ROUNDHOUSE MUSIC

By Evan Smith

Trenton, New Jersey artist and Renaissance Music member Cheek The Profit has shared a new video for his recent single “Big Bag”. Since the release of his well-received album The Profit Strikes Back back in 2021, the artist has been steadily carving his own lane as an up-and-comer rising from the East Coast. His new release, “Big Bag”, further proves his prowess as a rapper and songwriter, as he flows smoothly and charismatically atop colorful, infectious production from Filed Beats. The accompanying visual, directed by T Nickelson, is warm and vibrant, using fast-paced shots to capture the song’s dynamic energy. Cheek gives a commanding performance as well, keeping the listener highly attentive until the video’s culmination.

Containing infectious, confident sonics that feel sunny and bright, as well as triumphant vocals and flexible rhyme schemes from Cheek, “Big Bag” keeps things positive and motivational in an engaging manner, making for a strong release from the New Jersey artist and Renaissance Music member. This offering has us excited for what may be coming next from Cheek, as he looks to finish off 2022 in a big way.

Follow Cheek The Profit at @cheektheprofit on Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Youtube

Watch the video for “Big Bag” here:

By Trey Fox

Dave Coresh is a multi talented artist who’s been a constant fixture in the music industry for over a decade. The Chicago, IL native made his presence felt in his local scene as a creative and lyrically dynamic rapper. He was also one of Vic Mensa’s earliest collaborators. Coresh eventually branched out to LA and expanded his sound. He would go on to play with jam bands, form a music production house, and work on records with critically acclaimed artists such as Fousheé and Ty Dolla $ign. Coresh has now released his debut EP, an adventurous punk-rap record filled with incredible highs in just under 14 minutes.

While four of the six tracks were previously released as singles, they hit just as hard in the context of the record. Coresh’s flow on “NOBODY CARES” is calculated, rapping every word boldly and confidently. As the beat builds, the guitar melodies and Coresh’s vocals become more electrifying. “Nobody cares!” he yells into the void.

The second track, “TALK2ME,” is just as riotous. Coresh skates over the heavy bass and ominous guitar riffs. Mother Wata’s guest refrain is well-executed. The energy she brings on the record is a perfect fit. “PYMFB” remains just as entertaining. Sonically and vocally, Coresh delivers what feels like a public service announcement.

On a record that oozes aggression, “IDGNF” might be Coresh at his most confrontational from a lyrical perspective. He matches the energy of the thunderous 808s, delivering hard punchlines in quick succession. “Finna make a killing/I’m in the building, asbestos,” he raps fiercely. This is a clear standout on a project full of eye-popping moments.

“DUMBLUCK” and “CHECK MY CHECK” weren’t previously released, and they help to close out the record well. Coresh has a “pocket full of problems” on the former, looking back on fun but infamous drug-fueled moments. The latter is an energetic closer, and it’s also the longest song at over three minutes long. Coresh’s bravado is through the roof, taking time to clown lesser artists in the process. He threatens to “Put yo’ EP on a playlist and instantly hit eject.” As the song progresses, the hook slows down and the vocal pitches are lowered. It adds a little bit of eeriness to finish things off. Coresh delivered on a debut that was well worth the wait.

Stream “SMOKENMIRRORS” now:

https://open.spotify.com/album/0YK7zQBHSKRhlg6YOX5Y6k

By Damilola Grey

Dami: What inspired you to start rapping?

Trey Posey: It just really helped free my mind and the thought of helping someone else in their day-to-day life is what made me want to put it out for people to hear. I’ve always wrote songs since I was little for fun, and I always loved it. J Cole’s “2014 Forest Hills Drive” helped me through certain things, and that made me want to potentially help other people.

Dami: Most people would describe you as a lyrical rapper but how would you describe your sound?

Trey Posey: I would definitely say lyrical too, but I would call it a combination of lyricism, relatability, and versatility. It’s optimistic but real and dark at the same time. Kinda like a child’s sense of wonder with an adult perspective.

Dami: What are 3 words you’ll use to describe your music?

Trey Posey: Authentic, relatable, and unique.

Dami: Who are your biggest inspirations?

