Tag: hip hop

We’re digging deep into the archives for this one. For those not familiar with electro-funk, it was an underground genre in the 1980s that bridged electronic dance music and hip-hop. In fact, in many ways it was a predecessor to the proliferation of rap music. The genre was known by a variety of names: electro-funk, techno-funk, and simply electro (not the goth/industrial version from a few decades later). In the mainstream scene, some of the most well-known names were Newcleus, Shannon, Egyptian Lover, Afrika Bambaataa, and some of Midnight Star’s mid-80s material.… Continued →

There is simply not enough hip-hop on this site. Let’s fix that! I grew up in a small, very monochromatic town in Oklahoma, where most of the people had my skin color. In that part of the world, there were two kinds of music–country and heavy metal. In the 80s, a few of my friends who were more hip had started getting into this new “rap music” that I knew very little about. But growing up in a country-western family and then discovering rock on my own, I wasn’t really predisposed to listen to rap.… Continued →

American Made was a fun band that only released 2 LPS, but some of their songs have remained my fave in their tiny genre. What I mean by that is that they combined rapcore with funk & punk & hip hop. Interesting combo for sure, but imho it worked for its time. Both releases garnered Christian rock airplay with the Against The Flow title track, Earth Girls, Matt & Benny & the awesome Better Off Dead. Today’s SOTD believe it or not, was produced by White Heart’s Billy Smiley!… Continued →

Underground hip-hop leaders Illect Recordings (home of Sivion, Terem, James Gardin and many others) are running holiday sales currently on physical merch (12″ Vinyl, 7″ Vinyl, CDs, Cassette Tapes & more). A few new items are included in addition to a couple re-stocks. There are also pre-orders, from tomorrow, for the Sivion x DertBeats Vinyl LP. Stock is expected to arrive in a few weeks from Europe. The official release date will be 6-8 weeks later but fans who pre-order the vinyl will be the first to have it.… Continued →

Long running Christian Music website, JesusFreakHideout.com, just dropped Volume 9 of their “Songs We’ve Been Trying to Tell You About (and Others We Haven’t)” compilation series right here. Go download it and give these great indie artists a listen. Thanks to John, Scott, and the rest of the JFH gang for giving my artists a platform. I hope you all enjoy it. John DiBiase is also a talented artist and some of his drawings take up residence in my home. Make sure to see all his art pieces on Etsy here.… Continued →

Lecrae drops brand new song and music video for the track “Drown” with John Legend. Check it out below this message. Lecrae’s new album, “Restoration”, is out worldwide on August 21st via Reach Records.… Continued →

There’s a new collaborative album out featuring Sareem Poems & Newselph, and . . . it’s now available on vinyl! Hip-hop leading indie label Illect Recordings are offering the vinyl for pre-order via their Bandcamp page. Fans who pre-order the vinyl will get it 2 weeks before it hits stores August 14 (via Fat Beats). illect.bandcamp.com/album/the-art-of-living… Continued →

J. Crum’s latest single is accompanied by a lyric video. Featuring smooth production and an empowering message for the Black community, “RUMBLE” is available now on various streaming/download sites. In J. Crum’s own words, “The pandemic has gotten rid of a lot of distractions and has forced America to look at itself. For black people this isn’t a new reality, but at this time it’s important that we keep fighting.”… Continued →

Veteran emcee J. Crum has just released his brand new, self-produced single entitled “Lost & Found” featuring indietribe. member Jarry Manna. “Lost & Found” is about understanding our identity isn’t in the things of this world. Though at times we feel lost, there is a place that we belong. J. Crum shares, “I spent a lot of wasted time trying to fit in spaces that I had no business being in. I know I’m different and I’m ok with that. I now know where I belong and that’s where I’m putting my effort and attention.”… Continued →

