SEARCH FOR: MIC LEE

Up-and-coming artists ask me for advice all the time, and while I’ve been in this industry for a few years, my feedback might seem fairly basic at times. The main thing I tell them is that consistency is key, so whether it’s releasing music and videos, posting on social media, or just getting into a creative routine to continue to build on your skills, doing so on a regular basis will pay off dividends before you even know it. If you as Blvck Svm, I think he’d have to agree. I say this because after graduating from the prestigious University of Chicago 4 years ago, the South Florida-born emcee found himself at a crossroads once he lost his job due to the pandemic. Deciding whether he should move back home and apply to graduate schools or really dive into his music and see what comes of it, he went with the latter and figured now is the time to chase his dreams and really go all in. When he made this decision a couple of years ago, he went on a streak of releasing new music bi-weekly or tri-weekly in order to never let listeners ever forget about him, and …

Memphis has been a force in the music industry for decades, but it feels like no one in the last 10 years or so has made nearly as large of an impact as Xavier Wulf. The underground icon has been steadily making music for quite some time, and with experience came even better music, so to say he was at the top of his game during any other time than right now is straight banter. Of course, I love all of his music leading up to now, but you can just see how zoned in he is and hear how sharp his words have become throughout the years, and that is once again showcased on Blood Shore Season 3, his recently released project that I simply can’t stop listening to. It’s only right that legends work with other legends, so when I saw him team up with DotComNirvan to shoot a music video for the effort’s cut “First Light”, I wasted no time before tuning in. Nirvan is a sharpshooter with the camera, just like X is on the mic, so the way they were able to bring his love for all things cars, anime, and action together in this …

Photo Credit: Le3ay Studio As we’ve progressed through music, we have grown to see the many mediums that artists are using now to take their careers to the next level. We’ve seen artists get popular from Myspace and older social media platforms. Current social sites such as Instagram and TikTok play a huge factor in emerging artists as well. By far one of the most memorable moments in rap would be the rise of Soundcloud rap and the amazing talent that stemmed from it. Being able to watch artists like XXXTENTACION, Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Trippie Redd and Lil Yacthy take that platform and completely skyrocket into fame was such an amazing sight to see. While each of these artists has their own respective art and their own craft, they all share one thing in common being the OG’s of the Soundcloud rap community. Here we are in 2022, and we are witnessing the new generation of artists who catch their big break from Soundcloud and take their career to the next level. Some of those names are SSG Kobe, Yeat, Ken Carson, and none other than SoFaygo. First blowing up in 2019 with his breakout single “Knock Knock”, …

Keeping up with an abundance of music releases is never an easy feat no matter how simplistic an artist’s music might be, but this difficulty increases an indescribable amount when intricacies come into the picture. While constantly releasing can be a big factor in attracting fans just as much as it keeps them around, it can also prove to be a burden on your reputation if you sacrifice quality to increase your output quantity. This has never seemed to be a problem for Boldy James, a Detroit emcee who has not only made massive strides in his career over the past few years but has also dropped an abundance of projects that comes fully equipped with singles and visuals, so it is hard to imagine when this guy even has any time to sleep. You won’t find me complaining though, because with unbelievable efforts like Super Tecmo Bo with The Alchemist, Killing Nothing with Real Bad Man, and Fair Exchange No Robbery with Nicolas Craven all releasing in the last 12 months alone, Boldy’s complexity and skillset constantly evolves into something more and more dominant. This continued on his latest Futurewave-produced project Mr. Ten08, a 10-song tape that is absolutely …

Over the past few years, I have found myself heavily supporting various artists, but some of these musicians have taken the crown as some of my personal favorites. Whether we’re talking hyperpop artists like ericdoa or glaive, Detroit phenoms like Icewear Vezzo or Babyface Ray, or all-around game changers like Yeat or Dro Kenji, I have a never-ending influx of great music to listen to. Out of all these emcees that I have gone all-in on, $NOT is one of the first names that comes to mind because he has seriously been one of the most innovative emcees in the world, and his dexterity never fails to amaze me. His album Ethereal dropped in February of this year, and as much as I loved it, it seems like he has been on a victory lap to celebrate the project’s success rather than dropping too many new tracks, so when I come across a fresh record, you already know I am not going to miss out. Just the other day, he dropped his third track since February’s album entitled “Simple”, and the bouncy saturnn and Wick Katana-produced instrumental is flawless, which is an adjective that could describe $NOT’s contributions just as …