Trey Posey: J Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, JID, Lil Wayne. Also I got a line; “my inspiration is my own potential”.

Dami: When making music, where do you grab inspiration from?

Trey Posey: Just how I’m feeling at the moment and the message I want to portray at the time. Sometimes when I need more inspiration, I’ll write outside in nature somewhere or just a different environment, other than the studio, that gives off the creative feel.

Dami: What’s your creative process like?

Trey Posey: I find it, make a beat, then I brainstorm ideas and go back to lyrics in my notes and see if those fit the vibe and keep them in mind if they do. Then I freestyle melodies and flows on the beat and keep the ones that sound good, then write to them and mix as I go.

Dami: Tell us about your latest project “Spoken Letters”.

Trey Posey: It’s a great, cohesive project that shows growth. There’s a letter in every song that’s to someone or something. It’s mature and there’s a lot of self-reflecting on it. There’s something for everyone and I think everyone can resonate with at least one song.

Dami: What does the project mean to you?

Trey Posey: Man it means a lot. This was another stepping stone of my artistry. I feel like I’ve finally mastered my sound. This project is a deep, vulnerable story of the pursuit of happiness. It’s the best music I’ve ever made.

Dami: What do you want people to take away after listening to it?

Trey Posey: I want people to feel like they’re not alone. I just want them to feel something. I love making music that people can really FEEL. Also, I want people to recognize my potential, and I’m not going nowhere.

Dami: What’s next for you after “Spoken Letters”?

Trey Posey: More big things. Doing some videos and maybe a deluxe for the project. Then next year, dropping more music and doing more and more shows. Just trying to get my name out there more.

Dami: What has been the most stressful part of being a rapper?

Trey Posey: I think just doing everything by myself. Writing, recording, mixing, mastering, marketing, finding shows, making my own cover art majority of the time, and occasionally producing. It’s a lot but I love it. It’s stressful trying to gain and keep fans as an independent artist, but it’ll be worth it in the end.

Dami: What’s your favorite part of being a rapper though?

Trey Posey: The art of it. The process of putting my feelings in a song and beging in the zone and getting chills from a song I make. Also another favorite part is when it releases and I get people’s feedback and they love it just as much as me.

Listen to “Spoken Letters” now HERE.

By Christian Peeney

I’ve been following NxG for a while. We attended the same college, so I started listening to his music around 2018-2019. Back then, he had released his EP, Note To Self, which has since been removed from streaming services. It was more of a melodic album, something akin to Frank Ocean or Daniel Caesar. Personally, I loved this NxG sound.

As time went on, NxG further developed his sound, with his hit single “Eyy Yeah!” and his EP Genesis, moving away from the RnB influences and into more rap. However, with release after release, I had seen some of his haters call him a clone. They compared him to Trippie Redd, Playboi Carti, and Lil Uzi Vert, calling him a ripoff of those artists. This album, Equilibrium, seems to be a direct response to those haters. As he said on Twitter shortly after the release: “I found balance. I found equilibrium”. This is the most NxG sounding project I have heard from him, and I’m happy to see he’s settled in on his unique sound. This project is, as the title suggests, an equilibrium between all of NxG’s influences and his own unique sound.

Songs like “FELL IN LUV $$” and “Bleachers” use a Carti-type dark and synth-heavy beat, but NxG comes in with his own high-energy vocal delivery. Other songs like “Yeah Yeah” and “524” lean a little more into the slower, melodic sound of the Note To Self era, while still leaving room for NxG to spit some insightful bars. Regardless of the sound, he comes in on a track with an energy and passion that shows you he’s truly having fun making this music.

One of my favorite songs, and favorite stories, from this album is “524 (Stacking Game Song)”. Now, this may seem like an odd title for a song. A snippet of this song had been teased on NxG’s TikTok account for MONTHS before this album dropped. Every time he’d use this sound, he would also use the “Stacking Game” filter, in which the player blinks to stack blocks into a tower. Most of these videos challenged his viewers to beat his score. His audience did just that and used his snippet every time. Looking under this sound, you’ll find over 800 videos of random TikTok users (including myself) playing the Stacking Game. It was an odd, but (in my opinion) very smart, marketing strategy to get people excited for the song. So, now that it’s released, it only makes sense to call it the “Stacking Game Song”.

