Welcome to Solly’s World. Michigan rapper Yung Sol just dropped his debut album “solly’s world” and it’s incredible. Spanning 15 tracks in length, Yung Sol drops hit after hit and is bringing something new to the Michigan music scene. His raspy voice and assertive delivery mixed with hard-hitting trap beats bring such a unique vibe to his overall sound, and I guarantee he will be one of the biggest artists out of Michigan. No more talking, go stream “solly’s world” to see what all the hype is about surrounding Yung Sol.
After opening for three sold-out Summer Walker shows,R&B newcomer Alex Vaughn makes it clear that she is here to stay. Freshoff the heels of her debut single “Mirage”, which has over 2 million streams and counting, Alex Vaughn releases her first project “Voice Notes” with lead song “The Next One” WATCH VIDEO HERE. On the project, Alex gives us a seat at the piano and takes us through the intimate process of documenting the emotions that lead her to setting boundaries in her relationships, while remaining optimistic about finding what works “for her”.
On the concept of the project Alex states, “Voice Notes is about being brave and unapologetic in my feelings and experiences that make me who I am. My voice notes will always be my first soundboard and favorite diary.” The “Voice Notes” EP is a raw and intimate three-track voice memo that sets the tone leading to her full-length debut slated to be released in the fall. LISTEN HERE
The DMV Native (PG County) will be returning home to perform her new EP, along with “Mirage” and some other Alex Vaugh classics at Broccoli City May 8th RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. This will be Alex’s first performance in her hometown since signing to LVRN/Interscope Records.
Alex is super excited to be back at home where it all started. “I couldn’t be more excited to share my first major festival experience in my hometown for Broccoli City” – Alex Vaughn
Today, Lehla Samia, the latest signing to Yo Gotti’s ever-dominant CMG Records, released her debut single, “Call on Me,” which you can stream HERE on all platforms via CMG Records/Interscope. As part of the announcement, Samia also dropped the visuals for the sultry, new song, which you can watch HERE. “Call on Me” finds the singer crafting a hypnotizing blend of hip-hop vibes and soulful hooks, making it abundantly clear why she’s both the first R&B artist and the first woman Gotti signed to his label. The romantic track showcases Samia’s jaw-dropping vocals and knack for melodies that will stick in your head all night long.
The track expertly builds off of SWV’s 1996 hit, “You’re the One,” bouncy synths and club-ready snaps providing a perfect backdrop for Samia to beckon a crush. “Boy don’t you know that you really turn me on/I think I might be goin’ crazy, baby, but I know what I’m feeling,” she sings as her layered harmonies raise up the message.
Samia originally built a robust online following after recording covers and remixes of popular R&B songs — affectionately known as “LehMixes” — and uploading them to social media. As she juggled nursing school with her passion, Samia inevitably established growing buzz as her flips of Queen Naija’s “Butterflies” and Coi Leray’s “No More Parties” exploded on TikTok.
That virality helped the Delaware native secure over 1.2 million followers and 14 million likes on TikTok to date. Most notably, Samia’s dynamic vocals captured Gotti’s attention and prompted the CMG CEO to fly the rising star to Miami for a studio session that would change her life and career trajectory. Earlier this week, Gotti formally announced that he signed Samia to CMG by gifting the 22-year-old songstress a new, pink, Lamborghini Urus. Now, with “Call on Me,” fans will get to see what Gotti saw in Samia — mesmerizing vocals and a unique ability to deliver a dynamic hook.
Toosii returns with his first single of 2022, “Keeper” – a richly atmospheric track with hypnotic percussion that celebrates finding the one you want to grow old with. Tender yet bristling with the realism and humor that are hallmarks of his music, the song reminds us that the 22-year-old Syracuse-born, Raleigh-based artist is indeed a “keeper” – an ever-evolving, ever-surprising career artist who grinds like he’s up next but has, in fact, already arrived. Released today by South Coast Music Group/Capitol Records, “Keeper” is available for download / streaming HERE. The official video for “Keeper,” which also dropped today, explores what makes someone a “keeper.” Producer/director Brian Robles, who previously helmed the videos for Toosii’s “Sapiosexual” and “Shallow,” combines Toosii’s performance of the song with footage of several couples, at different stages of their relationships – including Toosii and his girlfriend Samaria – living out their love in real life. View the video, which was shot in Los Angeles, HERE, and be sure to catch the final frames, where Toosii reveals how he knew Samaria was a “keeper.”