I’m so used to underground artists putting out an influx of music while mainstream talents get away with sometimes only dropping something new once in a blue moon. While it makes sense for the up-and-comers to want to get as much music out as possible to increase their chances of success in this industry, I feel like the bigger names are given too much of a break and need to continue to expand on their work ethic as they celebrate their success. Now, I’m not here to lecture or complain, I just love hearing new music, but then again, who doesn’t? Obviously, there are exemptions to my previous statement, and the biggest exception I could ever think of is Icewear Vezzo, a Detroit spitter who makes nothing but hits, and lots of them. While he is certainly no longer an underground emcee, I don’t know if you could classify him as a mainstream rapper either, but with the music he makes, it seems like this is his choice, not anyone else’s. Vezzo just doesn’t appear to ever sleep or even leave the studio, for that matter, because not a week goes by when there isn’t a brand-new song, video, or …

As I have gotten older, I have realized the importance of honesty and being transparent with everyone I interact with, even if it’s online. I just feel like there are way too many people who tell simple lies or just aren’t as honest as they could be, and this leads down a path of dishonesty and overall untrustworthiness. The same goes for these articles, because although. I do my best to get the facts and give my genuine opinion of the songs I write about, the simple fact is that I can’t always get all of the details right, so I either don’t include them or write down something I heard or surmised rather than something that I definitively know is factual. I try my best to not let this happen, but I say all of this because I have written extensively about Kelo of Dopeness’ music in the past, and most of the time I refer to him as a Chicago artist. Well, since my last article, it has come to my attention that he is actually from Los Angeles, so I had to clear the air and set the record straight. Regardless, he does so much work for …

Although this isn’t the case for everyone, there are certain emcees in this industry that when they’ve been relatively quiet, you know something big is coming. I mean, everyone seems to have their own cadence as far as releasing things goes, so whether they release something new every day, every week, or every few months, you know when to expect a fresh drop. As I grow used to these behaviors, though, I notice when they begin to stray away from what is usual, and considering Detroit’s whiterosemoxie seems to be relatively quiet over the past few months, I can only hope that this means he is about to drop something epic. I’ve made my stance on the Michigan music scene as clear as day quite a few times at this point, and while it is one of my favorite hip-hop destinations in the current climate, moxie is undeniably one of my all-time favorite emcees out right now, so I have to speculate, otherwise I just wouldn’t be being honest. He has dropped a slew of hits exclusively on his SoundCloud page over the past few months, and while I’m not sure what these are leading up to, I do know …

San Diego-based artist Kakuyon returns to the spotlight with the release of his latest single and video for “Evergreen, Maroon Too.” After taking a slight hiatus to focus on other projects, the burgeoning rapper, singer, and producer returns with a cinematic new visual directed by Juan Madrid that adds background to the question, “where has Kakuyon been?” Opened by incredible panoramic shots that capture Kakuyon in several different landscapes, the multi-hyphenate artist sings directly to the camera with true soul, feeling, and a melodic coating that propels the single into the realm of alternative R&B. Accompanied by a backdrop of delicate synths, and a steady bassline, Kakuyon bears his soul in capturing the difficulty in reading a person’s true intentions that are simultaneously represented in the genre-less home where the song resides. “Evergreen, Maroon Too” marks Kakuyon’s first release since his 2018 single, “Rich” and by all signs is proving he is back and has something up his sleeve. Watch the music video for “Evergreen, Maroon Too” by Kakuyon below.

Now that I’ve shifted my writing focus to quality over quantity, it seems like a newfound freedom has been unlocked in my creative process overall. For the longest time, I was trying to figure out why the feeling of burnout was so prominent in the midst of completing tasks like daily articles; but after much soul searching, it was apparent that I began sacrificing what inspires me for something that was just simply good enough to write about. Do not get me wrong, I love writing about good songs, but for the sake of my brain and overall fulfillment, it is imperative that I only open open up this WordPress account when I’ve found something that deeply moves me. Today, it’s with great joy that I come to this platform writing about an artist who is out of this world talented. I spend a lot of my time scouring the internet for music that pushes the limits of how great music can actually be. With so many things sounding the same these days, there has to be some sort of factor that separates the good from the phenomenal and today’s newcomer possesses that factor. If you’re active on tiktok, then …