SEARCH FOR: DOTCOMNIRVAN

Although it feels like the general public is only beginning to find out about Dro Kenji, I knew he was a star from the very moment I heard his 2020 mixtape TEARS AND PISTOLS. Back around when this project dropped, Dro had just begun working with Internet Money, and it feels like although they asked a lot of him in order to get his career off to a hot start, he wasn’t just up to the challenge, he was hungry for it. I still have to say that this tape is still probably my personal favorite project from the South Carolina hitmaker I think out of nostalgia more than anything, but he has spent the ensuing years perfecting his craft through more than 5 additional projects. Each album seems to get better and more well-executed as time goes on, and Dro proves that although I feel like he can be considered a master at this point, he is always rejuvenating his sound and providing something fresh to the table, a feat that most emcees can’t quite deliver on nearly as well as Dro. This streak continues with the release of his latest project ANYWHERE BUT HERE, a 13-song effort that …

Few artists have impressed me in a manner that’s even close to the way SSGKobe has captured my attention. I think I’ve mentioned before how he was someone that I was late to the party on, but I was hearing so much about him that I knew it wasn’t excusable to continue sleeping on him and as soon as I finally listened up, I was absolutely stunned by just how talented he proved to be. That was probably way back in early 2021 or late 2020, and it seemed like he had a streak of wins that was unmatched by almost anyone else, but with a skill set as diverse as Kobe’s, it is self-evident why he was receiving so much attention. Over the past few weeks, Kobe has been hyping up the release of his forthcoming project relapsed which is set to drop on July 8th, and even though it only looks like there are going to be 6 songs on this tape, I already know that they’re going to be records that I will constantly enjoy for years to come. In order to get even more momentum going in the direction of the upcoming project, Kobe teamed up …

There’s no shortage of statistically giant NYC artists right now as many of which bask in their mainstream moments, fully taking the drill sound in the mainstream and replacing much of the grit that made the sound so compelling to New Yorkers with a Top-40 luster that amounts to millions of plays. However the city’s underground was left itching not only for more but also something new. Shawny Binladen, alongside his frequent collaborators Big YAYA, Big Gltaow, Big Baby, Four50, and MellyMigo, managed to produce a sound that was familiar enough to ring true for those who have grown to love New York’s new de-facto style but also pushed the boundaries of it enough to create something even more potent than before, and of course that was before they even ever began to sample mainstream and cult-classics left-and-right. Most recently Shawny Binladen headed to L.A. to link with acclaimed director DotComNirvan for a quite visually captivating new release titled “Hercules/Paradise,”  pitting Shawny alongside a violin-player to match the regal string portion found in the instrumental. The beat was created by the duo of Michigan’s Carlo and Massachusetts’ ZT who both have been steadily stockpiling underground and mainstream artsits alike over …

If you are still sleeping on Detroit’s very own BabyTron at this point, it’s far beyond the time that you should’ve woken up. He is undeniably one of the most creative emcees from a state that is riddled with individuality and versatile personalities, so the fact that he is able to stand out so much is a complete spectacle beyond a shred of doubt in my mind. I mean, I think moving forward it is going to be extremely difficult to top his song and video for “Emperor of the Universe” because it’s one of those things where when you have a song that boasts 21 different samples spanning over decades of eras of hip-hop, and then you get Cole Bennett to shoot at 21 different scenes on an iPhone, there really isn’t much you can do to beat that, but this doesn’t mean that he has hit his peak, or even came close to it yet. Even with so many lengthy projects out, he still drops new records constantly, so when I saw that he not only dropped a song called “Bring Em Thru’” that was produced by JakeSand, Danny G, and Getta Beats a few days ago, but …

The career that Trippie Redd has built for himself seriously exceeded any and all expectations I ever had for him from the very beginning, but what I love to see is when an artist builds a strong team around himself because that always seems to go much further than others who try to do things on their own. Although I may not be as familiar with the rest of Trippie’s 1400 crew, I have become slightly familiar with K Suave, another Ohio-born emcee who has been working his way up the ranks in recent memory, and while I haven’t quite tapped in with him as much as I would’ve liked, I knew as soon as I saw that he secured a DotComNirvan music video for his latest song “DayCare”, he was the real deal. This one has an instrumental that is as blithe, free-flowing, and easygoing as ever, and Suave makes sure to match this vibe effortlessly as his lyrics just pour off of his tongue and into the world. There isn’t a single moment in this one where he seems to get ahead of himself or try and go above the naturally easygoing aesthetic of this record, and I …