Herecorded “Keeper” in Atlanta withThe Loopholes, who also collaborated with Toosii on his 2021 mixtape, Thank You For Believing, which earned acclaim from tastemakers like TheFader, Complex, and The Source. A deluxe edition of the mixtape,Thank You For Believing: The Manifestation, which included 10 additional original songs, later followed. With a gift for drenching real lyrics in rich emotion, Toosii is one of rap’s most relatable new stars. Hebegan 2021 as a member of XXL’s esteemed Freshman Class. By year’s end, he had crossed the threshold of one billion global catalog streams, performed at Rolling Loud Miami & LA, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits and completed his first U.S. headline tour, which included sold-out shows in New York City, Chicago, Washington, DC, Boston, Houston, and Orlando. Toosii’s red-hot streak continued with the three-track capsule Pretty Girls Love Toosii, released in December 2021. HotNewHipHop observed, “He’s one of the strongest young faces rising in the rap game, impressing the masses with his emotional melodies and his raw storytelling.” VMAN declared, “Rising artist Toosii is taking over the rap universe.”
Global superstar Ella Mai’s anticipated sophomore album, Heart On My Sleeve (10 Summers/Interscope Records), is now available on all streaming platforms. In addition to “D.F.M.U.” and “Leave You Alone,” the album features tracks with Latto and Grammy Award®-winning artist’s Lucky Daye and Roddy Ricch. Heart On My Sleeve features an array of tracks produced by Boi-1da, Jahaan Sweet, D’Mile, and others, but with tracks like “How” and “Power Of A Woman,” Ella and Grammy Award®-winning super producer, Mustard, deliver an elevated version of what her fans first fell in love with. Fully embracing her sophomore era, Heart On My Sleeve showcases a more vulnerable side to the singer, giving a side of herself fans have been waiting years to hear. When she spoke to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1’s New Music Daily, she explained that making “DFMU” was “very hard” for her “because it was like my life in real time.”
Known for making love songs and bringing R&B back to the musical forefront, The FADER refers to her track “Leave You Alone” saying it “offers another side for an artist who makes music about the difficulties of controlling her heart. It’s a situationship that’s driving the song, and the tension at its heart is Mai’s desire for something deeper.” “Heart On My Sleeve really depicts my life in real time,” says Mai. “The album takes you on a love rollercoaster through the affairs of the heart, ups and downs of a relationship and all the complexities that are the grey areas in between.”
Eager to engage with her fans again, Ella teamed up with Amazon Music’s Rotation for an exclusive London style double decker bus activation in Los Angeles earlier this week where fans got an early listen to the album. For the first time in 3 years Ella will be back on the concert stage at the inaugural Strength of A Woman Festival May 7th in Atlanta, GA.
Ella also teamed up with iHeartRadio for a virtual Album Release Party, where she will perform some of her new music live, as well as an exclusive Q&A. Fans can stream the exclusive LIVE iHeartRadio Album Release Party on Monday, May 9th at 10pm ET/7pm PT on FOX SOUL’s YouTube, Roku, and Samsung TV+ channels. Fans can also listen to the show via iHeartRadio’s All My Jams channel.
Today, TM88 and Pi’erre Bourne unleash a trippy animated video for “OMS,” the genre-dismantling opener of their critically acclaimed joint album, Yo!88(out now via Capitol Records / Taylor Gang / Interscope Records / SossHouse). With its gleaming yet knocking production and earworm hooks, “OMS” finds the collaborators at the peak of their abilities, combining skills to create a futuristic trap masterpiece.