Kevi Morse is a hip-hop artist, DJ, and entrepreneur. When describing his latest single, he shares: I wrote “Black Boy” from a place of encouragement. The song shines light on all the injustices and what it’s like to be a person of color (POC). I hope this song helps the masses find hope and peace, while understanding we’re all equal. #Blacklivesmatter “Black Boy” is available now on your favorite digital retailer or streaming service. Source: SOHHPR… Continued →

Dre Murray recently announced that he has signed with Illect Recordings. Apart from his studio albums, Dre has released two mixtapes within the Dark Vader series, the second of which was released in 2019. The third and final installment is on its way, and in the meantime, here’s a song from the upcoming mixtape.… Continued →

Sivion’s latest single has received the video treatment. The vintage visuals, courtesy of Dust Sieber, complement the Dallas emcee’s reflective rhymes. Tee-Wyla provides the hopeful and nostalgic production, and Imperial comes through with some nice scratching. “I’m Good” is available now on Illect Recordings.… Continued →

On his third single from The Dying Ones, DIE-REK carefully analyses the supposed importance of the “praises of men”, the value it adds to our lives or the lack thereof. Even though the primate-like thump of the self-produced beat will make you do the Klingon Face™ immediately, the lyrical content is still intensely personal. DIE-REK’s unique perspective on props from peers will require repeated listens for effective digestion. It’s safe to assume that DIE-REK humbly accepts any renowned kudos, but he also knows that his legacy is greater than Earthly trinkets and his real treasures are stored in Heaven.… Continued →

From concepts to companies… How do you take a project from $500 to $500k in revenue? How do you take a label from nowhere to 200 songs and 80 million streams in a year? How do you do both while remaining focused on God and Kingdom Building? From concepts to companies, Doc Watson (Jacob Makaish), Co-CEO of Reflection Music Group and Trig (James Rosseau, Sr.), CEO of Holy Culture, come together to share their long-standing relationship, as well as their individual and interwoven journeys through CHH.… Continued →

Da’ T.R.U.T.H.’s latest track, “Never Fail,” features the vocal talents of Greg Cox. Combining punchy verses with some R&B flavor in the chorus, the song focuses on God’s consistent character. “Never Fail” is taken from the forthcoming EP, CHASING GHOSTS, which releases March 27, 2020.… Continued →

Seattle-based hip-hop label Illect Recordings are at the top of their game after more than a decade of releasing quality hip-hop and alternative rap. They’ve just released three new projects which can be streamed, or even downloaded for free! The first is an instrumental album from Sivion called “Group Therapy: Beats” and it features a number of underground hip-hop producers on different tracks. Choose your platform here: https://snd.click/group-therapy-beats The second is a “Sugary” single from French beat-maker Terem. Check it out here: https://snd.click/terem-sugary Lastly, we have another single (complete with an instrumental version) from Sareem Poems & Newselph, called “Freedom.”… Continued →

Remember as kids, when we were taught something was either good or bad, right or wrong, etc.? Then later, you realize everything doesn’t quite fit as neatly in those categories. It’s more complicated. Grammy nominated artists, Da’ T.R.U.T.H. and Flame delve into candid discussions on society, the arts, religion, humanity and more while exploring meaningful topics relevant to their shared faith and the culture that shapes it all. Visit https://complicated-ish.com for full episodes or listen on your favorite podcast platform. Connect with Flame https://www.facebook.com/Flame314/ https://www.instagram.com/flame314/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/2s6kyMmJZFgPCHXU0QxJLp… Continued →

Canadian emcee Rel McCoy (formerly RELIC) has released a brand new video for his song “Part of the Plan.” The jazzy track features guest raps by RationaL and lyrics that question religious platitudes during times of doubt and difficulty. Check out the video here: https://grownuprap.com/2020/01/30/exclusive-premiere-rel-mccoy-part-of-the-plan-feat-rational-video/… Continued →

Hip hop artist K-Drama dropped a new track called “Boss Level”. If you’re a fan of the old Mario games (in this case, specifically Mario 3) don’t pass this post without checking this song out. Very creative and makes for a great listen. It’s also available for purchase HERE.… Continued →

