Just when you’d thought every nugget of gold and every rock of diamond had been robbed from the gorgeous continent of Africa, a gem juts from the earth. It glows with the colorful hues of Afro-beat, and glistens with melodies that those native to the motherland will irresistibly feel in their souls. That jewel is Thandiwe Love’s “Good Life”; and through its lustrous prism of sounds, you’ll come to know that the wealth in Africa is far from low. For, there are still mountains of riches in their arts and culture. Thandiwe shows this with twenty-four tracks of enchanting dance music. Albeit, a handful of these records sport modern-trap sensibilities; most of them pump with the Worldly, four-to-the-floor rhythm that the motherland is known for. Raw, stomping kicks and energetic percussions keep this project pumping with the lifeblood of African music; a lifeblood that is further vivified by the melodious vocals Thandiwe splices into it. The lead single, “Loving You” is a quintessential example of such performance; manifested by a club-rocking trap beat and astounding, autotune harmonies. An inflection, with which Thandiwe uniquely excels. All in all, “Good Life” is a powerful embrace of international pop music— mixing World and Afro-beat brilliance with auto-tune and trap magnificence. Out of twenty-four tracks, you won’t skip a single one. In fact, you’ll be pining for the next song from Africa’s rising star.


"Good Life" 




#follow
 







Your summer needed this! A vibrant, bass-bouncing anthem that will light your next house party on fire. With three minutes of slick rap, and alternative trap production, that is precisely what BT The Artist provides. “Hunny”— his amorous May hit— is the theme song to every romance that has blossomed this season; and through its capacious sound, will be a banger for many summers to come. BT needs no assistance on this record, vying instead to totally enliven the track on his own. Between bars about pursuing a potential significant other, whilst lyrically coasting this danceable beat, the Massachusetts rapper likewise calls attention to his Hispanic background. Beautifully, he spins references to ‘Bachata’, ‘Pasada’ and ‘Salsa’—extremely meaningful dances in Hispanic culture— into one of his verses, backed by a party-rocking chant that frequents his chorus. This style of songwriting truly attributes to the rhythm of the song, gifting “Hunny” a pleasurable and dance-ready aura few, independent songs can acquire. BT The Artist’s latest amazement could easily scale the Pop charts; and if the right hands were behind him, pushing along the way, this East Coast emcee could easily be mainstream. With that success, he’ll be giving the game exactly what it needs: supreme lyricism over spirited instrumentals. Press play, and make your summer better than before with “Hunny”.



Listen to "Hunny" today: 



Recent Interview: 





Eighteen years ago, Melvin— in the classic urban drama, “Baby Boy”— gave us some profound insight. Now, eighteen years later, an Orlando rapper is making sure to remind us of that lecture; and drive its point even farther forward than before. For Playboy Ronnie, its paramount to remind his friends and foes of the importance of “Guns And Butter”; and his four-minute, July drop flawlessly does so. Introduced by a sample of that iconic convo, and featuring the likes of 2Tooly, “Gunz And Butter” is a hardbody, street anthem. 


An airy melody is splashed by thunderous drums and 808s, whom yield only to the auto-tuned inflections of the two artists coasting them. The hook is unspeakably superb— styled by the grittiness of its delivery, catchiness of its melody, and smoothness of its street-hardened bars. “Guns And Butter” is unlike anything else bubbling in The Sunshine State; and its creator, unlike any other rapper repping Orlando. With a record as distinct and radio-ready as this, its hard to imagine anyone forgetting Melvin’s legendary lesson. Likewise, hard to imagine Playboy Ronnie and 2Tooly not rising to the top.



“Gunz And Butter” on Youtube 






#follow
 
IG // TW 




“Riding through the city, I move slowly now...” when Legendz Gc utters this bar, in the midst of a bouncy, electronic melody, it resonates amazingly. Likewise, when Drake’s co-signed talent, Chromazz, adds her featured spin to this hook, its catchiness grows tenfold; making this latest drop, “Ride” downright irresistible. The record is threaded with a tropical, dancehall beat and hip-rolling 808s. Stitching those threads together, are the stunning performances of Legendz Gc and Chromazz themselves. Mercilessly, they ravage the instrumental; spitting barrages of bars at the drop of a verse. Where Legendz Gc asserts his dominance over the Montreal Hip-Hop seen with a charismatic verse; Chromazz proves to wield one of the most infectious deliveries and flows in Toronto. Together, they give The North another summer banger. One that— through its incredible Caribbean beat, bar-heavy verses, and contagious, sing-song chorus— will have every club in Canada bouncing in sync.



“Ride” on Youtube 





#follow
 


The city of Philadelphia is breeding a powerhouse. An imprint of epic potential that could very well be the next leading label of ‘The Birthplace of America’. Known as Born Made Bosses Music Group (BMB), this East Coast collective is spearheading consciousness and the revival of boom-bap; utilizing their latest tape, ‘Soul & Spice Vol. 1’, as a swift introduction into their lasting magnificence. Sporting seven tracks, and seven tracks alone, the effort is fully produced by JSoul Musiq (BMB’s first artist and in-house producer). Over twenty minutes of runtime, our New Orleanian beat-maker splices sweet, soul samples with punching, Golden Era drums. These instrumentals lay the foundation of some of CG QUE’s (BMB’s head honcho), JSoul Musiq’s, and Super K’s most impassioned and thought-provoking verses; returning the essence of organic hip-hop to ‘The City of Brotherly Love’. Granted, a couple tracks feature modern percussions— with ‘Kryptic’ being a powerful, 808-driven rhyme-fest; and Atiya’s ‘What I Need’ braving shimmering R&B vocals over soft kicks and trap snares— they do not subtract from the project’s cohesive, old-school sound. Their equivalent use of soul samples is an adhesive that binds these records to the other joints on the project; keeping ‘Soul & Spice Vol. 1’ a smooth-flowing, nostalgic affair. Every artist spotlighted on this project uniquely holds their own; offering another dimension of brilliance to ‘Soul & Spice Vol. 1’ that hadn’t existed before their part. In twenty minutes, these artists combine and create something remarkable. Just imagine what they’ll be presenting us years down the line. If Philadelphia had no hope in R&B and the revival of Golden Era Hip-Hop, they certainly have one now; and Born Made Bosses is leading the way.


We recently caught up with suave conscious rap spitter, CG Que for to get the story behind thejoint project "Soul & Spice Vol. 1". Peep the in-depth FB LIVE interview above on the TheDopeness interview series.


“Soul & Spice Vol. 1” 




#follow