The song’s countless sonic and lyrical twists are captured in the hallucinogenic, Daniel Kelly-directed video, which presents a dizzying dystopia. The vintage, computer game-like animation brilliantly matches the surreality of TM88’s digital-leaning production and the thematic leaps of Pi’erre Bourne’s stream-of-consciousness bars. Watch the unforgettable clip HERE.
Opening with a digitally rendered TM88 tossing and turning on a bed surrounded by towering stacks of burning cash, the video then jumps to the animated artist speeding on a dirt bike to escape from cop cars. He then returns to a mansion to play poker and cook up a new batch of beats, flames encircling him the entire time. It’s as if the video is saying, “When TM888 and Pi’erreBourne link, everything is lit.”
One of the chief architects of modern trap music, TM88 delivers his most forward-thinking production to date on “‘OMS.” The fascinating hybrid of quaking trap percussion, alien and 8-bit synths, and grinding guitar plays like a mash-up of spacey video game soundtracks and vintage Brick Squad hits. It’s the perfect score for Pi’erre Bourne, who flexes with abandon. “Yeah I’m Jeff Gordon behind the wheel / Feel important when you sign that deal,” Bourne spits in a melodic, auto-tuned flow.
GRAMMY®/NAACP nominated, TM88 helped define the vibrant aesthetic of contemporary trap music, producing multi-platinum hits like Lil Uzi Vert’s “XO TOUR Llif3” and Drake’s“Way 2 Sexy,” the Future and Young Thug-assisted record that hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. TM88’s most recent credits include producing two tracks off Future’s I Never Liked You album. Pi’erre Bourne first made his mark as a producer — crafting massive singles for Playboi Carti (“Magnolia”), topping the charts with Lil Uzi Vert (Eternal Atake), and becoming a GRAMMY® Award winner (Kanye West’sJesus Is King) — while establishing himself as a successful rapper with lauded solo albums The Life of Pi’erre 4and The Life of Pi’erre 5.
The collaborators’ legacies are only expanding now that they’re officially linked. Yo!88 has been praised by fans and publications like Billboard, who wrote “[the album’s] timing couldn’t be more perfect.” The arrival of TM88 and Bourne’s mind-bending “OMS” video is a reminder to revisit one of 2021’s most boundary-breaking rap releases.
Globally renowned vocalist TAYA drops her third single, “Getaway” from her forthcoming debut full-length album, (out May 27, check out the album trailer here). Available today along with an accompanying music video, “Getaway” further establishes an exciting new chapter for TAYA as she continues to break ground as a solo artist. Listen to the new song here and watch the video here.
“Getaway” is an emotionally charged, intimate ballad – God’s love song beckoning the listener to lay their burdens down, bringing all their cares and concerns to Him. Beautifully stripped down with only piano accompaniment and Taya’s raw vocals, the new track is a beautiful offering of solace and respite, reminding the listener that God’s grace is always sufficient. “Are you worn down/Lacking inner peace/Take a real rest/Walk along with Me/In the pastures of my presence/You can be yourself,” the lyrics assure as they soar into the hopeful bridge, “Grace upon grace, upon grace, let Me lead/Getaway with Me.”
“‘Getaway’ was and is a complete gift, says TAYA, “It’s about keeping company with Jesus and being honest with Him in the process. He is the safest place in the world, where else would I go? The song we didn’t know we needed and yet in Gods perfect timing, perhaps the one we needed most. May this song be just that for you too.”
“TAYA reveals another layer of her artistry with ‘Getaway,’ expressing one of the Gospel’s simple invitations in a personal way with the flawless vocal listeners have come to expect,” says Johnny Rays, TAYA’s manager. “TAYA once again finds a simplicity, yet deep beauty in lyric and melody that is authentic and unique to her, a characteristic of her entire debut record.”
“Getaway” releases on the heels of “All Eyes On You” and current radio single, “For All My Life,” which has already been added by SiriusXM and Air1 and has amassed more than 3M global streams to date.
