SEARCH FOR: ZE MILES

Smiles is an Atlanta alternative rock artist who may be small now but he shows flashes of big potential on his project ‘Love, Broke, and Human’. This was throwing into a music recommendations chat on discord that I’m in. I randomly decided to go through some of the submissions and after I pressed play on Smiles’ single “Hate Me” I immediately fell in love with his sound. As i dug deeper into his discography i realized he was infusing funk, indie rock, and hip-hop in his music and it was being executed beautifully. His music reminds me of a mix of the early stages of Earth Gang and Steve Lacy which I’m a huge fan of so I naturally gravitated towards Smiles music. It’s just so smooth and how he glides over each record you’d think you’re listening to someone who is far beyond his years at creating music. Some stand-out records for me on this project are “Hate Me”, “History”, and “Mine.” Stream Smiles project ‘Love, Broke, and Human’ in its entirety after the break.

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 …

If you know anything about the music scene in Atlanta, it’s that many new sounds were created in the thriving city over the years. Rich Homie Quan, also known as Dequantes Lamar, emerged on the scene in 2013 and developed a sound that would inspire artists for generations to come. Throughout his career, Quan has been nominated for Best New Artist and Rookie of the Year from BET, earned a spot on the 2014 XXL freshman class list, and went double platinum independently. While the platinum-selling rapper reached many milestones over the years, he is ready to reinvent himself after taking some time off to focus on what matters most. To celebrate his 33rd birthday, Rich Homie Quan released a new body of work titled Family & Mula, which features eight songs and a single feature from NoCap. This project gave listeners a glimpse of what Quan created during his downtime and how his music has changed due to fatherhood.   This month, I had the opportunity to speak with the Atlanta legend about the legacy he has built and what we can expect to come. Check out our interview below. Lyrical Lemonade: What was it like being from Atlanta in 2011 …

There are literally millions of people making their own attempt at a career in music, but it seems like names are always a hot topic to talk about. Especially when the SoundCloud scene began booming, there were so many different “Lils” and “Youngs” that it almost seemed like a competition for who could have the most random name to follow, something that rapidly became a meme in and of itself before anyone ever even listened to their music. I understand some of these individuals just wanted attention, but the thing I didn’t understand was how some of these emcees expected to be taken seriously with a name so ridiculous. Regardless, it seems like this craze has died down and I couldn’t be happier, to be completely honest. One person who avoided all of the insanity of coming up with a name is the brand-new spitter who goes simply by Lucas, and even though his song “Zizou” is one of his first real attempts at releasing music, it was more than enough to catch my attention. Created as the first single off of his debut album Palm Trees and Fake Smiles, Lucas follows the same process as his name selection and …

Hailing from the Newburgh/Poughkeepsie region of New York rapper Ze Miles makes his debut in our pages today with his introspective and lyrically dense song and its vibrant visual which brings the track to life, courtesy of Panoramic Films. Miles floats over the slow-burning, melancholy instrumental with a mature and balanced flow, carefully selecting each word and delivering them with confidence, something that was easy for him I’m sure given that the Pieper Beats production suits Miles so perfectly. This track comes off his release from last month “STILL LOST” which is a psychedelic and analytical, applying his wisdom to both everyday situations he faces and problems that seem too daunting to manage. I look forward to hearing more from Ze Miles soon and definitely would recommend diving into his new mixtape if you enjoyed this visual.

It always amazes me when I take the time to read bios and interviews with artists that I don’t know very much about because there never fails to be a handful of information that surprises or impresses me. Whether it’s something about their upbringing, their career, co-signs, connections, or even milestones that they’ve achieved, there is usually at least one or two things that I find interesting. Rich Amiri is someone I have heard of many times and have listened to every now and then, but I never took too much time to learn more about him, so when I saw he released a two-pack of records called “ruthless” and “trouble”, I wanted to give him a once-over so I could understand his journey a little more. I was just blown away to find out that he only started taking music seriously not very long ago, and even after starting to upload songs that were recorded in his bedroom to SoundCloud in 2020, it’s truly impressive to see the blossoming career he has built through great music, an individualistic sound, and a compelling personality, with a few viral moments to help along the way. In his newly released track “ruthless”, …

