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FW Deem developed his passion for music in early 2015 after being inspired by a few of his older friends that went by the name of CloudSurferz. Deem would record his first song called “Just Chill” produced by Macklemore’s music producer, Zac Levine. He would go on to release several songs soon after. FW Deem would get his first live show In 2017, opening up for Kehlani at The Granada Theatre in Lawrence, KS. Only one week after his performance, he would get arrested for armed robbery. Once again, FW Deem knew that this was not going to define him. He would hone his craft behind bars where he would write songs and practice singing during his free time. Upon being released in 2020, Deem went right to work writing new music and performing at major concerts. Soon after, he dropped his hit single “Not A Safe Place” which would catch the attention of Rene Martinez better known as RGM150. RGM150 is the cofounder of Hoolie Nation, an independent record label based out of Texas. In 2021 FW Deem stood out at SXSW and hopped on the Ragland Tour with SauceWalka and The Sauce Factory and landed a spot on …

Bread Gang CEO Moneybagg Yo welcomes his latest signee YTB Fatt, On January 18 at a signing dinner at Mau Miami alongside fellow labelmates, family, and friends. Bread Gang’s current roster includes rappers Big Homiie G, Finesse2Tymes, Tripstar, and Big30, as well as four different producers. Fatt was gifted two lavish diamond chains and a Goyard bag filled with cash. “I Need Y’all Welcome My Fox @ytbfatt To This BreadGang Loaf Boyz Shit !! He One Of Dem Ones Hardest I Done Heard In A Min Talkn Too Crazy!! @ytbfatt Let’s Run It Up WE THE LARGEST!!” Moneybagg Yo shared to Instagram. The Memphis rapper posted the same video, with the caption “@Moneybaggyo I’m ready. I love U 5. #YoungAndRich #FatFOX.” YTB Fatt has been making noise since 2019 with the release of his singles “Come & Get Me,” “In My City,” and “At The Store,” featuring Bankroll Freddie. But these last few months have elevated the rising rapper to new levels in his career. On January 19, Fatt shared his latest track titled “ I Told You That,” on all streaming platforms. With 74k and counting views on Youtube, Fatt is a new face rising out of Memphis that …

I’ve been familiar with 24hrs for years, as his style has mixed well into my library full of melodic hip-hop and R&B that I’ve grown throughout the last decade. I hadn’t heard much of him recently, however, so when I saw he’d released a new project titled 24HR Casino in collaboration with Virginia producer Kino Beats, I had to roll the dice. It didn’t disappoint. The chemistry between producer and artist is palpable in this project, as Kino’s beautiful production lays a perfect foundation for 24hrs’ melodic, airy voice that’s always been gravitational to me, personally. The two have worked as collaborators and grown as friends while their careers have simultaneously developed, and you can feel that realness and genuine connection in the work produced. Kino’s consistently beautiful work has earned him placements with superstars like Curren$y, Duke Duece, Lil Uzi Vert, and Dej Loaf. Undoubtedly, this project will only further catapult him into the mainstream industry, and I’m excited to see his name continue to balloon. 24hrs has had his fair share of industry success, best-known for frequent collabs with Wiz Khalifa, Ty Dolla, and MadeinTYO. With a solid, top-to-bottom project such as this, I expect that success to continue …

In 2023, my main goal is to broaden my music taste and discover new artists who capture my attention. Canadian native bludnymph is the latest person I had the opportunity to dive into. Widely known for her lip-sync, beauty, and transition videos on TikTok, the rising talent has amassed over 564.1K followers and 13.7 million likes. While a lot of her buzz came from TikTok, it was her music that caught my attention. Especially her latest single “Lights Out,” produced by Cirkut. “The four main points I like to hit in my music are spooky, magic, silly, and sexy. Lights out encompass all of those pretty well in my opinion,” she shared. “Lights Out is me channeling my darker evil side. I’ve been told that I am lovingly by friends and I can be a bit of a pushover. So this is me pushing back.” Bludnymph has a mysterious element to her that I have grown to love. Her bubbly personality translates into her music by uplifting my mood whenever I hear it. While her music career is just beginning, bludnymph has shown so much potential over a short period. This year, fans can expect to hear much more music. “In 2023 …

I must say that majority of my favorite artists out right now are rising out of Florida. 16-year-old buzzing artist Luh Tyler is my latest obsession, and I can’t stop listening to his music. Just a few months ago, one of my friends texted me his single “Law & Order,” and wrote sign him now. I laughed and skipped over the message without thinking much of it. A few days later I kept hearing the song on social media, so I decided to give it chance. Let’s just say a few of his songs have been on rotation ever since and I’m very interested in seeing how his career will explode this year. Tyler’s raspy voice delivers smooth punchlines in his music and his sound isn’t like any other Florida artist I’m familiar with. One of my favorite tracks from him right now is called “Back Flippin.” The official music video was released two weeks ago and it’s already at 2 million views on Youtube. While it is still very early in Tyler’s career, I can only imagine how far the young artist can go with the right team behind him. I can’t wait to see everything he has in …