Equilibrium is more than just a stepping stone in NxG’s career. It’s more of a pedestal, on which he can stand and proclaim to the world what kind of artist he is. It’s a high point, coming after performing with Lil Skies and writing a song for the Philadelphia Eagles. Much of the lyrical content of this project consists of NxG reflecting on his journey, from bedroom artist to someone who’s “Next Up”. He’s done a lot to get where he is, and he deserves to brag a little. With tight production, great hooks, and an overall exciting atmosphere, Equilibrium is a truly remarkable project, not just for what it sounds like, but for what it represents. NxG should be on your watchlist: it’s only uphill from here.

Stream Equilibrium out on all streaming services.

If you’re looking for an exciting rising artist coming out of Chicago’s musical hotbed- look no further than TG Fee. Having recently released his single “HighestShelf”, the prolific musician has already followed it up with an engaging new music video that capture’s the track’s personality rich sound and charisma.

Produced by Whothehelliscarlo, “HighestShelf” makes for a soulful, vibrant new offering from the THRAXX GANG artist, who has been steadily rising in the Chi and beyond. “HighestShelf” also showcases Fee’s focus as a lyricist as he delivers insightful, honest lyrics that hit home with each bar. The engaging accompanying visual finds Fee giving a commanding performance of the track, and utilizes fast-paced cuts to capture the song’s vital, inspired energy. “HighestShelf” makes for a release overall, further proving that the rising Chicago artist is here to stay. 

Watch the video for “HighestShelf” here:

Miami artist A-D has returned with a vibrant new single called “Lovesong.mp3”. Following up engaging recent singles “10v1” and “Take Me”, “Lovesong.mp3” finds the Divert Music Group artist delivering an emotive, groove-heavy release that expands upon the songwriting displayed in his previous offerings to make for an enticing and energizing final product.

“Lovesong.mp3″‘s production is silky yet bass-heavy, containing epic synths, deep, expansive bass, and uplifting keys that merge to create a vivid concoction. Atop the powerful instrumentation, A-D delivers a series of sharply-crafted melodies that linger in the listener’s head long after, making for an infectious cut. The track builds dynamically until it reaches a colorful crescendo, as pumping percussion and rich 808s give the track more layers.

“Lovesong.mp3” is a strong offering from the Divert Music Group artist that finds his songwriting abilities matching the quality of the instrumental for a track that captivates throughout.

Listen to “Lovesong.mp3” now:

Connect with A-D: Instagram

By Damilola Grey

Dami: What inspired you to start making music?

Luke Simo: I had been singing my whole life and performing in theater and choir. However, I didn’t start writing anything until high school when I started writing poetry. I then had a school performance where I covered “Gimme All Your Love” by Alabama Shakes and a friend of mine who wrote compositions wanted to work with me and I wrote my songs. I was also inspired in general by songwriters like Amy Winehouse and Ari Lennox who were very honest and upfront in their writing.

Dami: What’s your creative process like?

Luke Simo: It is always in collaboration with other creatives. Whether it be a composer/musician or producer, I am never the person writing the chord progressions or making the beats. I am always searching for things that touch me and I either write melodies and lyrics over them or try to take poems that I have already written and piece them together with a melody over whatever music I am using.

Dami: How would you describe your sound?

Luke Simo: I would say that I am still finding my sound and experimenting with different styles of production and writing. My first single “Mom” was heavily influenced and recorded with solely acoustic instruments in a big sanctuary. However, my next couple songs I am planning to release are written over lo-fi beats. I would leave in the future to do something influenced with folk and soul similar to Faye Webster’s most recent album. In the end, I want my sound to be ever-evolving as long as my writing can touch people.

Dami: What do you want people to take away after listening to your music?

Luke Simo: I hope that they feel less alone and feel like they can relate to some of the emotions I write about in my music.

Dami: Speaking of music, tell us more about your latest single “Mom”.

