TeeLdub - Time To Shine

Time To Shine - TeeLdub (Rap) This week, we are welcoming TeeLdub to the blog with their latest single and ode to ambition, “Time To Shine.” The record is a real groove, centered on a punchy horn arrangement and boom clap production with some crispy snaps. With a silky female vocal providing the hook, both the instrumental and the rap flows here have some real retro vibes. With tonality reminding us of Juvenile and Big Boy, the rhythms feel similar to those of say Chingy and TI, which places this track right at home in the 00s and 10s. The lyrics are both clever and motivational, and are complemented with a bevy of spoken word ear candy. We prescribe this one when you need a pick me up and a push to strive. This song hypes you up to hustle.

Best Lyric: “Put the work in, stay resilient.“

OLYM - Boys Don't Cry

Boys Don’t Cry - OLYM (Pop) Apparently it’s not just the big girls who don’t cry, as OLYM shows us on latest track, which is his premiere on our music review blog, “Boys Don’t Cry.” However, we learn that OLYM very much does cry on his latest record, as he croons about being opened up emotionally by a lover and the end of their relationship. With a soulful guitar and descending chord structure, OLYM’s track hits you right in your chest as he sings of his newfound vulnerability, which he is thankful for. It’s a great message in today’s climate, considering the recent attention to the dangers of toxic masculinity and emotional suppression often reinforced in our men through societal norms. Not so on this track, as OLYM allows himself to feel his feelings, and pour them out to you.

Best Lyric: “I thank you for the world, a world that is brand new.“

Proklaim - CALL

CALL - Proklaim (Rap) What more can we say about our favorite and most frequently featured artist Proklaim that we haven’t already said? With his latest single, “CALL”, Proklaim’s positivity continues to bleed through his work, with this track feeling almost like a gratitude list of all of the gifts life has given him. This is all done over a bumpin beat backed by a horn arrangement and filled with a punchy drum kit. When it comes to flow, Proklaim continues to display his ability to ride a beat with expertise, with the content chock full of clever and thoughtful lyrics that let us confidently say that his skills with the pen remain in the upper echelon of modern rap. We stan.

Best Lyric: “Repetition always take the toll.“

Jehnniel - Heart Beat

Heart Beat - Jehnniel (R&B/Pop) We welcome Jehnniel to our blog with her latest single “Heart Beat”, a track about finding solace and peace in the embrace of a lover. Backed by soulful keys and a moving descending chord structure, Jehnniel sings of seeing a lover’s soul in their eyes, and the connection with hearing and feeling each others’ heart beats in a loving embrace. The song gives real power ballad vibes, with a moody instrumental that helps convey the depth of emotion of the track. “Heart Beat” definitely paints the picture of a nirvana, one you’ll certainly want to visit. A great mellow stream here.

Best Lyric: “Each time I think of you, you set me free.”

Kylie Rothfield - The Barrel

The Barrel - Kylie Rothfield (R&B/Pop) Oh this is a special one. We feel privileged to welcome Kyle Rothfield to the blog this week with her immaculate single “The Barrel”—one of our favorites in our recent reviews. “The Barrel” is a dreamy R&B number about drinking ones cares away. The melancholy bleeds through the pop track, which has some serious R&B leanings, as Kylie’s emotive performance is both raw and honey smooth. There are SERIOUS Adele vibes to the vocal here, and we get some “Diamonds and Pearls” era Prince in the overall feel of the track here too. The musicality is perfection on this one as well, as Kylie isn’t afraid to step out of the spotlight for a moment to highlight the instrumentation, including a soulful guitar solo. And then a fadeout! Remember the fadeout? This one’s a classic in the making.

Hollow Profit - Birds & Bullets (feat. Ben Beal)

Birds & Bullets (feat. Ben Beal) - Hollow Profit (Rap) Today we welcome Hollow Profit and Ben Beal to the blog with their ‘killer’ new track “Birds & Bullets”. Old school feels abound in this breezy mid tempo, centered around some smoky horns which give an underlay of jazz club to the overall retro drum kit—very mid to late 90s here. On “Birds & Bullets”, we get the tale of a straight up killer, painting the picture of dangerous streets and forgotten neighborhoods, reminding us of Biggie’s work from back in the day. The track proceeds like poetry, with an understated delivery—that by the way rides the beat hard—showcasing the artists’ talent as storytellers. This one is a rainy day cafe kinda number, or something to fill the soul when you’re lost in your feelings.

Best Lyric: “He’s known on the block as the ghost with the hot mic.”