The holidays are a time for happiness, friendship, and togetherness, and part of this means going to family parties. While I was at a party this past weekend, my cousin’s fiancé surprised me by mentioning he used to produce music pretty frequently, and after going down that rabbit hole of all sorts of music talk, he threw out a few local artists to see if I was familiar. Although some names had rung a bell, I wasn’t completely confident that had actually listened to these musicians, but I love the music scene here in the city and I wanted to make sure to give them a listen as soon as I got the chance. One artist that was mentioned is Freddie Sunshine, a super imaginative and intriguing musician who has been DIYing almost every facet of his career for years, and when I know someone is as hands-on as Freddie, I know that the quality and creativity are going to be through the roof. As I assumed, this is the case, so when I tapped in with a little 2-pack of records he dropped a few weeks ago entitled “Bliss” and “Slip Under”, I was instantly converted into a fan. …

It’s hard for me to count how many new artists I’ve come across throughout 2022, but I can say that one of the most exciting rising stars on my radar is Lucas. The Massachusetts-by-way-of-Florida emcee just got started in this industry this year from what I know, but he hit the ground running and has delivered a handful of remarkable hits that I couldn’t be more excited to write about. Ahead of his Palm Trees and Fake Smiles project which I believe is due out sooner than later, he has gifted us a few records that seem to not only highlight just how huge he can be in this business but also show off how diverse and multifaceted he can be with an untapped imagination that just pours out everywhere, from his music to his music videos. To end the year on another high note, Lucas dropped off another jam entitled “the art of being happy” alongside a Freehoneyy-directed music video that dives much deeper than the surface. The song begins with a smooth, jazzy instrumental that Lucas absolutely rips apart. Then, almost a minute in, the beat simplifies to include a bass-driven portion that allows Lucas to really go …

I always talk about how many different ways I find out about artists, but one of the most exciting ways is through Xposure Music. For those of you who don’t know what Xposure is, it’s an online platform where up-and-coming artists can reach out to industry professionals to get their music heard, receive feedback, and really elevate their careers much more than some rising talents typically can on their own. I’ve discovered some unbelievably talented emcees on here ever since I began working with them last year, but one of the best artists I’ve come across has got to be CutThroatCrew. CutThroat has had an interesting journey throughout his life even before music, being born here in Chicago before moving to Morocco. From there, he spent the majority of his life in Northern Virginia prior to another abroad move to Japan, eventually coming back to Boise Idaho, and finally Los Angeles where he currently resides. When asked about his time traveling and living all over the world, he mentions: “From Idaho I made the decision to move to Los Angeles, California where I honed in on my career and began taking my music more seriously. I’ve been in Los Angeles …

Sometimes it feels like the music industry is closer to the entertainment or acting world than it is actually about music. I feel this way because way too often, emcees feel the need to act a certain way or put on a mask and pretend to be someone they’re not just because they want followers, views, and clout, but at the end of the day, it’s a façade that they simply can’t keep up with forever before it catches up to them in the end. That’s why an artist like BFB Da Packman is so unbelievably refreshing because all he has to do is be himself and the rest just naturally falls into place. The first thing I admired was his personality when I initially came across his music, but after having a good laugh at some of his comical one-liners, I realized that he was seriously capable of so many impressive feats that other rappers simply couldn’t even dream of doing on their own without some help. For this reason, I make sure to tune into all of the new music BFB releases as often as I possibly can, and when I found out that he dropped a brand-new …

Although there are still a bunch of artists that I listened to over a decade ago that are more relevant today than ever, I think A$AP Rocky has been one of the only musicians that has managed to get more and more creative as time goes by. I just feel like his music in general is on an entirely different level than even his most notorious hits of the early 2010s, and his music videos have kicked things up more than a few notches. Sure, the fact that he’s dating Rihanna and has a child with her certainly helps keep him in front of the public eye, but I think even without this incredible relationship, he’d still be one of the most prominent emcees in the modern world. He’s also one of my favorite artists out and has been since middle school, so when he drops a new song, I’m certainly going to check it out, no questions asked. About a week ago, he dropped his song “Shittin’ Me” produced by Krash for the Need For Speed video game soundtrack, but the Grin Machine-directed music video is unquestionably not something you’re going to regret watching even slightly. As it begins, …