Luke Simo: “Mom” started out as a composition by Geoff Gallante and a poem that I wrote that we were able to put together to make the song. It was recorded live in a sanctuary with a baby grand, upright bass, and drums. I released it on my mom’s birthday and it’s a vulnerable, experimental jazz record about the evolution of our relationship.

Dami: Can you tell us a bit more about the relationship between y’all?

Luke Simo: Within the context of the song, I narrate the history of our relationship and how it started- “Love struck by force, a new beginning, a blank slate, a new life, the source of a new happiness”- and the nature of our relationship growing up- “She holds onto me never far, forever if she had that long”- and then as I grew up, how our relationship evolved- “changing with the leaves, I slip away day by day”. The ending resolves with my realization of how she helps me grow into who I am today.

Dami: Who would you say you are today?

Luke Simo: Someone who is trying to listen to themselves and love themselves more each day.

Dami: How is it being a queer artist tryna make it to the mainstream?

Luke Simo: As an artist and queer person overall, I am constantly trying to find ways to express myself especially because of how much I hid who I was growing up due to people making me feel as though I should be ashamed of who I am. I feel most authentic to myself in how I’m physically present in the world and when I make music. In terms of being an artist and pursuing music, it is hard because people always want you to fit into a mix so that they can try to understand you with their preconceived notions of who a queer person or artist is instead of making the effort of getting to know us. I appreciate the support the queer community has given me as an artist thus far, however sometimes it is hard to be a queer artist that makes art that is “left-field” or “lo-fi” or anything that isn’t pop or house music because mainstream audiences don’t care to see queer people as a multi-faceted group of people. It is not necessarily my goal to be a mainstream artist and have the entire world know my name and my music. However, I do want to try to grow a community around my music and it would be amazing to be able to travel and perform.

Dami: What’s next for you after “Mom”?

Luke Simo: Lots. I have a couple singles I am planning to release with production credits from Jay Bel and Sir Froderick. I have a little live EP that I recorded with my band that’s almost finished. I am working with the collective “Hidden Renaissance” and plan to be featured on some of their upcoming projects and I am always playing shows usually, at least once a month.

Dami: What should we expect from the EP?

Luke Simo: The singles are leading up to a lo-fi soul EP that is a reflection of my growing into adulthood and a kind of farewell to my adolescence. It is old school soul melodies and du-wop inspired background vocals over lo-fi beats that sample the records that my writing is inspired by. The live EP is the re-imagined version of these songs in a live setting. The live recordings are sped up to give it a cute lo-fi chipmunk feel that’s super fun. The live EP will be released after the singles, and lead up to the lo-fi soul EP.

Dami: What would you say has been your biggest achievement as an
artist?

Luke Simo: It would have to be any of the following; working with Jay Bel, Sir Froderick, the Hidden Renaissance collective, Geoff Gallante, and Chloe Moore. Getting featured on an Apple Music editorial playlist and ThatGoodShits/Annabelle Kline’s “SMALL ARTISTS, BIG SOUNDS” playlist or getting to play shows with so many amazing artists.

Listen to Luke Simo‘s single “Mom” here:

By Damilola Grey

TOVA has finally dropped his highly anticipated project “Care PKG”. The 5-track EP is graced by two previously released tracks “7 Days” and “Island”. “Care PKG” also marks TOVA’s second EP this year.

On “Care PKG”, TOVA takes us on a journey of different emotions. From personal favorite, “Wonder”, where TOVA questions everything, to the earlier released single “7 Days”, where TOVA talks about his work ethic and how watching his parents work really hard inspired him to work even harder to make them proud, to “Losing Friends” in which, as the name implies, TOVA talks about losing friends while chasing success. We also can’t forget about “Lei’s Lounge” where TOVA addresses a woman who did him dirty and didn’t appreciate his sacrifices for her, as well as using him for her selfish desires.

“Care PKG” is a burst of emotions which TOVA successfully executed in such a short project, while blessing us with ethereal vocals reminiscent of Frank Ocean. TOVA has shown us, with this project, why he should be on the lookout for as “Care PKG” is one of the best RnB projects to grace the underground scene in the past couple years.

Stream Care PKG below:

Stream on all platforms HERE.