Hip hop lovers get their props this week…
Well, life is definitely on the up hey? We’re honestly having trouble remembering lockdown life even though it was only a few weeks ago. It’s a well-deserved feeling, and let’s be real, we’ve trooped our bloody assess off to get here.
Go Freek – (Sydney/Eora) ‘Days Go By’
Go Freek returns with another club-ready thumper in his latest release ‘Days Go By,’ the dance floor veteran venturing into the more underground and murky parts of his sound, a move that more than pays off.
Grounded by soulful vocals and mind-bending basslines, the gratitude-themed groove immerses itself in the underground soundscape, Berlin-reminscent drum lines and rave-like synths in no short supply throughout the four-minute runtime. It’s definitely on the more hypnotic side of Go Freek’s discography, the heater exhibiting an added sense of hypnotism to that of past singes like ‘Deep Cut’ and ‘Define’ with Dom Dolla. It’s all embodied in that cascading drop, warbling synths and tribal vocal chops tinged with an industrial aura; an aura that feels both aloof and dangerous.
It’s the type of heater you’d expect to hear in a sweaty warehouse in the early hours of a Sunday morning, the type where you’ve been dancing for hours on end and have lost track of all time and place. \
Lil Spacely (Sydney/Eora) – ‘Sun Cap’
Lil Spacely hits hard and fast with his latest offering ‘Sun Cap,’ the Sydney MC storming out the gates with what is one of his most enticing offerings yet.
Backed by stabby synths, the rapper goes all the way in on self-fulfilment and backing oneself, his flow totally fluid and free. The addition of autotune helps to maximise the impact of the heater at various points as well, accents on lines like “If money is power/ then I gotta get it” helping to compliment the high-octane nature of the tune.
His voice as a whole really shines in this number, the stripping away of the production textures at various points allowing his tone and lyricism to hit hardest, the unforgiving delivery helping to drive home the intensity of ‘Sun Cap’ and it’s overall message.
Abby Bella May (Sydney/Eora) – ‘Hocus Pocus’
Bedroom-pop starlet Abby Bella May returns with a spooky new single and visual in ‘Hocus Pocus’, the ‘Alien’ singer meshing her signature vein of catchiness with some of her most experimental songwriting yet.
Bursting into frame with atmospheric, almost hip hop-like horns, Abby soon brings us back down to Earth with breathy vocals and carefree guitar lines as she sings about toxic individuals and their witch-like auras. The hook sees her fully take aim at those who imbue their significant others with their imperfections, the added harmonies and synths breezing up and around her as she leans into her pop-inclinations.
The accompanying clip (directed by Maya Luana) doubles down on the mystical nature of the track, eerie backdrops and outfits taking up real-estate as the Eora-based muso mirrors the fun of past clips ‘Wish We Could Be Friends’ and ‘Bindii Patch,’ but with a rich Halloween twist.
Morpheus Justin (Sydney/ Eora) – ‘Let It Go’ ft. Seup
Hip hop newcomer Morpheus Justin enters the scene on a tone of fire and vulnerability with his debut single ‘Let It Go’ ft. Seup, the South Sudan-born muso striking a balance between hip hop heater and R&B bop with the new offering.
Rapping atop a lone guitar line, the MC drops in introspective bars about war, conflict, displacement and trauma. Naturally, he uses a straight-forward flow to deliver it all, one that allows his lyricism to shine with a storyteller-like quality, most notably on the bar “Me and the homie trying to find anyone that would fuck with our sound.” Feature artist Seup really shines on the hook as well, his alternating between his falsetto and head voice tinged with heart as he helps inject an added sense of emotion into the track.
The two musos definitely hit all of the sonic and thematic beats, Morpheus’ confessional flow and Seup’s vocal offerings listening like two sides of the one hip hop coin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq1gLGV8uLk
Yeloboi Tommy (Sydney/Eora) – ‘Trust Issues’
Yeloboi Tommy storms out the gates with an intimate insight into past traumas in ‘TRUST ISSUES,’ the former boxer putting vulnerability to the front with the resolute new heater.
From the jump the Hong Korn-born artist’s vocal talents put you on notice, his tenor tone reverberating against the magnetic synths and drums with power. The arrangement of the surrounding sonics and vocals as a whole is rather immersive, colliding and cascading against each other in what’s an onslaught of all the trademarks of melodic hip hop.
Singing about dishonesty and it’s far-reaching effects upon him and his relationships, the young muso balances the more aggressive parts of his aesthetic with confessional rigour, and it manages to draw you in with curiosity throughout the track’s two minute runtime.