Melody Mortal - Everybody Hates Me

Everybody Hates Me - Melody Mortal (Pop)  Melody Mortal is facing the trolls on latest single and premier on our blog “Everybody Hates Me”, and she absolutely loves it. On “Everybody Hates Me”, Melody relishes the negative energy of her detractors, seeming to feed on it as a source of power, all the while waiting to be lauded in the afterlife. It’s a punchy little rock/pop number with clever lyrics that are certainly sing alongable. The sharply produced instrumental is electric and amplifies the angst of the track—which this record is chock full of. We think that this is the anthem for your next villain era.

Best Lyric: “I take my enemies medium rare.”

Natalie Clark - Nothing Left to Lose

Nothing Left to Lose Natalie Clark (Pop)  Natalie Clark returns to us for the sixth time with her latest track “Nothing Left to Lose”, following our prior reviews for “A Place Called Home”, “MIRACLE”, “Mission”, “Freedom” and “How High.” On this latest number, Natalie strips it down to acoustic guitar, gaining a fuller band as we progress through the track, as she wistfully reviews the dreams and goals of her past self, lamenting her history of making herself smaller and giving into anxiety. The vocals are beautiful, as we’ve come to expect, and understated—we can feel the vulnerability in the performance. Ultimately, Natalie decides that the time is now to go and achieve all of the things she’s ever dreamed, and to step into her power with confidence and go boldly. It’s a rousing, anthemic number for sure, but there is one thing we don’t understand. With talent like this, why would Natalie ever hold herself back? ;)

Best Lyric: “I’ll put it on the line for you. Nothing left to lose.”

Rosie Belvie - Survive

Survive - Rosie Belvie (Dance) Rosie Belvie is back on the blog with latest track “Survive”, following her grand entrance into the music scene with prior single “Attitude.” On her first single, we were getting all the 00s R&B vibes with a mix of Blu Cantrell with Missy E proteges. On “Survive”, Rosie is showing us she is no one trick pony—this is a pure EDM dancefloor fantasy that we were NOT expecting—think “Til The World Ends” by Britney if it were much, much HARDER. With a driving electro beat, Rosie allows the instrumental to take the lead at first as she describes tripping out and dancing into the night. When she reenters, we’ve got a dancefloor queen rap verse telling us all how to get down the way she demands, firmly gripping command back from the backing. Like Rosie herself, “Survive” is full of surprises.

KARMA - SIS (She's Something)

SIS (She’s Something) - KARMA (Pop/R&B) We are getting some major 3LW vibes with supergroup KARMA’s first appearance on our blog with latest track “SIS (She’s Something)”. Starting with a plucky guitar strum, we quickly venture into a pop/R&B crossover vibe that puts KARMA right in the TLC, 3LW, Blaque realm—we were specifically getting “No More” from this one. The production is top notch on the cut, as each of our ladies seamlessly pass the baton between them, sharing the spotlight pretty evenly. The deliveries are like honey, sitting right on the border between singing and rapping. Overally, there’s a dreamy quality to the number, light and breezy, as each of our ladies tells you why she’s not like the rest.

Best Lyric: “I’m no little girl I’m a woman.“

Venture Klan - The Side Effects of the Sun (EP)

The Side Effects of the Sun (EP) - Venture Klan (Hiphop) We welcome Venture Klan to our music review blog with their latest EP, “The Side Effects of the Sun”, which we think is a perfect marriage between slick beats and even slicker lyrics. There were moments on Side Effects that even had us chuckling purely due to the cleverness of the rhymes, which we’ll point out an example of below. All in all, it’s a cohesive record with a consistent sound without ever venturing into monotony, paired with an expertly executed handing off of the baton between the members of the Klan. But before we dig into our favorite tracks below, let’s talk a bit about the group.

A rising hip-hop duo from Harlem, Ave Campbell and BukDaWorld, Venture Klan hopes to evoke the spirit of their neighborhood in their music and offer a fresh expansion to the culture. Authenticity abounds in their work, as well as their comedic personalities, infectious energy and powerful narratives. The album itself is the first installment of a two-part project centered on the theme of the pros and cons of achieving success in the hiphop game from the point of view of two young artists.

First standout is album opener “Fuck What You Think”, which content wise is standard in hiphop—a braggadocious number about all of the ways in which the group is worthy of your time and attention—which is a great way to start the project. It also serves to introduce you to the sound of the record, which is an 808 founded haunting hiphop soundscape with plenty of nods to the genre’s history. The track, like the rest of the album, is ominous, and serves as a great introduction not only to the EP but also to the members of the Klan.