I think that I have written so much about DC the Don at this point that there isn’t much left to say that I haven’t already written because I just don’t want to do DC anything less than the utmost justice that he deserves. I was slightly late to the party in terms of listening to his music, but as soon as he came across my radar, I pretty much haven’t let a single day go by without listening to his music, and it grows on me with every listen which is saying a lot because I’m such a huge fan in the first place. His sophomore album My Own Worst Enemy was really a massive steppingstone for the Los Angeles by way of Milwaukee emcee, and even though it is pretty lengthy, there isn’t a singular second that comes up short or falls flat because the versatility and complexity that he shares on the project is unmatched, but certain songs do stand out amongst the rest, especially my personal favorite “Donny’s Revenge”. Well, you know that DC is making massive moves because DotComNirvan doesn’t work with anyone but the hottest rising talents in the game, directing videos for musicians …

The underground music scene is full of characters, and one of the craziest things to me is the fact that there are different levels of reach for so many of these artists. Some might be revered as some of the most iconic names all over the world while others are local legends that have a fanbase full of die-hard listeners, but they just haven’t spanned across the country quite yet. As for Autumn!, he has definitely transcended the locality of his home in Louisiana to nationwide fame, and when you listen to any one of his songs, it should be pretty obvious as to why. His personality is always showstopping while his flows are very intricate and unique, and that is no different in his song “Jumpin!” which serves as the third single from his forthcoming album Antagonist! and features energetic, up-tempo production from Rio Leyva of Internet Money. If you know anything about Autumn!, you should understand the fact that he never puts anything out unless it’s a hit, and DotComNirvan goes by the same set of parameters, so when these two phenoms teamed up to shoot a music video for the single, it was definitely at the top …

Up and coming rapper and producer iayze (pronounced Jace) from Fort Worth, Texas has been blowing up on the music scene for a little while now. The underground artist is widely known for his viral hit “556 (Green Tip)”. This song has generated 2.3 million views on Youtube, and 779k plays on Soundcloud up to date. His melodic vocal ad-libs mixed with the pulsing 808s and iayze punchlines were the magic formula for a dope track. “556” does an amazing job showcasing iayze versatility. Last December he released his latest EP Red Faction. The EP was produced by Mixed Matches, who also served as the EP’s executive producer. While this EP only had 4 songs, it’s safe to say he still delivered nothing but the best on each track. Another track from iayze that brought him buzz was his track titled “C’mere! “. According to Genius, C’mere! is a response to the viral diss song released by Twisty P, I Shoot 4 Fun / Iayze Diss. Earlier this year, “C’mere!” music video was released on Youtube. The visuals were shot by DotComNirvan and received 928k views. iayze unique voice and ad-libs continue to separate him amongst the underground rappers. The young rapper …

I’ve covered Alan Wolf a few times on our site and he has shown tremendous versatility in addition to consistency, but his latest visual for “LEAVEIT2ME” is my favorite visual in a string of high quality releases. DotComNirvan went absolutely crazy on this video per usual, with glittery lighting and a hypnotic 360 shot that is incredibly striking and speaks to Wolf’s great taste in directors. He skates over the spacey instrumental with a staccato flow which Nirvan was able to perfectly match the energy of. I am really looking forward to seeing what else the Dallas artist has in store over 2022 and am sure he will continue to be as prolific this year as he was in 2021.

It’s crazy to think just how much the music industry has changed in just the past decade. It went from some massive-scale business that only a lucky few were able to enter to one of the most accessible things to try and get your start in. This is because anyone who had access to things like Garage Band, a cell phone microphone, or even YouTube to get beats from was able to show off their abilities, and while this created a massive boom in new artists, it also flooded the industry with copycats, replicas, and clones that probably didn’t deserve some of the credit that they received because none of their creations were actually original. The same goes for music video directors and creators because once they had access to any of the various editing software that came into existence, it was just too easy to try and put together visuals. While the vast majority of the music business currently is overtaken by replicas, artists like Trippie Redd and directors like DotComNirvan have blazed their own trails and have shown that they’re trendsetters and innovators. Trippie has his own individualistic sound and personality, obviously, and Nirvan has proven his worth …