ROUNDUP: Summer Sizzle

Even with THE FEED up and running again, there's altogether too much new music to catch up on. Since there hasn't been a ROUNDUP since last November, let's bring that format back, too. What follows is a quick, insufficient tour sampling the state of the scene, here and now, as we careen into Summer 2023. My prediction: from here to A_Dog Day will be an iconic run, and after that? Well, things get even more insane.

Side note: if you don't already know, A_Dog Day will be Saturday, August 26th, and huger than ever to celebrate the event's 10th anniversary. Big announcements coming soon, bud.

D.FRENCH - No Lie ft. Flywlkr

A swing for the fences, right here. Some hella radio-friendly, uptempo summer soundtrack shit from the combo of D.FRENCH and Flywlkr, both artists who are building extremely melodic & musical catalogs. (And, yes…wavy catalogs. Very wavy, indeed.) Anyone with ears will immediately notice how carefully this song was written, with both verses running in parallel. Flywlkr does an outstanding job of flipping the same flow, and he definitely brings his own spice rack to it. Even I'm impressed, and let's be real, I hate shit like this.

Obi the Voicegod - “Do’s and Don’ts” ft. Rivan

Damn, bud. I've been hearing a lot of radio chatter about Obi the Voicegod putting in work on some "next level" material, and this single would seem to confirm them rumors. He sounds way more comfortable with his instrument, just flossing over the beat with a hypnotic banger holding him down. Bringing Rivan into the equation is always going to elevate things, and he kills it once again. Definitely a top ten track for 2023 so far, to my ears.

HakimXOXO x Syierr - M.V.P. 2

Perhaps best enjoyed with headphones, this is a great collaboration in the sense that both HakimXOXO and Syierr are finding common ground coming from different styles. And I gotta say, the mix is explosive chemistry. These cats should definitely drop an album of this kind of urgent, banging & brash material. They just need to get an engineer who can really make their vocals shine in the mix.

sepol mas - 20

I've been consistently impressed with the precocious pen game of sepol mas, a world-weary young rapper with a gift for delivering visuals to his listeners. A bright, sunny summer tune about self-doubt and lethargy, "20" is another great slice of writing. Befitting a man of his stature, he also finds time to talk some prolific shit about the competition.

Moose Got Tha Juice - Off Tha Juice

Moose Got Tha Juice is a force of nature these days, completely losing himself in every song he drops. (If you missed it, we just dropped an excellent GET FAMILIAR interview with ol' boy.) Producer JVP hit him with some luxuriously funky deep pockets to play with here, and Moose makes the most of it.

Sad Boy Julius - Out the Mud ft. Xistential

The tag team of Sad Boy Julius and Xistential continue to deliver mammoth, melodic bangers that sound readymade for some major label shine. "Out The Mud" is gone like a breeze at under two minutes runtime, but it's still a flawless product, and besides, short is always sweet. I'm not sure what's coming next from this crew, but it's guaranteed to be more: more music, more videos, and more elevation on the quality control front. Alongside nxrthstar, this is an impressive team. If you're feeling it, check out the rest of his album, Thanks for nothing.

Bilé - price of luv / we ain’t good

Curiously, the latest from Bilé is also a fresh take on Bitches Ain't Shit subgenre, but from a much different angle. A two-part movement about broken people having broken relationships, this is some of the most venomous material we’ve heard from him. Of course, that kind of car crash honesty only makes it all more compelling. He’s one of the best doing it right now.

Freddie Losambe - 88 Atmosphere

"I'm writing a letter to the editor, letting him know we ain't impressed with the competitors." Freddie Losambe, at some point in the near future, is going to release his 100th project. I don't have a precise count on hand, but that horizon is definitely within view. Over the course of his name-changin', shape-shiftin', fast-movin' streak of EPs and albums, he's carved a lane all his own and sharpened his pen into a diamond cutter along the way. This is a good song, in other words.

ABULLET - Couldnt tell u if i tried

Finally, another dose of those flames from ABULLET, one of the best new BTV rappers I've heard in the past year. He's obviously aiming for The Best, Period every time he gets in the booth. If those adlibs had been turned down even -2db, it would have made all the difference in the world, but I'm also betting that was a conscious decision. Everything he's been dropping is deliberately raw in the best sense. Here’s hoping he locks in with an executive producer with the means & motive to translate all this talent and hunger into a truly undeniable album.