International Hip Hop 20 Items

Poly Dance Theatre presents its new show: Warning: killer track! Let's start with side A: an international adventure. Backstage, we meet up with rico OBF, who has recorded MC Waraba, the Malian singer and pioneer of the "Balani show" for his forthcoming album on Blanc Manioc Records, at the dubquake studio. Still backstage, we come across androo, the little pictureditor hanging around, who offers to do a re-interpretation by re-creating a riddim from the vocal.

So here's poet rapper MC Waraba, singing in Bambara and French, telling us a story about a girl's difficult choices over a riddim made in androo. The result is a strange, solid, bewitching and melancholy blend of dub, wave and drill trap music. The references are many and scattered, as always with androo (just take a look at his bedroom). After the pop-epic poem, dub mix versions unfold, from dub vocal, with reminiscence of the delay-cut poem, to deep, robust instrumental straight.

B side: Warning: killer track again! Warning: another kind of Wave-dub-trap. Warning: Identity is theft. Warning: Sound system style: 4 parts! Here, starting with a badly cut sample (against American transparency! long live Brecht!), we wander through a heavy chorus-stepper-weird-club-dub, ranging from the most pop to the most ruff, via the most experimental to the deepest. 4 episodes. One season. To see again and again. To play again and again (if need be). 4 episodes (Warning again: Sound system style: 4 parts!) A series of versions in which the dub mix experiments and pushes the track to its limits.

Translated with deepl

Recorded at Avantdale Bowling Club’s sold out headline date at Auckland’s iconic Powerstation in August 2019 – the album includes extended live versions of four tracks from his self-titled debut album – awarded the 2019 Taite Music Prize and Album of the Year at the 2019 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards – plus To Live and Die in Ad.

edbl is back with the brand new album! edbl has recently collaborated with artists such as Yakul's James Berkeley, Jackson Mathod, Kazuki Isogai and Jprk, and is currently enjoying considerable popularity not only in the UK but also in Asia. His new album, his first release in two years, features up-and-coming artists from the UK and South London scenes, including Turt from Summers Sons, Mercury Prize-nominated jazz musician Quinn Oulton and neo-soul singer Iyamah. The band played a show in Japan in March 2024 and the venue was fully packed and the crowd was highly charged. The track 12 'Tokyo' is reminiscent of the session with guest musician Kazuki Isogai at that show.

"The Remedy," is I G Culture's latest album under Likwid Continutal Space Motion, Culture draws parallels between the complex world of fungi and London's Underground dance music scene. Both are intricate networks that thrive beneath the surface, connecting diverse elements and influencing one another. The London dance music scene, like fungi, encompasses a variety of styles and genres, from drum and bass to Garage Dance Subcultures may go unnoticed to the casual observer but are musical corner stones in our society. Dance floors and clubs serve as spaces for communal healing, allowing people to let go of daily stresses and connect through music and dance. I G Culture's "The Remedy" celebrates this vibrant underground culture and highlights the interconnectedness of all musical styles. Through his innovative production and thematic depth, he underscores the transformative power of dance music, emphasizing its role in promoting well-being and unity. The idea of Fungi also is expressed in the artwork by Amsterdams 'Machine' with IG's direction, who used fungi in an original collage revealing a secret world.

Mahbie, a DJ/beatmaker with solid credibility, drops a NEW 7inch record! The A-side features "the Light" featuring Shizuoka MC TAMAAN.jp of Kotobukicrew, and the B-Side features a lo-fi beat version of the well-known closing BGM "Hotaru no Hikari", which has become a smash hit on digital streaming.

Mvten, the frontman of Oneness, a crew that has gained support from core hip-hop fans in Japan, and Boogie Mason, a leading Japanese beat maker from Shizuoka, have collaborated on the long-awaited 7inch release of a new song!! From the collaboration works of the two artists based in Tokyo and Shizuoka, respectively, the new song "Feel", which was released digitally in 2023 and received high acclaim, and their signature song "True School" have been newly remixed by Boogie Mason himself (only on 7inch) for a physical release on 7inch for club use! Boogie Mason, who has experienced worldwide releases on the US label "No Sabes", has an outstanding sense of melody.

Introducing “Psyche Gems”, the Jakarta Records debut LP from LA based Rapper Juicebox & Norwegian producer duo Myeye. Debut LP “Psyche Gems,” a collaborative musical venture sparked by an impromptu Instagram jam session in 2021, is poised to mesmerize audiences. The brainchild of Juicebox, a versatile artist known for his roles as a singer, songwriter, rapper, and one half of the acclaimed group Figmore (with 10.4 Rog), “Psyche Gems” emerged from Juicebox's admiration for Simen Hallset's psych-pop band Gold Celeste (over 20 million Streams on Spotify). After reaching out to Simen, they swiftly connected with Henrik Norbakk, the other half of Myeye, igniting the genesis of the collaborative project. An Instagram jam session in 2021 gave sonic birth to LP “Psyche Gems”. Buttery vocals meet funky, soul-driven beats, meticulously recorded live, then chopped and repurposed to create an experience that transcends sonic definition. From vibrant head-nodding energy to lush beats seamlessly melded with an inimitable vocal delivery, “Psyche Gems” captures the essence of past and present, offering a kaleidoscope snapshot of life reflected through timeless grooves. The album's distinctive sound is characterized by meticulous layering, where each element is meticulously played, chopped, looped, and jammed over until achieving sonic perfection. United by their shared passion for old soul and jazz records, ‘90’s + ‘00’s hip hop, lo-fi indie, and psychedelic music, Juicebox and Myeye seamlessly fuse their diverse influences to craft a musical experience that resonates with listeners on a profound level. "We wanted to create something that inspires, provokes, and sheds light on the truths we all carry inside us," explains Juicebox. "Psyche Gems is more than just an album; it's an infinite journal entry of reflection, a testament to the power of music to illuminate the human experience."

OKI & Seeda are Japanese Hip Hop rappers. Seeda is a member of Scars.

qu’s debut album where did the sun go? presents his sonic transformation from a producer to a producer artist in his own right, not only engineering beats, but writing songs, arranging instrumentation and directing his own vision onto a full length album. where did the sun go? features prominent artists like Jay Prince (uk) and Serious Klein (ger), emerging artists Josh Kye (uk) and Malaya (us) as well as Kabul Fire artists agajon and Ninja Kidsoul. on 15 tracks qu proves his versatility in creating an alternative sound that is inspired by the music traditions of hiphop, rnb & jazz.