Reo Cragun has shared an atmospheric new single titled “Just My Luck”, produced by Subb Beats, Johan Lenox, and clear eyes. The genre-fusing Cragun, who is a rapper, singer, producer, and songwriter, has consistently released eclectic music that draws influence from every corner of the musical landscape. His latest single, “Just My Luck”, is an introspective, self-aware cut that finds him crooning smoothly overtop of a shimmering, surreal instrumental. Containing cloudy synths underscored by addictive, pillowy 808s, the beat on this cut is immersive, drawing the listener deeply into the song’s airy soundscape. This instrumental pairs naturally with Cragun’s laid-back, sharply-crafted vocals, making for a vivid, infectious listening experience.
Ty Jouska: Just growing up man, my parents are old school so I came up listening to a lot of 70s, 80s, and 90s RnB and just had an ear for it as a kid. It’s hard to get away from when you heard it your whole childhood. Then eventually, I branched off and started listening to RnB on my own time and it’s been a part of me ever since.
Dami:What inspired you to start making music?
Ty Jouska: Honestly, I was late to the music scene. I had always heard about making music especially being from Atlanta and I had a cousin that used to produce which he inspired me a bit but I didn’t start making music until high school. What really inspired me was just going back and listening to various artists and producers that I love. That gave me the courage to buy some equipment and get to learning music more.
Dami:Speaking of inspirations, who are your biggest inspirations?
Ty Jouska: Man that’s such a tough question. It’s so many eras of great music. Some of my biggest inspirations are Timbaland, Jodeci, Pharell, T.I, Brent Faiyaz, Erykah Badu, Bryson Tiller, Outkast, and a lot more producers and artists.
Dami: How’d you come up with the name Ty Jouska?
Ty Jouska: I get asked this question a lot. Ty is a part of my first name (Tyler). Jouska means a hypothetical conversation that you compulsively play out in your head. It’s initially a dialogue you play out in your head in any kind of situation and I use it as a form of things coming to fruition and not constantly having to prepare for moments. I like staying ten toes down in what I’m doing.
Dami: You dropped a single recently titled “On the Move”. Can you tell us more about it?
Ty Jouska: Yeah for sure. “On the Move” is my first single and I really enjoyed making this track. I think it’s a song that a lot of people can relate to just on some day to day life shit. I feel like you can listen to it when or wherever you are. I received a lot of amazing feedback that I’m honestly grateful for.
Dami: What’s your creative process like?
Ty Jouska: I really don’t have a go-to or structured creative process. It really depends on how I’m feeling at the moment honestly. I usually write on the regular or if I’m not doing anything, but I can write something up in the studio as well. Sometimes I even go off top and see how certain shit sounds. It’s a lot of processes I probably combine without knowing but sometimes, that’s how you make the best music.
Dami:Where do you grab inspiration from when making music?
Ty Jouska: I usually would just listen to music that gets me going and that gets me in a certain mode. Something as simple as a certain sound in a beat or the beat in general makes me want to keep making music all day.
Dami: What’s next for you after “On the Move”?
Ty Jouska: Definitely a lot more. I got another song I’m definitely looking to release this year, but until then just constantly working and trying to meet great people involved in music that care for me. I’m focused on building a great team in the future and trying to find producers to collab with.
Dami:Any dream collabs?
Ty Jouska: Man this is tough. Probably Brent Faiyaz, Jhene Aiko, The Hics, SZA, and Bryson Tiller.
Dami: What’s the most stressful part of being an artist?
Ty Jouska: For me, I would say trying to know what’s next. Being independent and hungry for success is a tough situation. It’s a lot of battles with yourself because you want everyone to enjoy the songs you put out, but in reality, you just have to go into a certain mindset and keep going no matter what.
Dami: What has been your most memorable experience so far?
Ty Jouska: Being in the studio with the homies. Those experiences are the best and also meeting great people that have helped get my music heard. That had meant the most to me. Seeing my music gain a bit of traction has been a great feeling too.
