Brent Rambo. Here, Brent uses some almost worrisome, momentous piano keys underneath some sinister and piercing hats, poignant synths, and minimalistic drums that provide the perfect underworld sound for Lucki to absolutely demolish. As I’ve grown familiar with Lucki, I’ve learned to love his stylistic choice of starting sentences in a …

As I find myself falling deeper and deeper down the wormhole that is Hyperpop, I find myself getting more and more interested in weirder sounds. While I say weird, I should clarify that I’ve been partial to interesting, innovative, and creative sounds that might come off as weird to the average listener, yet it might be normal to anyone else who has familiarized themselves with the Hyperpop scene. While midwxst has been stating his claim as to why he’s legitimately one of the best up and coming artists in the genre, he never seems to slow down and that’s part of the reason why I’ve become enthralled in the sonic landscape he has painted for himself and admirers all over the world. As I familiarize myself more and more with the subgenre as well, it appears as if there is a group of artists that stick together and collaborate more than any other genre, so this is something I admire more than anything else. Most recently, midwxst teamed up with fellow Helix Tears member/founder blackwinterwells for a track entitled “hate me”. wells handled the production on this hit, bringing a dexterous, lively beat to life with some strange yet playful …

Although it took a friend of mine to put me onto Lovsky’s music a few months back, I have had the privilege of getting to know her personally over social media ever since, and I must say that she has some exciting things coming in the near future. While she often posts covers of songs that include her own unique flair and shows off her diverse talents that are honestly unbelievable in my own opinion, her original records are a bit harder to come by. While they might be few and far between, Lovsky doesn’t take her music lightly at all and she’s one of the few artists left that truly takes a real-life experience, good or bad, and uses that as fuel for her songs. Although it’s been a few months since her last original release, the wait for her latest song “Masks” was well worth it to say the least, and now that it’s in our hands to take in and indulge, I couldn’t be more excited to share it with you as well. Mike Snell and Mosaic Music produced this track beginning with some slow, almost somber piano keys that play out for a good majority of …

I know what you’re thinking, here goes Danny with another TyFontaine article… When’s he going to stop? The answer is never, or at least not until he stops making music which appears to be the same answer, so just strap in and get ready for another hit. Although the slight hiatus was only a short period of time, Ty is back with an incredible new single entitled “Pristine” and the title does an incredible job of explaining just how awesome the song is. Produced by hitmakers Cxdy and ThankYouWIll, we’re introduced right off the bat to some lighthearted piano keys and unique synths before simplistic yet rhythmic percussive elements enter the scene and provide an unbelievable basis for Ty to reintroduce himself to the world. In the hook, Ty constantly begins his sentences before interrupting himself with a scoff as if to say he doesn’t have to explain his drip, people already know what he’s rocking. Eventually, though, he finishes each phrase with such personality and enthusiasm, it’s impossible not to admire the rapidly rising star’s charisma. The instrumental simplifies slightly in the verse, giving Ty a virtually blank slate to switch up his deliveries and flows which he takes …

If there’s one thing that I love about music, it’s the fact that it spans way further than any border or boundary could ever even dream of containing. We’ve got international superstars like The Kid LAROI, Skepta, and Slowthai, to name just a few, yet they’re setting examples for kids all over the world to chase their dreams and do anything they set their mind to as long as they have the work ethic and determination to get the job done. For Yung Gwopp, he moved from rural Australia to the big city of Brisbane at a young age. While growing up, he listened to bands like Green Day and Blink 182 before shifting his admiration in the direction of more hip-hop-forward music. Discovering music production at the early age of 12, he was able to test out a plethora of different sounds that would eventually go on to form the foundation of his music, and after checking out his latest song “Wait!”, all of these influences are fairly clear throughout even with his own unique spin on things. In the instrumental, we’re greeted with light, airy synths that sound almost Pi’erre Bourne-inspired prior to tapping hats and pithy 808s …

While some up-and-coming artists seem to be overnight successes that almost seem to be set up for victories before they’ve even taken a deep breath. Of the music industry, others have to grind day in and day out to be able to make a name for themselves. Although some rises to fame take longer than others, it’s clear that when someone has such a special talent, the world will eventually catch on and everyone will hear it. For rising star The China Blue, he just released his debut EP Written in my Head, From my Bedroom in January of 2020, so the bulk of his transformation as an artist over the last year took place in solitude during the pandemic, yet this seemed to truly help him hone in on his sound more than ever. As he ramps up the momentum to drop his second EP at some point this spring, he recently decided to drop off the project’s lead single “Nervous”, and while I had no clue what I should’ve anticipated, he blew any sort of expectations out of the water from the moment he began singing. Reading the press release, it even says that he wrote and self-produced …

Over the past few years, there has been an absolutely remarkable movement of women entering the rap scene full force and never looking back. They bring a new sense of empowerment to people, especially other women, all over the world, and they’re making such an immense mark on the music industry that I can’t help but applaud this incredible movement. While some of these artists seem to have it made from the moment they stepped foot in the game, others, such as Texas’s very own Big Jade, have to work overtime to make their dreams come true. While Jade has an amazing crowd of supporters and possesses such incredible talent, she still has to juggle a blossoming music career with things like being a single mother as well as a part-time hairdresser on the side. Recently, she decided to make another claim as to why she deserves a moment in the spotlight with her latest freestyle entitled “Bonnet”, and it’s definitely going to turn some heads once people begin to notice her unique talents and stop sleeping on her. As far as the production is concerned, her rap mentor BeatKing flipped a classic Missy Elliot track and sampled “Hot Boyz”, …

It seems like lately, more and more artists are considering themselves rock stars rather than rappers, but when I really think about it, only a handful of these claims turn out to be true. One of the most obvious examples is New York’s very own ZillaKami, an artist who has pretty much made a name for himself through his rambunctious stylistic choices and heavy metal aesthetic that is as appealing as it is unique. While he has been in the music scene for quite some time, now, he still manages to maintain an underground, somewhat secretive disposition that contributes to his allure, and this is one of the many reasons why I find myself becoming more and more enthralled with him. Most recently, although I’m a few days late, Kami teamed up with another self-proclaimed rock star in Lil Uzi Vert for their song “BADASS”, and while Uzi might be considered a completely different type of rock star, I think he definitely fits into this category just as well as ZillaKami does. As for this hit, Yung Germ took over the production with Shrieking and distorted electric guitar licks, piercing percussion, and speaker-busting 808s that combine a bit of metal …