No artistic medium of the past century is safe from post-modernism, and much of the last two decades have seen a re-purposing of everything from architecture to clothing trends and even music, as the ‘SoundCloud’ generation in-particular showed millions how contemporary music styles can be fused with futuristic production styles and autotune warped deliveries. This creative trend is even evident in a scene such as NY-drill’s red-hot sample movement that has turned classic songs from the last thirty-years into frenetically-paced instrumentals fit for the artists to record by punching one line in over top the next, resulting in staccato, machine-gun-esque flows more suited to the subject matter of their lyrics than the oftentimes ironically warped 2000’s pop-hits they borrow melodies from. However this is just the tip of the iceberg and chances are at some point across the internet almost every single genre of the past one-hundred-years has been retrofitted in one way or another, having trunk-rattling 808’s introduced over acoustic instrumentation of the past or hedonist lyrics with almost sacrilegious subject matter over tracks considered musical canon or at the very least veer sharply in a different direction from the original creator’s intentions. Rising teenage star Lawsy is one …

It’s been a minute since we last heard from Nashville multihyphenate $avvy. Following the release of his last project Boys Wear Pearls early last year. Save for last summer’s lone single “Calling It Quits”, it’s been mostly radio silence from our young king. If you live on the east coast you might have been able to catch $avvy perform live, but chances are you’ve been just like me – patiently waiting for new music from one of Nashville’s most exciting newcomers. Luckily today fans are treated to a project many months inthe making, POOR, the newest LP from $avvy himself. Known for his unique take on R&B and hip-hop, POOR sees $avvy flexing his artistic talents even further while sounding more concentrated than ever before. This is a theme that comes up frequently on POOR, as each track showcases a new musical style and aspect of versatility from the young Tennessee artist that fans have missed over the past year. POOR‘s opening track “CALL” features a serene and shimmering mix that sees $avvy leveling his own modern style with a vintage 90’s R&B sensibility. The next minute he’s spitting bars on “CRUCIAL” with laid-back confidence over a nostalgic mix that sounds like it could …

Out of all the numerous crews and collectives in Detroit, World Tour Mafia has become of the most influential and recognizable at this point, as their members have all delivered a number of memorable solo projects, not to mention continually blessing both their city and the world beyond with memorable guest verses and indubitable shit talking skills. WTM Scoob, Milt, DaeMoney, Solid, Miles, and Re make up the tight-knit crew, possessing an obvious chemistry and mutually beneficial culture that enables them to flex on their naysayers and doubters as a group, pushing each others music faithfully along the way. Their latest group visual for their track “BACKDOOR OPEN” was produced by the rapidly ascending production duo of Lulrose and Lulboobie who each have produced a number of the midwest’s most memorable songs, and in Lulrose’s case has been the mastermind behind many beloved underground tracks for years but continually manages to work with all of the hottest up and comers, shaping their sound on their way to the top. From start to finish this track was loaded with wisdom, bragging, and Instagram captions and the confidence that they possess is contagious and I look forward to seeing and hearing each …

2021 has very much been an up and down year for most, but it’s undeniably been a phenomenal year for music. In fact, I enjoyed listening to so many releases that I’d forgotten some even released this year. Not only has there been plenty of stylistic/genre variety, but also artists of all types (small, emerging, mainstream) actively releasing their art. To showcase my appreciation, I decided to put together a list of my favorite projects; (in no particular order) all of which remain in my rotation heading into the new year. I hope you discover an album, EP or mixtape that you might have missed! Last but not least, this list is also a token of gratitude to each and every person that has read a Lyrical Lemonade piece of mine. I wish you a happy and fulfilling New Year. – – – – – Issa Gold: Tempus (album) Genres: Introspective hip-hop, Conscious rap Favorite track: Cold Summer   Amaria – Bittersweet (EP) Genres: R&B Favorite track: Lose Control   Richie Quake – Voyager (EP) Genres: R&B, Indie Favorite Track: Sensitive   Jean Deaux – Most Wanted (EP) Genres: Hip-Hop, Modern R&B, Electro-Trap Favorite track: Stay Down Marlon Craft – How We Intended (album) Genres: Hip-Hop, Jazz …