A rising new hip-hop artist named HULVEY, has just dropped a brand new EP titled “Prelude” via his new label home, Reach Records. Check out the songs below via YouTube including some music videos. What do you think?… Continued →

News Source: SOHH PR Cephas released a music video this Friday for “New Day,” a song which speaks about emotional and spiritual manifestations of depression. The new song will be featured on his debut mixtape, The We Will Go Sessions, which is set to release in March on GO! Records. In Cephas’s own words, I wrote this song to encourage myself to get out of bed in the morning. The lyrics were written to help me get out of a prolonged period of traumatic depression where at times I became suicidal.… Continued →

Based on a tweet that included a couple of pictures, John Reuben will be releasing Greatest Christian Rapper Ever sometime next week. According to Wikipedia, his birthday is January 14, but since the site’s content is openly editable, I don’t want to say that’s a fact and be a day off. Reuben’s last album, Reubonic, was released in 2017.… Continued →

Earlier this week, Mars ILL released their new single “Win When.” This has been a welcome surprise for hip-hop fans, as the duo’s last proper album, Pro Pain, was released in 2004. In the meantime, Manchild has been working on a solo project titled Red Bird Day. For more updates, you can follow Manchild and Dust on Twitter.… Continued →

I feel a supernova swooping over you and your uh / Sit and wait a minute man, seldom into sentimental propaganda / Elements of enemy headed for the pedigree / Deader than the beat or the feet of a centipede recipe / Better go retreat hypothetically… Continued →

Long before the Christian music industry had become familiar with industrial music via the likes of Deitiphobia, Mortal or Circle of Dust, indie stalwarts Blackhouse already had 9-10 albums out. Most of them were only available as imports or through independent mailorder, and many were on secular labels. Case in point is “We Will Fight Back,” with its provocative album cover. The crucified rabbit was done by the label without artist consent, or so the story goes. Never one to be pigeonholed, Blackhouse experimented with noise, hip-hop, electronica and more, but all functioning out of the foundation of industrial.… Continued →

Soul-Junk are one of those bands that are immensely difficult to keep up with. Incredibly prolific, they’ve released at least a dozen albums, and roughly 14 EPs. All of them are named after numbers, presumably years (mostly in the 1930s-1950s), but they don’t follow any logical sequential order. To make matters even more perplexing, often the LP releases have altogether different tracks or sequences from the CD versions of the same album. This is not to mention the way they float through styles and genres as if distinctions didn’t exist.… Continued →

Rising Hip-Hop artist – WHATUPRG, has just released his new music video for the song, “Glory” featuring the talents of GAWVI via Reach Records. Check out the track below.… Continued →

“Damn” is the only curse word you’ll hear on Kanye West’s latest album.* Jesus Is King is gospel rap, and not only in the usual sense. With the help of the Sunday Service Choir and Fred Hammond, the gospel influence is potent; although rhymes and beats are present, the latter are especially minimal. Opening track, “Every Hour,” includes no rapping at all and reminds me a little bit of Tonéx. Lyrically, the album is forthright in its expressions of Christian faith. Bible verses are referenced in “Selah” in such a way that would make even Goliath dizzy, while “Water” mentions Jesus’ name 16 times.… Continued →

On Wednesday, the video for “No Fly Zone” by Sareem Poems & Newselph premiered over at VIBE Magazine. The song is taken from 88 To Now, which is available in both digital and physical formats via Illect Recordings. “No Fly Zone” addresses issues related to digital identity and social media, and the video can be found below.… Continued →

Mars ILL’s “Inside Out” is one of the most convicting songs I’ve ever heard. Backbreakanomics (2003) is a classic album as a whole, but Dust’s production on this song is what really sets it apart, with its haunting samples and DJ scratches. Manchild uses the occasion to tell a story which focuses on social inequality, spiritual transformation, and justice. Blames the system that built jails instead of schools / Blames religion as a set of useless rules / Blames his father that he never even knew / Looks in the mirror.… Continued →