Dami: What you tryna achieve by the end of this year?
Ty Jouska: By the end of the year, I would wish to build up a solid fanbase. I want to cover all aspects of entertainment for fans, such as maybe talking and gaming with them on Twitch, or maybe vlogs on YouTube, and maybe start up a podcast and things like that.
Listen to Ty Jouska‘s latest single “On The Move” now:
Georgia rapper Jerome the Prince has shared a new single called “Alpha”. The prolific artist, who has consistently delivered bar-heavy tracks that hook the listener in with infectious wordplay, sounds sharp on this latest offering. Containing a powerful beat that combines frigid, expansive reversed samples with crisp, head-banging percussion and sturdy 808s, “Alpha” is an addictive joint that provides much replay value. As Jerome the Prince shows no signs of slowing down, we are excited to see what the rest of the year will bring for him.
New York artist B-Lovee has shared a fresh new single titled “Don’t Change”. A charismatic drill banger, this cut features an electrifying instrumental that pairs thrilling vocal samples with crisp percussion to create an exciting soundscape. B-Lovee comes through with some raw, stylish verses that display his knack for crafting dynamic, interesting flows. A powerhouse both production-wise and vocally, “Don’t Change” is certainly a song that will be in our rotation for the foreseeable future.
Cristina Mackey and Benny the Butcher have shared an epic new single called “Cents”, released on Benny’s Black Soprano Family label. An electrifying cut featuring addictive, bouncy production that combines charismatic guitars with pillowy 808s and clean percussion, “Cents” makes for one of the year’s hardest tracks so far. Moreover, Mackey’s bold verses blending well-written melodies and powerful flows are refreshing, and as usual Benny comes through with some intense vocals packed with clever bars. A highly addictive joint that provides heavy replay value, “Cents” is an adrenaline-pumping listen charged with raw energy.
Texas rapper Bbm Deion has shared a new single titled “His Way”. The up-and-coming artist, who has already been making an impressive impact on underground music at the age of 17, showcases his inspiring, infectious sound on this latest offering. Containing bouncy production that pairs rich 808s with bright, glossy guitars, “His Way”‘s energizing instrumental is truly addictive. Moreover, Bbm Deion’s passionate, melodic vocals draw the listener into the song’s nocturnal atmosphere and paint a realistic picture of the young artist’s life. Preceding his anticipated upcoming project Face2Face, “His Way” is a vital offering that had us hooked from the get-go.
Todd: What first inspired you to start making music?
Tyricxle: I feel like I was just always around a musical area of sorts, since a lot of my close family members sing and/ or play instruments or actually make music and that really helped and inspired me to start my own career, it’s always been an interest.
Todd:Where did you grow up and what was the music scene like there?
Tyricxle: I grew up on West 29th Street in Davenport, Iowa. To keep it a buck, the music scene was not good because it was just a bunch of people trying to be hood, but it was definitely music.
Todd:Who were some of the artists that influenced your sound?
Tyricxle: XXXTentacion influenced my sound a lot to be honest, but other than him probably Lil Wayne, Young Thug, mainly those two because they really helped me with experimenting with vocal inflections.
Todd: What is your favourite song you’ve made so far and why?
Tyricxle: So, this is a difficult question to answer to be honest, because I truly love a majority of the songs I make but I’d have to go with my song “IMHAPPY”, I’d have to go with “IMHAPPY” though, because I made that song about my mental health and how I felt at the time. It has a really deep connection with me and the meaning is very deep to me and I feel like other people could connect to that song and feel heard and understood. The song really helped me get through how I felt at the time, and helped me stay true to myself.
Todd:What is your songwriting process like?
