So much music is released every day that its easy to miss those gems that should have got more attention, so here’s 10 songs we’re playing out right now that we feel have flown under the radar (so far) in 2018.
10) Skyzoo – Baker’s Dozen
A beautiful amalgamation of Raheem Devaughn’s heavenly D’Angelo-esque vocals mixed with a grimey, demonic piano, plus Skyzoo absolutely bodying this riddim, makes ‘Baker’s Dozen’ a modern classic that, if released in the mid-90s, would have fit right in with the likes of Mobb Deep, Smif-N-Wesson and KRS-One.
9) Apathy & DJ Premier – The Order
I literally don’t know how Premo keeps finding these samples after all these years. You’d think he’d sampled everything by now.
This is as classic a Premo format as it can get: out of this world sampling, boom bap drums, rap vocals scratched in as a hook, and Apathy from Demigodz rides it like a young Royce Da 5’9 circa 2000.
8) Hudson Mohawke – Foxy Boxing
Think we’ve all been waiting on this since Jacques Greene played it on his Boiler Room many moons ago.
It’s that classic Hud-Mo circa 2009, those sugary rave synths and high pitched vocals mated with bombastic arena drums to create a mouth-wateringly ‘ard riddim.
7) SiR – D’Evils
I am a sucker for Jamaican samples in songs, and hearing Billy Boyd’s “One Spliff A Day” in many classic UK bass tunes over the years, i was so surprised to hear it as the main hook in ‘D’Evils’, from Top Dawg’s R&B sensation SiR.
The genius of this baby-maker is simply the way the sample is used. You can literally hear the rooms lights dimming a dark purple-blue and the joints igniting.
So so so wavey.
6) Kooda B – How You Do That
The #KoodaBChallenge hasn’t hit it’s peak yet, but viral fame could soon follow the young Brooklynite with this heater.
It has a hectic, quick-fire vibe that feels like its all about to go off the rails at the pace its moving, but Kooda B holds it all together with an hook that throws us back to when crews like Cali Swag District, D4L and Dem Franchise Boyz were running things and creating a new dance craze every other week.
5) Evidence – Throw It All Away
These two legends are still going strong after all these years.
Dilated Peoples’ mouthpiece Evidence skips with ease over one of the all-time GOATs Alchemist’s moody, rainy-soaked production. This is quintessential NY head-nodding Hip-Hop.
4) Trends & Boylan – Freddy Krueger
Potentially 2018’s version of Sir Spyro’s ‘Topper Top’, Grime super-duo Trends & Boylan finally released this monster after destroying clubs with it all 2017.
Screwface riddim with the legendary Riko Dan spitting fire about serial killers? Yes please.
3) Slowthai – T N Biscuits
“Drugdealaaarrrr, i wear Nike, not Fillaaaaaa”
This one from the Bone Soda crew is a madness, trust us. I think its slowly creeping into consciousness, the bars are ridiculously catchy, and the soon-to-be-infamous opening line is going down as a classic.
2) Casanova – Set Trippin
Chanelling that classic East Coast energy from the likes of Onyx and M.O.P., Brooklyn’s Casanova is stepping on everything in his path with last year’s “Don’t Run”. Now, equally as fiery with a Busta Rhymes-esque twang to his rhyme, it’s new-school with an old-school feel at it’s finest.
1) Kami – Payload
We already plugged this in a earlier blog when it first came out, but ‘Payload’ is an anthem for sure.
The combination of Kami’s catchy lyricism, ‘Make a pack flip like Ong-Bak’ is so far one of the lines of the year, and Ikaz Boi’s wavey production make for a beautiful pairing.
Deserves a lot more exposure.
Donuts 