“I can’t flex, Yeah I went and spent 100 on a whip!” What starts as a shiny haze of autotuned adlibs quickly becomes a single worth the charts. All due to a Columbus, Georgia rapper’s incredible command of both melody and bars. With “100 On A Whip”, Rico Tracks’s latest, bubbly offering, the Southern artist shows just how ready he is for mainstream success. Across foaming, bright synths, sparkling tines, and speaker-shaking trap percussions, Rico Tracks sing-song raps through a catchy chorus; undoubtedly prepared to seize your local nightclub. However, when that infectious hook is over, the Georgian up-and-comer proves he has even more to offer with two, hardbody verses. In powering through a poised flow and street-hardened delivery, Rico Tracks also ensures that “100 On A Whip” will be played on every block in Columbus. In this current, Hip-Hop climate, Rico Tracks’s latest smash is a model modern-trap release. It can easily be embraced by the industry, as well as the streets; and that versatility always leads to the hits we sing.




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One collaboration alone, between Loyal Oxford and Skinny Puma, just crushed 2019. The result of a 35 year old, Venezuelan-Spanish producer’s vision, matched with a Spanish rapper’s mind-blowing performance, has completely redrawn the borders of Hip-Hop; giving the Latin scene a new single to champion, “Diablo”. Not only does “Diablo” shatter cultural barriers by fusing whole Spanish and English verses, but it likewise uses its eccentric, yet anthemic production, as well as angelic choruses, to embark on new sonic terrain. In a bilingual blaze of pure lyricism, Skinny Puma muscles through three-minutes of unforgiving drums, crackling snares, 808s, and an exotic, bell-like melody. For this entire time, the emcee is only stoppable by the colorful breakdowns Loyal Oxford throws into the mix, and the honey-esque serenade of a female songstress that holds the hook. Yet, somehow that is a positive, because it allows the total awesomeness of “Diablo” to shine through. Without a doubt, the many magnificent pieces of this Latin-American banger, are a reflection of the many magnificent talents that composed them. For, the moment Loyal Oxford, Skinny Puma, and this vocalist linked on wax, they created something undeniably special. @loyaloxford





“Diablo” on Spotify
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As it seems, the warmer it gets outside, the hotter SmokeTheGreat’s bravado burns. So much so, that months ahead of the summertime, he has already released the most confident, stunt-worthy track of the sunny season, “BITCHMETOO”. Featuring guests E.WILLS, and NETWERC, “BITCHMETOO” is about as braggadocious as a Midwest banger can get. Seeing as most of the music in this region is largely focused on the extreme violence plaguing Middle America’s streets, this Flint, Michigan release is actually a handsome deviation. As each of these Goat Money Music rappers lyrically clown certain women’s boyfriends, while simultaneously flaunting their riches, influence, and boss statuses, they bring the Midwest mindset back to where it should be: on chasing a bag. Boisterous anthems like “BITCHMETOO”, through their radiating haughtiness, are precisely what light fires of ambition and the hunger for similar success within us. For, no one wants to be the one “talking like he’s got it, knowing he don’t” as perfectly mentioned in the second verse. Speaking of verses, each spitter on this thunderous, trap hit uniquely gives their all. As radically as their deliveries may differ, no one in Goat Money slacks with their pen. Their booming bars and FliCity flows will be the exact reason that, before summer has even arrived, “BITCHMETOO” is heating up your attitude and aux.



“Bitchmetoo” on Spotify
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Day by day, the international rap scene is expanding. The most current addition to a nigh-endlessly growing roster, is Akash. This Indian born emcee is putting on for New Dehli; and his ten-track offering, “I Wanted To Tell You”, will definitely have the City of Rallies on the map. Already, India is known for it’s outstanding food, gorgeous religions, and even grander history and population. However, Akash is determined for its Hip-Hop potential to be equally recognized. He aims to achieve this acknowledgement through a collection of insanely musical records. Each track on “I Wanted To Tell You” totes its own, idiosyncratic flavor; proffering a unique blend of sounds to the overall body of work. Where tracks such as “Star Studded” (feat. ANS), “Can’t Wait” (feat. ANS), and “Deep” (feat. ANS & Risk) harbor sweet guitars, colorful pianos and other acoustic impressions; tracks like “Studio Therapy” (feat. ANS), “Nvi” (feat. Lea), and the closing cut, “Blue Oceans” (feat. Zaire & Rhondo) are more bass/808-oriented, molding solid, modern-trap anthems. Throughout, Akash proves to be just as versatile as the production backing him. On certain tracks he is unhinged, releasing a torrent of rhymes; whereas on others, he fades into the smoothest, melodious croons. No matter which style he’s rolling with, however, the fledging artist always brings his A game. If “I Wanted To Tell You” is all the proof we have, it is enough to establish New Dehli, and India itself, as the home of one of Hip-Hop’s next, promising, international sensations.