Tyricxle: Deadass I just be pressin record and sayin whatever comes to mind with a majority of my songs. With the more melodic songs though it’ll take a while because those songs usually have more meaning behind them. I’ll be feelin some type of way either in class, or in my room, or wherever I am. Depending on where I am I’ll either take out my notebook or my phone and write/type whatever comes to mind about the topic. Then, I’ll look back on what I wrote and finish it. The process could take anywhere from 30 minutes to a day to a week and possibly a month or 2, I still have some punk rock songs I’m trying to finish.
Todd: Are you self-produced? Which producers do you like to work with?
Tyricxle: I am not self-produced and it’d probably be helpful if I was but it just isn’t in my interest right now. If I’m being for real, I’d love to work with any producer that’d be down to work with me. I’ve really been trying to find producers that are willing to get out of their comfort zone and make some weird trap shit like weird melodies, experimental high hat patterns, and all that. I really want to just get weird with this music while having fun and inspiring others.
Todd: What do you look for in a beat you want to use?
Tyricxle: In a beat I listen to the melody, the drum patterns, and the repetition. I don’t want to use a beat that the producer put little to no effort into, so I really just listen to if the beat repeats too much or it has an extremely simple/boring drum pattern and/or melody.
Todd: What inspired your song “idek wtf this shi is tbh”?
Tyricxle: I heard a freestyle on Soundcloud and was like “I wanna freestyle now” and that’s as far as it goes to be honest the rest of it was just me being me.
Todd:What is your favourite part about making songs?
Tyricxle: My favourite part about making songs is that it makes me feel at home, and makes me feel where I belong. Music really is huge in my life and I don’t know what I would do without it.
Todd: What is the hardest part about being an artist for you?
Tyricxle: There isn’t really a hard part about being an artist for me, I love it all. I can’t say the hate is hard because that just pushes me to keep going and the music isn’t hard because I love it. So, I’m not really too sure.
Todd: What are some of your dream collabs?
Tyricxle: I really want to work with bktherula, Rico Nasty, Lil Wayne, Playboicarti, DC The Don, Famous Dex, and poorstacy. I really fuck with the vibe they give off and the music that they make.
Todd:What do you have coming up in the future music-wise?
Tyricxle: Well, I have a 6 track EP dropping on Valentines day and after that I’m just going to continue dropping bi-weekly. Maybe even an EP later on in 2022 as well but I’m not sure yet, we’ll see.
Todd:What are your goals for 2022?
Tyricxle: My goals for 2022 is to really just push the Tyricxle agenda and grow as an artist, and meet new artists and prods and help my homies grow and strive as well. I want to be able to say I accomplished something at the end of the year when I look back on 2022. I’m pushing out new music heavy and want people to come along for the ride.
Atlanta artist Ty Jouska has shared his debut single, titled “On The Move”. Here, an immersive instrumental provides a warm, airy backdrop for Jouska’s smooth vocals, as he comes through with some sharply-crafted melodies that showcase his poise as a budding songwriter. “On The Move” is an intriguing, enticing cut, with soulful vocals and production that is spacey and forward-thinking. Overall, this track succeeds in conjuring an atmosphere that is simply difficult to find elsewhere.
XL Hope has shared a motivational new single called “I Won’t Stop”. Featuring a raw, head-banging instrumental containing swirling, elegant vocal samples and crisp percussion, this single is an adrenaline-pumping listen. Moreover, XL Hope’s verses are powerful, chock full of dense wordplay packed with inspiring anecdotes. His dynamic flows and commanding mic presence make him a force to be reckoned with, as evidenced by this latest offering.
Jaxx is starting off the new year strong with his new single “Too Often”, showing off his impressive vocal control and distinctive flows, and affirming his position as an artist to watch in 2022. The track features top-quality production from Spock, which Jaxx skillfully switches flows over, complementing the arrangement and creating a unique sound that envelopes the listener. What’s even more impressive about this song is that it was essentially a freestyle with only the hook being written. Nowadays, it’s too easy to get lost in the noise as an artist, but Jaxx’s fresh approach manages to cut through, and this release is only a taste of what’s to come.
ROUNDHOUSE MUSIC 