Our favorite track however, hands down, is “Moxie” and we do hope it gets the single treatment. Here, we get to the specifics—the Klan is doing well with women. Here is where our favorite lyric is housed—we literally chuckled at it when it happened—and it has to do with one of our Klan members’ love languages. Because we so badly want you to check out this track, we’re not going to spoil it for you. Give it a listen, we implore you.

We also want to point out album closer “Lemon”, as it is the one track that takes the biggest tonal shift. With a screeching guitar centering the track, the flows get an energy boost into rapid fire spits. It’s quite a contrast from the first entry of the EP—a smooth track about their talents—suggesting a lyrical journey of starting from quiet confidence to claiming their status in the game with their full chests.

Cohesive, smart and knocking, the Venture Klan lives up to the promises of the album opening track—they don’t just talk the talk, they deliver. Get on board now, the side offect of listening to this EP is a realization that Venture Klan is on the rise.

Tracklist:

Fuck What You Think
Moxie
That Ain’t The Case
Lemon
Tan Lines
Legend

Dax - Lonely Dirt Road

Lonely Dirt Road - Dax (Pop)  Dax returns for the ninth time on our blog with “Lonely Dirt Road”, a place of solace for Dax where he can let out his emotions, contemplate his struggles and be alone with God. Accompanied by yet another cinematic music video that Dax is known for over here, “Lonely Dirt Road” is another of Dax’s unique blend of hiphop/pop with country twang, here his strong baritone leaning into the country influence while the stripped down instrumental reminds us of 2010s hiphop crossover bops like Mary J. Blige’s “Be Without You.” Marrying the hiphop percussion and country vocal is a solemn piano that lingers back in the reverb, forming a bridge between Dax’s influences. It makes for a stirring record.

Best Lyric: “Face this evil that burdens my soul.”

Proklaim - PROSPERITY

PROSPERITY - Proklaim (Rap) With a repeating refrain of “sunshine” and “moonlight”, it’s only apt that Proklaim’s latest track “PROSPERITY”, has the feel of a clear night sky full of twinkling stars. Preaching from the mound, on Proklaim’s latest track he continues to embody positive thinking, letting his followers know that only good things come when shedding your life of negative influences. Clearly written and recorded recently, as we get a nice little jab at Diddy’s recent woes, Proklaim’s layered rhymes infuse into a sparkling production of chest thumping percussion and soulful piano and string arrangements. Another beautiful track paired with a necessary message.

Best Lyric: “Devil’s always printing counterfeit.“

MUNZER - Keep It Real

Keep It Real - MUNZER (Rap). Yooooo. MUNZER here is taking us back to our college days in his amped up, super hype new single “Keep It Real.” There’s so much to love about this one, giving us retro 00s in all the best ways. Overall, the production reminds us a lot of that era of Timbaland—specifically “Parking Lot”—while there’s also a playful flute in the background that reminds us a lot of “Candy Shop.” And speaking of 50 Cent, the flow in the verses reminded us a lot of him, with the chorus giving us the feel of Fat Joe’s “Lean Back.” With a super fresh production and banging beat, this one hit us right in our nostalgia.

Best Lyric: “Doing the ne ne for the pay day.”

Pink Jagg - Charlie's Angels

Charlie’s Angels - Pink Jagg (Rap). Pink Jagg joins our roster here on the blog with latest track “Charlie’s Angels”, which must be incredibly fresh off the presses considering the sly reference to Diddy and NDAs (lol). The record is a dreamy one, as Pink Jagg rides the beat with a casual and melodic flow over a punchy percussion production, all as a melodic guitar lilts in the back like a palm tree in the breeze. It’s a track that sways and swings, intermittently interrupted by some fantastic ear candy with the background vocal punches. It’s a hypnotic track that we recommend checking out if only for its clever and unique lyrics, and we think it’ll end up in heavy rotation.

Best Lyric: “Open purse and hair all tangled, lookin like one of them Charlie’s angels.”

Grace McLean - My Lovely Enemy

My Lovely Enemy- Grace McLean (Pop) We welcome Grace McLean to this week’s roster of new music with her latest track “My Lovely Enemy”, which comes complete with a superbly produced music video. This track is a genre bending one, giving us elements of smoky jazz club, swing, funk and pop, and is not afraid to dip in and out of some strangeness with complex and interesting choices in chord structure. It’s Grace’s silky and emotive voice that gives us our jazz club feel—she is certainly a classically trained vocalist, we’d put money on it. The track itself centers Grace entirely, putting the success of the record fully on her capable shoulders. A Fiona Apple-esque delivery (think “When The Pawn” era) overlays a restrained, tense patter of a production, growing over the course of the song to become quite the splashy number. We don’t hear much like this one—”My Lovely Enemy” is something special.

Best Lyric: “These lips have touched so many things.“