ROUNDHOUSE MUSIC

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and on his new project HEI$MAN, Chicago hip-hop artist Mike DFG has lit the match.

Across 11 tracks and a brief 29 minutes, Mike delivers witty, punchy, braggadocious raps over a batch of aggressive, claustrophobic trap beats.

HEI$MAN exists within a subgenre Mike himself has dubbed “anthem rap” — think Denzel Curry’s 2019 project ZUU, or Baby Keem in his most hyped-up moments.

The formula is as simple as it is effective: be as over the top as possible while creating an adrenaline-inducing listening experience that compounds with each song.

Mike gets busy right away on the intro cut “FLU GAME (DARK.),” where he throws out lots of sports-themed bars that pair nicely with the album’s name:

“When in doubt, know my team finna crashout, hit the lockers / First in depth chart, pressure on me, run the option,” he rhymes over a gritty sounding beat.

The energy Mike brings on the opener only intensifies throughout the rest of the tracklist.

“HE$TER,” which appears toward the middle of the album, brings more hyped bars along with some of the heaviest bass hits of any hip-hop song this year. The closing track, “cordial free$tyle.,” sees Mike channeling his inner DMX over soul crushing bass hits and some snappy trap hi-hats.

While HEI$MAN definitely feels more like a messy, informal mixtape one might have found on DatPiff in 2007 than a well-groomed commercial release, that’s kind of the point: it thrives on chaos and informality. 

For that reason, Mike DFG has delivered one of the most satisfyingly off-the-wall releases of the year.

Listen to HEI$MAN here: https://open.spotify.com/album/55hVq046XJQWKumiD0YNPz?si=cqxaHHdcSv6goxn1t1zlAA

Austin-based singer-songwriter Chloe Jobin has been on a musical healing journey as of late. 

On her recent single “Licking My Wounds,” released back in February, Jobin scored a heavenly battle for self-acceptance over wistful, slow-paced guitars and steady building percussion.

Her more recent single “On the Brightside,” released back on April 3, explores similar themes of depression and alienation amid a fight to protect one’s peace.

Aesthetically, “On The Brightside” thrives in a similar lane as its predecessor. Jobin’s stretchy vocals and dark yet slaphappy lyrics perfectly blanket the sparse, spacey guitars and minimal drum work. 

As uplifting as some of Jobin’s lines can be, there is still a haunting half-assuredness in her voice:

“There is no one, and there is nothing/That can take away my joy … I stay on the brightside,” she laments halfway through the song.

Jobin’s dreamlike new jam serves as the second single off of her forthcoming EP Over Time, due out on May 29.

Listen to “On the brightside” here: https://open.spotify.com/album/0vm0k1FufHok5DxsUcW0TH?si=IjcxD88HSkm2i9SJnBkbvw

2026 has been a hell of a year for Chicago’s indie rock community. With noted bands such as Friko and Rat Boys making waves with recent releases, it is only natural that some artists who deserve the same limelight will unfortunately fall to the wayside.

One such artist who has fallen under the radar is Sports Boyfriend, whose new single “Ringing” shows that their belongs in any conversation about the genre’s best artists.

”Ringing” follows a similar playbook as the band’s previous single “Crystal Ball,” fusing some weighty, slow burning guitars together with understated, evocative vocals and a slight country twang.

Despite the soft hum of lead vocalist Eileen Peltier’s voice, she delivers some raw, forlorn vocal lines that punch through:

”When I’m not with you, I sit around and miss you ringing on the slot machines,” she whispers.

”Ringing” is the second single off of the band’s upcoming debut album Slice of Life, due out June 9.

Listen to “Ringing” here: https://open.spotify.com/album/71PcIcCFh8JPx58ZxlGYxW?si=y0cGsXjbTyKgRVdVMaRxDg

Over pulsating drum hits and a dreamy set of strings, Sól finds herself at home. 

The Chicago-based R&B artist’s new single “Talk to Me” is a sensual, inviting slow burn of a track staged as an intimate conversation between lovers.

The plucky bass notes, quick guitar chords and breathy strings work in perfect unison to create a nocturnal, jazzy vibe.

Sol’s understated vocals sound as if she’s kissing the mic, or, better yet, whispering gently into her partner’s ear:

“Tell me your desires, whisper your dreams/Under the full moon, what does it mean to be alive?” She asks at the song’s halfway point.

On “Talk to Me,” Sól, who takes inspiration from artists such as Roy Ayers and Marvin Gaye, shows she can make love music with the best of them.

Listen to “Talk to Me” here:

Few artists I’ve encountered recently carry the same level of societal awareness as Chicago-based R&B artist Moyana.

On her new single “NON-FICTION,” which dropped Feb. 27, that awareness is on full display.

“NON-FICTION” opens with a thick, low-end grumble and icy synth chords before settling into mid-paced, head-bobbing drums and a hazy atmosphere.

Despite that cloudiness, a sense of urgency runs throughout the track, driven largely by those same synths.

Tackling heavy subject matter, Moyana’s lyrics are as kaleidoscopic as they are incisive:

“I don’t want to see another flag at half-mast from kids’ mass cut short by ‘stop and get down, class,’” she raps in the song’s first verse.

Even with its weighty themes, “NON-FICTION” remains a track with plenty to celebrate artistically. Most striking is how vividly Moyana captures the urgency of the current moment in her lyrics.

Listen to “NON-FICTION” here:

PLAYTÖ, an Arizona-based R&B duo, have landed on the pages of Roundhouse with their lovestruck, smoky new single “PEGASUS,” which dropped back on Feb. 25.

Producer JayRewind pulls together a minimalistic yet intoxicating production palette, fusing steady bass hits with feathery cymbal work and stretchy, watery synths that ripple and dissolve as the track winds down. It’s a sound that feels weightless but slightly disorienting, like floating just a little too far from solid ground.

Matching the hazy toxicity of the production, vocalists Z. Lew and Jonny Haze effortlessly trade verses, capturing the dizzying aroma of being in love with a kind of blurred, nocturnal clarity:

“Riding my high, like a white Pegasus, baby / Losing your mind while floating in time, babe / In love for the hell of it,” Lew sweetly whispers in the track’s first verse.

With “PEGASUS,” Lew and Haze pull together a moody, dreamy alternative R&B jam worth celebrating. They capture the hazy intoxication of love across the track’s instrumentation, lyricism, and vocal performances, their chemistry oozing through at every moment. It’s a feeling they never quite try to ground—and that’s exactly what makes it linger.

Stream “PEGASUS” HERE.

It’s not even mid-March, and it has already been quite the year for Kiran the Nomad.

In January, he released his latest project Nomad, a concise, inward-looking seven-track offering steeped in glistening pianos, soulful synths and chipmunked vocal samples.

In late February, he returned with the single “BANKROLL,” putting his lyrical dexterity on full display over a skeletal, kaleidoscopic instrumental.

Now he’s back with another new track, “HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN,” a slow-burning jazz rap cut built around a spacey vocal loop and a thick, menacing bass line.

Matching the laid-back energy of the instrumental, Kiran sounds right at home, delivering his bars with a patient flow and calm demeanor.

The stripped-back production lets Kiran’s cutting breath:

“On this highway to heaven, heaven is a metaphor for who you truly are / Will you reach your destination, will you see what’s wrong?”

“HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN” stands as another highlight for Kiran in a year already full of them. According to his Instagram bio, he’s currently dropping a new single every two weeks — meaning it won’t be long until we hear from him again.

Stream “HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN” HERE.