SEARCH FOR: GOOD PROBLEM

In an era of fake streams, fake views, and “artists” able to buy their way to fame – how are the real artists supposed to stand out? It’s a question that has plagued hip-hop culture since the inception of stream farms and clout-chasing, but luckily today Atlanta rapper/producer Jelani Imani returns to us this month to shed some light on the issue. Directed by Bryan BBL and Imani himself, “who tf?” is the newest forward-thinking release from our king this year, sporting a visual that addresses modern music’s problem of false popularity and trend-hopping. Few people in hip-hop truly embody the ideals of ‘be yourself’ like Imani, so it seems only fitting that “who tf?” exists as a futuristic banger from one of Atlanta’s most promising upcoming acts. Featuring production from Lil Rib, “who tf?” is a minimalistic and hypnotic bop that, like Jelani Imani, lives in a lane of its own. Between SoundCloud’s new renaissance, and the large cultural shifts taking place in Houston, Miami, and Atlanta, the future of hip-hop is in good hands with people like Jelani in the mix. He’s no stranger to the LL page, and with more music and visuals likely slated for the …

There is no shortage of legendary or iconic talents from Chicago, yet it seems like the rest of the world still hasn’t fully grasped that concept quite yet. Although these artists are truly one of a kind, I think what completely sets this city apart from other music hubs is the community that we have built here. So many artists work together and support one another, and the local fan bases they have built have become stronger than anywhere else imaginable, so even if someone might not have nationwide fame, their shows are always going to sell out when they announce a performance, and I don’t see that ever changing. For LUCKI, this isn’t a problem even slightly because he is one of the handful of artists who will undeniably sell out shows no matter where in the world he performs, and he is truly as unique and influential as it gets. When he dropped his song “GOOD MEMORIES” a few weeks back, I was absolutely enthralled and haven’t stopped listening to it ever since, so when I realized that there was a Lonewolf-directed visual for the enticing track, I knew I couldn’t miss out. Much like the majority of …

Rising QC artist Lakeyah has been shaking the music scene ever since her remix to JT’s “First Day Out” Challenge. Best known for her hard-hitting rap and commanding flow, Lakeyah has proven she earned her spot in the music game. Last week, Lakeyah debuted her latest single “I Look Good”. This track is unlike anything else we have already seen from the Milwaukee rapper. Over a thumping bass line pulsating through heavy 808s, Lakeyah switched it up on her fans, with her latest single. “Pretty, petite Aaliyah. Big as* shades on, feelin’ like Sia. Pass me the hookah, no sangria. Shop in Chanel like it’s IKEA (Hey). I get a bag (Uh), re-up. If it’s a problem (B*tch), T-up. New paper tag, girl, speed up. These n*ggas drama, Madea.” Directed by Keemotion, Lakeyah instructs a workout in an iced-out QC chain, and a complete pink outfit. Her confidence, style, and flow took this music video up another notch. It’s incredible to witness the amount of growth Lakeyah has accomplished in a short amount of time.  This year, we hope to hear a lot more music from Lakeyah that shows off her versatility as an artist. Don’t forget to stream ‘“I …

It’s 9:40 PM in Chicago Illinois – May 6th, 2022   I am in the living room of the Lyrical Lemonade office with Ausar, OG Stevo, Chris Patrick, and Justin Alvarez. I just got back from two weeks of touring with femdot on the ‘Back Home’ tour, and one question that arose in the green room multiple times was: What’s the best cookie of all time? We had plenty of passionate and spirited debates about this on the road: Frsh Waters loves butter cookies, femdot is a fan of snickerdoodle, and Amindi is a fan of the frosted animal crackers. After many days of thinking about this in my head, I bought this question up to Ausar, OG Stevo, and Chris Patrick. So here we are – now 9:50 on a Friday night at the Lyrical Lemonade office, ranking our top 5 cookies. _____   First things first – Chris Patrick is the WILDCARD of this debate. For starters, he started his list from 5 to 1, which I think we can all agree is weird. He was extremely passionate about these things called Vienna cookies, must be a New Jersey thing because none of us from the midwest has …

There are definitely a handful of artists that I write about regularly because I am just such a big fan, but I try to avoid doing this too often because sometimes I just run out of things to say to do the releases justice without repeating myself over and over again. While this is a problem when I try and talk about various talents, I always try and write about new music from aldn considering he legitimately never releases anything that sounds cyclical or the same as other drops prior, so I pretty much have a never-ending flow of great things to say, and I would be lying if I said that he was anything less than one of my personal favorite musicians in the current generation of music. Not only is all of his music so unique, but there is also a constant flow of new songs, visuals, and projects, so even before you’ve replayed these things to the point where you could sing along in your sleep as I have, he drops something brand-new that seems to be better than ever, so I think it is safe to say his upcoming EP Good Grief is going to be …

