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BASHY - BEING POOR IS EXPENSIVE

West London’s Bashy emerged amongst the brewing Grime scene in the early 2000’s (with his Chupa Chups themed mixtape, Bashy.com project and other early indicators of branding prowess), as a juxtaposition to the street-orientated or more aggressive style & sound that was generating much attention and fanfare, from his famous battle with Ghetts, genre-evolving tracks with the likes of Naughty Boy…

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True Steppers - Buggin'/Out Of Your Mind ft. Dane Bowers & Victoria Beckham

In the year 2000, as art ventured into it’s futuristic ‘millennium’ era, our scene and sound was elevating, So Solid Crew were making waves underground, whilst in the mainstream the likes of Craig David and Shola Ama were breaking through. In the same month as Fill Me In and Imagine were released, UK Garage duo True Steppers released Buggin’, featuring vocalist Dane Bowers (of the pioneering…

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Jus Rival - Optics & Design (The Evolving Mixtape)

East London’s Rival is one of the scene’s unsung heroes, long before Grime’s recent resurgence, even when artists ventured into Afrobeats and the Rap realm as the spotlight was no longer on London’s own genre, he continued to create and elevate the sound, with no real industry cosign it might have felt like it fell on deaf ears, but he’s responsible for one of my favourite modern Grime tracks…

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Skippa Da Flippa - Red Tag

As the label Quality Control music emerged out of Atlanta with a whole new sound and vibe, introducing the world to the likes of the Migos, Rich Da Kid and Lil Yachty, one of the pioneers of that era is none other than fellow artist Skippa Da Flippa, his choice of production and unique flow, laid the foundations for what they went on to achieve. Unfortunately, as the label focused more so on the…

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Bri Bandz - Closer

Independent artist Bri Bandz has been making waves online with her blend of honest and feel good music, the Phoenix, Arizona beauty with a big personality has crafted a fanbase with her spirited efforts, turning Nick Cannon’s Love Don’t Cost A Thing dance into an iconic move, with a recent run of records, further cementing herself as one to watch. Gaining traction late last year with…

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Scorcher x Smila - 9:17PM

North London’s Scorcher is on a Balon D’or run of recent, back to the basics with a heap of verses and features, not only returning to the forefront, receiving the well deserved Mobo Award and recently performing Can’t Touch This with British pop legend Robbie Williams, but shining the spotlight on the real local talents, reigniting that authentic feel that’s been missing in the game for a…

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Clue - Tenacious

South London’s Clue has close to two decades in the game (since his street classic Get Away featuring legendary So Solid crew’s Mega Man), with a host of projects and features, through the industry’s transition and Grime’s spotlight, he’s been one of the notables of UK’s street Rap foundations. So as the genre continues to dominate, it’s only right for the tenacious talent to return with an aptly…

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Youngs Teflon - Keep The Change

Youngs Teflon has been one of UK Rap’s most underrated, breaking through amidst the early Grime era, having since made a name for himself, he’s played a part in the emergence of some of our more notable acts of recent, with his versatile street style, storytelling and topical wordplay. If Giggs is considered the King of UK rap, Tef could be seen as the prince and with a prolific discography, this…

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Joy Crookes - Carmen

As the women continue to lead R&B/Soul to prominence, one of the most underrated of those is none other than Joy Crookes. The South London songstress has consistently delivered with her unique vocals, honest lyricism and vast musicality. It’s a couple years since her last release and with her second album Juniper due 26th September, she feeds fans with this EP, Carmen. Carmen serves as a…

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Lethal Bizzle - Can't Touch This ft. Wiley & Scorcher

As the new era of Grime continues to grow, favoured by the return of it’s legends, another heavyweight staple returns to lead it back to the top, with More Fire Crew’s founding member Lethal Bizzle emerging with a new original in the form of Can’t Touch This. Bizzle has carved his own lane since his early Grime dominance, securing chart success with a series of uptempo feel-good anthems and…

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Ye Ali - Gemini

We’re back again, having already released Ye Ali & Chill 4 and the dance EP, WYA? I’m Not Mad Anymore this year, plus two new singles featuring Ro James and Eric Bellinger, the Indiana musical maverick returns with yet another EP, Gemini. I hadn’t even got round to reviewing the extended version of Who Do You Call, with Ro James adding his unique tone to the mix and Regular Occasion (ft. Eric…

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Daff - Free ft. Ay Em

As the UK’s current music scene thrives, beyond the pop-centric acceptance, now with a plethora of talent and sounds, sub-genres of Hip-Hop, Grime, Afrobeats and beyond, the country hosts a variety of established acts. More notably, UK Rap finds itself in a great space, with the likes of Giggs, Nines, Pak-Man and Potter Payper (to name a very small few), now household names, credit has to be…

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Key Glock - Glockaveli

The heir to the Memphis throne found himself at the helm through tragic circumstances that tainted his Yellow Tape 2 success (with Ambition For Cash surpassing 500 million streams), effortlessly stepping up to the mantle, contributing to the PRE projects and with the release of Glockoma 2 in 2023, which was considered his (mainstream) breakthrough, with the anthem Let’s Go featured on the deluxe,…

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Etta Bond - Make Me Cry

One of the most unique talents out of the UK, the beautiful singer/songwriter Etta Bond is one of the pioneers, a prominent talent who stood out early with her unconventional style. Similar to soulful acts like Cleo Sol and Bluey Robinson, the artistry found itself falling behind in what was a transitional period for the music industry, none the less her distinct tone and authenticity cut through…

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Ye Ali - WYA? I'm Not Mad Anymore

Having cemented himself in the R&B realm, as an artist (including last year’s Ye Ali & Chill 4)and behind the scenes, writing and producing with newcomers and legends like Chris Brown, Ye Ali has been experimenting with genres, from displaying more raps to now releasing this new dance album, cleverly titled, WYA? I’m Not Mad Anymore. There have been a few dance album attempts of late, Drake…

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Pak-Man - Outside

Having established his hustler’s ambition and stance through the success of his last project Legendary Still, Pak-Man makes some changes and is back outside. “Real life rodeo, investment portfolio”, Classic ‘Patek’ Pak with his bars mirroring his lifestyle, elevated and staunch, despite being obviously overlooked, there’s few that can really deliver this style so fluent and honestly. It’s…

Pak-Man - Outside

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Westside Gunn - Heels Have Eyes

Having just thoroughly reviewed his previous release 12 in lieu of Wrestlemania 41, the Griselda frontman celebrated with the release of this new EP, cleverly titled after his own Fourth Rope wrestling event, Heels Have Eyes. Starting with an old school blues intro, Fishscale Friday, cooly stating, “he is him”, before a barrage of gunshots, opening to Einstein Kitchen, where the evil genius gets…

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