Johnny Yukon is a Philadelphia native singer-songwriter who links up with G-Eazy for “Eyes Closed”. “Eyes Closed” is a hard-hitting melodic rap beat with Johnny on the smooth hook and G’s slapping flow. Johnny’s urban-pop style is confessional lyrics over hard-hitting beats that compliment each other. Take a peep at Johnny’s Soundcloud page here.
Joyner Lucas is an up-and-coming artist out of Massachusetts whose smooth and lyrical flow murders this remix of Futures “Mask Off”. Joyner’s remix “Mask On” goes against the message of the original track in a direction that preaches healthy drug habits. It seems like Joyner’s concept for the remix was to contradict the original track. Joyner’s flow is very clear and articulate, and also condemns drugs like Molly and Percocets.
Chaz French is an up-and-coming Soundcloud artist out of Washington, DC. Chaz’s latest single “Way Out” shows his potential as an artist and personality. Chaz grew up in a dangerous part of Maryland battling through hardships such as homelessness and a near death car accident. Chaz’s latest project These Things Take Time is available on all streaming services and worth the listen!
Leeds UK collective (and Mabel collaborators) Gotts Street Park debut with RJD2-esque (even a little DJ Premier-esque) “This World”, a potent bit of hip hop particularly suited for late night hours.
The first time I heard NAV was on Travis Scott’s song “Beibs in the Trap”, which was eventually made into a music video. NAV stayed underground after the release until his self-titled mixtape NAV dropped late February. My favorite track from the project is “Good for it” listed below. Check out the entire project on all major streaming services.
“Still Fly” is some real vintage Drake, coming from his 2008 remix of Big Tymers “Still Fly”. The song is an interesting view into the development of the current Drake. The track has a similar melodic flow that he is known for today. Peep drake’s new project More Life on any major streaming service.
The low-key rapper out of east Atlanta, J.I.D, just dropped his album The Never Story. I first found his song listed above, 8701, on Spotify’s “Most Necessary” playlist. J.I.D has a unique style and an intricately lyrical flow that adds character to his tracks. Check out J.I.D’s stuff on all your streaming services!
Joey Bada$$ just dropped a new song titled “Rockabye Baby” off his upcoming album ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$. Politically charged and over an ominous beat, both verses from Joey and Q on “Rockabye Baby” are aggressive – including a few very pointed bars in the direction of POTUS.
“C’est La Vie” by Swindail is an incredible song. He’s teamed up with innanet james and the outcome is absurd. Staying true to his whimsical energized sound Swindail meticulously sprinkles percussion and foley admist james’ lyricism. Stop by SoundCloud to keep up with them.
I found Tee Grizzley on the Rap Caviar page on Spotify, which is impressive being a relatively unknown rapper. The song titled “First Day Out” is a lyrically focused two-part track, which transitions from a mellow to explosive vibe. The man from Detroit has the potential and is on the rise!
Sylvan LaCue and Saba will link up beginning March 3rd in Seattle for a month-long North American tour (dates below). Here, the two emcees on the up trade bars over LaCue’s jazzy vibed-down original instrumental in an A+ collab.
03/03 Seattle, WA – Vera
03/04 Portland, OR – Peter’s Room
03/05 Vancouver, BC – Fortune Sound Club
03/07 San Francisco, CA – Social Hall
03/08 Los Angeles, CA – Roxy
03/09 Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room
03/10 Phoenix, AZ – Club Red
03/11 Albuquerque, NM – Co-Op
03/14-18 Austin, TX – SXSW
03/21 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
03/23 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
03/24 Washington, DC – Songbyrd
03/25 Pittsburgh, PA – Smiling Moose
03/26 Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero
03/29 New York, NY – Studio at Webster Hall
03/30 Montreal, QC – Le Belmont
04/01 Toronto, ON – Adelaide Hall
04/04 Milwaukee, WI – Mramar
