Flyo - 07962 ft Kadiata
Flyo’s career has propelled uncontrollably since Suspect enlisted him as the primary producer of mixtapes: ‘Loading’ and ’Still Loading’. The Giggs collaborator’s first solo EP is packed with bangers, drawing on primary influences of drill and trap, but experimenting with other British-centric sonics like UKG on tracks in the calibre of ‘07962’. Kadiata kills his feature, providing a catchy hook, which intertwines with the middle-eastern melody breaks that run throughout the song.
YBN Cordae ft Anderson Paak - RNP
It’s not often we feel the urge to watch a live performance on Jimmy Fallon, but the combination of hype surrounding Cordae, and Anderson Paak’s full gucci velour tracksuit made this one very difficult to ignore. RNP excels in bridging the gap between classic hiphop and contemporary rap, which the YBN member can thank J. Cole for given his production credits. It’s a tune that will have your mum bopping as she boils the pasta, your Granny as she plates up a selection of biscuits, or even your dog as they chew their dent stick.
Greentea Peng - Downers
We’ve been following Aria, A.K.A Greentea Peng, for a while now, the South Londoner’s ability to soundscape lo-fi, naturalistic rhythms and rhymes could be likened to the herbal tea she is so openly fond of. Her vocals are incredibly warming, and beautifully husky; Downers is arguably her best single to date, providing a contagious chorus and the luscious instrumentation she has internalised. Check out the single and her much-deserved collars show below.
Michael Phantom - Madaleine
Member of Octavian’s infamous Essie Gang collective, Michael Phantom may be known by many for his undeniably hard bars on Octo’s ‘Bet’, featuring Skepta, but recent single ‘Madaleine’ really sees the artist stepping up lyrically. The track’s harrowing narrative romanticises murder in the same way Tyler, The Creator and his Odd Future compatriots did with their earlier mixtapes, and has also received the Virgil Abloh approval. That man is always one step ahead.
Mac Wetha - Spit In Your Face B ft Louis Culture and Lava La Rue
The grungy, post-punk vibe Mac Wetha plays with on ‘Spit In Your Face B’ is evidence, if any was needed, that the producer is one of the best London’s underground rap scene has nourished over the last few years. Enlisting the lethal combination of Louis Culture and Lava La Rue for verses was always going to prick our ears up, especially after the elevation meditation member’s 2017 dystopian banger ‘Culture For 17’.
Dream Mclean - E.T ft Alxndr London
Produced by Earbuds, the magician behind Slowthai’s break out hit ’T N Biscuits’, ‘E.T’ is a woozy, hallucinagenic number, and only the second single Dream Mclean has released this year. If visuals drop to accompany the track, we can only hope they’re as good as the video for ‘Drag Beckham’, which Mclean released back in May. Enlisting the enigmatic Londoner Alxndr London for a feature compliments the spacious tone to the tune perfectly, adding that extra depth of sonic needed to distinguish Itself from the saturation month of music we’ve had this July.
Mall Grab - Eucalyptus
If it wasn’t for Australian born DJ and Producer Mall Grab, I would still possess a severely snobby stance towards Techno. It is tunes in the essence of Eucalyptus that have really opened my eyes up to the scene, diverging my single minded raving mind away from the familiarities of Drum and Bass, and into the bizarre world of industrial electronic music, real name, Jordan Alexander is currently pioneering. This intense, borderline trancy track will be all over the festival circuit in August, so get familiar with it before all your mates.
Novelist - Different Shoes
Grime donnie Novelist has dropped a string of singles this month, but Different Shoes’ visceral nature stood out from them all. These are some of the hardest bars N.O.V has spat in a while, throwing accusations of unoriginality at everyone in the game and portraying his lyrical stature and wiseman stance on the scene with bars like: “don’t know who you think you’re talking to, I’m a totally different yute, the kind of brother that you listen to”. Although the Lewisham MC was nominated for the Mercury Prize, he is still severely underrated in our humble opinion, so check out Different Shoes below.
Willow Kayne - Success = Fear
Possessing one of the most magical voices in the country’s hiphop scene, Bath based Willow Kayne has been on our radar since her track ‘I’m not about’, but ‘Success = Fear’ may have just pipped the brilliance of the previous single. Glistening synthisers and off-kiltered drum patterns help to project Kayne’s woozy vocals, which glide effortlessly throughout the sub-three minute song length. The singer should find herself wrapped in fear at the moment, because more success feel imminent when she’s releasing songs like this.
Che Lingo - BADMAN ft BVTMAN
We are incredibly excited to see Che Lingo at Boomtown this year. His versatility is impossible to replicate, as he guides you so fluently through high-hat heavy trap tunes, and introspective ballads like ‘BADMAN’. The provocation for this tune was Lingo’s unfortunate loss of his cousin, which comes at a time when knife crime is so high in the Capital, as the artist pointed out: “Theres been a lot of death in London recently, stabbings and what not”. Have a listen to the beautifully sombre number below.
Lorenzorsv - Vibes ft Lava La Rue and Virgil Hawkins
Let’s not beat around the bush, Nine8 have been killing it recently with their individual singles, EPs and collaborative projects. Arguably the most catchy of these prolific releases, ‘Vibes’ sees Lorenzorsv murdering an infectious hook, where the rapper spits about the lowkey vibes people ordinarily take for granted: Cognac and Old School R&B being two key subject matters. As always, real name, Ava Laurel and Virgil Hawkins bring their unique flows to beat, which oozes melody and vibrance.
Kano - Class Of Deja
After the success of Made In The Manor, many would have written off, real name, Kane Robinson topping his mercury nominated album. However, the dexterity Kano, D Double and Ghetts bring to the tune is enough to body any grime hit of the last decade, let alone this month. Nodding to the legendary grime pirate radio Deja Vu FM, the home of these three kings in the early stages of their career, the tune is not only seminal for the genre’s scene, but for British society as a whole. If you don’t believe us, watch The 17 minute short film that accompanies the track below.
We've just made a playlist for our tracks of the month. Check it out below, and give us a cheeky follow if you feel like it.
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