4shley is someone who has been on my radar for quite some time now, and I actually don’t know if I realized how long I’ve been a fan until I sat down to write this article. Looking back at some of the previous posts I’ve made, he has been someone I’ve been bumping for over a year, and I feel like he has yet to let me down with a release, no matter what he puts out. Most recently, 4shley decided to drop a SoundCloud single entitled “how it sounds”, another wonderful hit in his arsenal of records that I hope comes to all DSPs sooner rather than later. Produced by fony wallace and youngyanabu, these two wizards bring two worlds together, one that boasts tranquil guitar riffs while the other includes some interesting and out-of-the-box percussion that gives this record a real spark. As 4shley comes in, his voice is as entertaining as ever, but this time around, he actually incorporates a good amount of captivating autotune on his vocals, using it as an enhancement to the beat rather than some assistance to cover up any impurities. All in all, there seriously aren’t any problems with the natural skill …

I know I’ve mentioned so many different stories with regards to many of the various artists I’ve covered, but some of their upbringings are just too captivating to let go unnoticed. As for New Jersey’s very own Envy Ojay, he has been making major waves in the underground with some insanely good music, but his backstory is just too unique to not mention. Growing up, his mom humorously decided to try and learn a new language by actually listening to audiobooks and lessons overnight in an attempt to ingrain that new language into her mind while sleeping. Well, whether this worked or not, Envy decided to take a page out of his mother’s book and expand upon his musical aspirations by putting his air pods on full blast at night while listening to some of his idols like Juice WRLD, Future, and others so that he would hopefully absorb some of their song structures, melodies, and creativity into his own mind. While this was always a risk, a few months had passed before noises began to dwindle before going completely silent, and that’s when he knew there was a problem. Soon enough, Envy found out that a piece of his …

“Get Refreshed” is a monthly column by Billy Bugara covering all things digital in the music world. Refresh yourself here.  ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yung lean tik tok Okay so, usually (usually) I try and stay out of discourse like this. I did write a pretty lengthy piece nearly a year ago now on the topic of “gatekeeping” for Gum’s Halcyon.txt zine – which should be out sometime soon believe it or not. It sums up my thoughts about the matter pretty abstractly, but I wanted the article to highlight why gatekeeping occurs in the first place, which circumstances its occurrences are valid in, and most centrally here, the ways we can navigate around it. I’m only bringing this up now to say that… honestly… that’s as O P I N I O N A T E D as you’re gonna see me get for a while. And that was a year ago, even; I’ve become even more jaded towards the idea of participating in these types of discussions in any public sphere since then.  That being said, when it comes to the most formative artist of my life, I feel like I HAVE to say something. I recently tweeted out a response to the crowd …

Let’s be real. “Hrs and Hrs” is sung throughout every social media platform we use today. Priscilla Renea, now known as Muni Long (pronounced Mon-ey), has been a hidden gem in the music industry for years as a songwriter. Her talent allowed her to travel around the world to write for major heavy hitters like Rihanna, Madonna, and Arianna Grande. Since the release in November 2021, “Hrs and Hrs” has received over 169.2M video views to date. Muni hit song has debuted on Billboard Hot 100, Spotify’s Top R&B, Apple Music’s Top 100 Global, and U.S. Viral 50 charts. Before pursuing a career as Muni Long, she released two albums under the name Priscilla Renea including Coloured, Nobody Knows and Black Like This. After years of dedicating her talent to others, Muni Long finally decided it was time to put herself first. In the studio, her job was to assist the artist and play her part. Today, she is the star. We’re very excited to witness the evolution of Muni Long in the years to come. Check out our interview with her below. – Lyrical Lemonade: Let’s talk about Priscilla Renea, the songwriter. The face behind Mariah Carey “Infinity” and …

Every year, artists hailing from Chicago prove exactly why this is a city that belongs in the upper echelon of music, and this fact grows more abundantly obvious with every release that is put out. Whether a musician is world renown or locally recognized, there is never a shortage of creativity, effort, or innovation, and whether the rest of the country notices this or not, local fans are well aware of the goldmine that we are sitting on here in the Midwest.  Our goal here at Lyrical Lemonade has always been to shine a light on the remarkable sounds coming out of the city every single year, and even when we go in with certain expectations or presumptions, our minds are absolutely blown once we realize just how much dexterous and unique music was brought to life in the span of 12 short months. One thing that is inimitable within the local scene here is simply the sense of community because whether these talents are teaming up with one another or on entirely different levels of fame, everyone seems to show love to each other, ensuring their awareness of the eye-opening and head-turning styles that are being generated across the …