The world first heard TAYA on UNITED’s RIAA Certified Multi-Platinum global worship anthem “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)” which was boasted #1 at Radio and spent a record-setting 61 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Top Christian Songs Chart. Since then, her voice has become an unmistakable clarion call to worship across the world. During her tenure with UNITED, as well as Hillsong Worship, TAYA has helped steward over 1 Billion global career streams as well as performed live for over 10M people in 12 different countries across six continents.
Stream “Getaway here. Watch the music video for “Getaway” here. Preorder “TAYA” here.
Today, WESTSIDE BOOGIE’s hot streak continues with his new single, “Stuck,” out now via Shady Records/Interscope Records. With emotional strings, somber piano chords, and G-funk-inspired synths, “Stuck” provides a rich, multi-layered soundtrack for the California rapper’s contemplative bars. The track’s unfiltered, reflective tone is perfectly captured by the Khufu-directed visual. Watch itHERE. Yesterday, BOOGIE also shared a moving performance of the song introducing all of his alter egos(Anthony, RatchetBoog & Superblood Boog) through COLORS.
On “Stuck,” BOOGIE documents daily life in Compton, his drive for rap domination, and the hold his neighborhood still has on him. “Tell my momma that I love her, I don’t do that shit enough,” he spits. “I’m a bro bro and a cutta, I love the hood — you know I’m stuck.” The confessional track finds BOOGIE torn between two worlds as he tries to reconcile his past with his bright future. It’s the kind of raw, unflinchingly honest rap that BOOGIE does best. The MC’s internal conflict is expertly conveyed in the powerful video. “Stuck” follows the blistering “Aight” as the second cut from the rap heavyweight’s hotly anticipated sophomore album “More Black Superheroes”. BOOGIE’s new era comes after a brief hiatus that stretches back to 2020’s “Outside.” That song, which features Pro Era general Joey Bada$$, paid subtle homage to Eminem’s 2000 classic “The Way I Am” while unloading a barrage of jabs at foes, and declaring BOOGIE’s status as one of the greatest rappers going.
With “Stuck,” BOOGIE shows off even more dimensions to his skills, turning in a razor-sharp anthem that showcases the pain that follows him, even when he’s topping the charts.
DMV and Jamaican bred emcee Flex Kartel unleashes a bar filled, hard hitting new single titled “Rap Now” which features the rapper in his purest element of procuring a fire pun filled track. Continuing his amazing 2021 and 2022 run which saw Flex position himself among artists to watch due to his work on Wale’s ‘Folarin 2’ and other features, Kartel demands pure respect and “Rap Up” is a single where he wants the world to know that he is here to stay.
Definitely keep Flex Kartel in rotation for creative and lyrically inducing music all 2022 long. Good vibes from a dope track set to have to be in rotation all 2022.
DMV rap legend Big Flock (@BigFlock187) is back with a vengeance on his newest mixtape, 1 Lick Away. PG County’s top bar spitter had a lot to get off his chest with his first project of 2022. The 15-track project has absolutely no features and clocks in just under 40 minutes. Big Flock has been through almost everything a street lyricist can go through. He’s spent time in jail and experienced loss and betrayal from people he loved the most. He remains 10 toes down and paints a vivid picture of his life for his loyal fans to hear with each song. His latest visual for “Stupid Sh*t” shows a more polished approach from the gritty MC. HERE The hard-hitting project is a rollercoaster of emotions. Tracks like “Candyman,” “Wait,” and “Night and Day” showcase Flock in his most vulnerable state. 1 Lick Away is his most concentrated effort since his Pooh Shiesty & EST Gee-assisted LP, All Eyez On Me. Big Flock is an open book when he is in the booth, and his fans praise him for it. The Maryland-bred MC has seen a lot of support in the last couple of years from some of the industry’s top acts. Artists like Young Thug, Wale, and Grammy-nominated rapper Cordae have stamped the DMV mainstay. Big Flock isn’t any stranger to the most prominent outlets. His work has been featured in COMPLEX, Noisey, The FADER, and many more. If 1 Lick Away indicates where Flock is going musically, it will be an excellent year for the DMV legend.
For now, press play on the new LP, 1 Lick Away from PG County’s battle-tested golden child today!