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Love is in the air this Springtime. It is certainly light enough for “There For You” to float around: an amorous, trap ballad by the upcoming talent, Justin Smith. Clocking in at nearly three minutes exactly, “There For You” is as romantically moving as a 2019 banger can get. Emotionally, Justin wisps about with wings of autotune, chronicling his climatic ups and downs with a significant other. These introspective rhymes and his heartfelt delivery merge well with the melancholic instrumental surrounding him. As slowly as those pianos keys prance through your headphones, the passion of Justin Smith will pass through your soul. It is through this matchless ability to put his raw feelings on wax, that during such a tender season as Spring, Justin Smith makes “There For You” a playlist-worthy smash.


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In this culture called Hip-Hop, there is no such thing as death. No matter how many songs you may hear about the slain; nor how many lyrical legends we can name, who have succumbed to the streets they described, each and every one of them lives beyond the grave. From the revolutionary Tupac, The Notorious B.I.G., to the recently departed, yet prolific Nipsey Hussle, music immortalizes their souls; keeping them so close to our hearts that we have to be reminded they ever left. Such is the case with Mac Dre, and even furthermore, his Thizz Entertainment signee, Johnny Ca$h. Twelve years after his Bay Area-shaking murder in Vallejo, California, this West Coast icon’s spirit is alive and well; flowing powerfully through his posthumous masterpiece “IN MY SHOES”. Released just last month, “IN MY SHOES” offers ten tracks that prove precisely why the rapper’s passing was so impactful: he truly was an asset to West Coast Hip-Hop. From the colossal title track “In My Shoes”, the celestial banger “Snatch Ya Plate”, to joints like “Ta Da Bang” (feat. Nef The Pharoah), “This One”, and the dreamy smash “Wave At Em” (feat. Vipete and Rydah J Klyde), this project is irrefutable evidence that Johnny Ca$h was on a road to international stardom. Effortlessly, he flexes lyricism, swagger, and a street-hardened flow; stomping over the crispiest beats last decade could hone. At 25, Johnny Castaneda Jr. was already a master of the art of rap. So much so, that “IN MY SHOES” feels more fiery and poignant than some of our breathing legend’s greatest works. Perhaps, that is because the Richmond rapper himself is now a legend, and this album is his crown. When it comes to this culture called Hip-Hop, Johnny Ca$h never died. So long as we are pressing play, and cherishing his every body of work, the icon lives on.




“In My Shoes”
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After wowing us all a while back with their Woah Vada release, “Ghosts In The Machine [Remix]”, Texas’s The Band of the Hawk have returned with another stellar contribution. Gearing up for the unleash of their April 20th album, “Kangol”, the Southern collective offer “Flux Capacitor”: three minutes of abstract, boom-bap bars. The Band’s Noah Archangel and Yeaux Majesty trade a slew of idiosyncratic rhymes over a sampled beat produced by Noah himself. Their flawless handling of the microphone gives “Flux Capacitor” a very East Coast, Golden Era sensation; bolting both artists outside the realm of conventional, Southern Hip-Hop. With such a sparkling, soul-stirring instrumental and broth of eccentric, narrative lyrics, one can not help but feel the influence of MF DOOM, and other ancient, underground legends. Only, The Band of the Hawk prove with “Flux Capacitor” that they have the ability to take their art beyond their predecessors. They are creative; unafraid to challenge the modern sphere of The Lonestar sound, and pave a lane uniquely their own. This fearlessness makes The Band of the Hawk a token we should be vying to protect; and “Kangol” a masterpiece we must anticipate. 


“Flux Capacitor” 



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