Issue 62
Here’s a toast to my foolish hopes of seeing the silver lining during corona 🥂 Because in a previous issue I mentioned that we could see more albums during corona because hip hop artists could spend more time in the studio during quarantine — and not go on long live tours (which usually is the reason there’s a delay between albums).
But! It has now been revealed that labels doesn’t want to release album since they can’t go on tours due to corona (which makes sense) after release and hence bring in the bucks for the labels. So technically albums are produced and ready, but not released, due to no possibility to go on tours. A bit Catch-22.
That is true for bigger artists, maybe and probably why we haven’t seen big album releases since February. This does open up space for unsigned rappers that aren’t limited by a label. Hence, we’ve seen a lot of young, and/or unrecognised, rappers release albums and gaining more attention due to the famous, recognised rappers haven’t released.
Some are featured in the previous newsletter, some are featured today. I wonder how or if this will change the style of hip hop. Young, unrecognised rappers are often the ones who experiment with instrumentals and styles, and when a song that is experimental goes viral, the famous rappers often jump on the train and do a track of similar style and take a ride on the wave. Now a consequence of that might be experimental, unrecognised rappers gaining even more attention and might gain more popularity due to this. We’ll see.
Lil Tecca (feat. Internet Money)
Out of Love
The singing-rapping style that I’ve featured probably way to many times are influencing rappers country-wide now, with Lil Tecca, New York, Queens, born and bread showcasing with this fantastic rap/r&b-mix. Started of rapping through the XBOX Live network, Tecca paves the way for how you can make it as a rapper today.
Polo G – Epidemic
I’m such a fanboy and I admit it. Polo G is probably my favourite new artists in the past two years, and his latest single could easily blend in on his astonishing album Die A Legend or THE GOAT.
Listen to Epidemic or watch the official video here. I love to see that quad bikes are still in style for rappers.
slowthai, James Blake, Mount Kimbie – feel away
Such a shame that:
1) We can’t see slowthai live performances for now because he has amazing live presence and delivers like crazy on stage
2) James Blake doesn’t do more hip hop collaborations because every time he collaborates with a rappers there’s a great bridge between the raw feeling that rap can evoke, and the raw sort of profound feeling that Blake’s beats can summon.
Listen to feel away or watch the amazing and kind of mind-f*cking offical video here.
Cordae, Roddy Ricch – Gifted
If Polo G is my favourite rapper these past two years, I believe Roddy Ricch is on a close second place. He just keeps delivering verse after verse that will lift any song. Now, Cordae is a hit-maker and with Roddy’s voice on top you know it’s going to blast. I believe we’ll see a lot more of both these guys in the coming years since they both have proven they’re not the one-hit-wonder kind of artists.
NAYANA IZ by TNT
Little is known or to be found about NAYANA IZ, the London rapper and R&B singer, but what is known is that she can create catchy, dope beats and connect her lines fluently on top of them. TNT is one example of that.
Famous by Octavian (feat. SAINt JHN and Gunna)
Speaking of London: Octavian has released a couple of singles these past months and they just keep getting better. With his latest release, Famous, he connects with Gunna and SAINt JHN, who both have been featured here at Franklins, and I have nothing to complain about. Octavian has such a weird voice that just cracks through any beat, which he nurtures well by selecting rather rowdy beats that a ”regular” voice would just ”fall into”.
Slayter (feat. 22Gz, Maxo Kream) – UP THE SCORE
No Franklins without trap nowadays, and this is no exception. Happy to see 22Gz keeping his productivity up, now joining in on Slayter’s new release, also featuring Maxo Kream who I didn’t expect to see on a trap beat like this. I guess that proves how popular the subgenre has come.