SONGS OF THE WEEK

WRITTEN BY NICHOLAS O’CONNOR

UPDATED | MARCH 12TH

Rewritten Letter

Seven

The tone in which Seven delivers her lyrics, in my opinion, adds so much more depth to her songs, almost pointing us in the direction she wants to take us without even having to say too much, but as we’re talking lyrics, Seven is by far one of the best storytellers out of all of the upcoming talents I know and listen to thus far in the music space. The potential she has and the weight I don’t think she realises she holds is fantastic, with a couple more drops I could definitely see Seven taking off and reaching new heights at such an early stage in her career.

The song is filled with deep thinking bars, and the way she glides on these types of beats is unmatched, filling the pockets impeccably and keeping us guessing with the flow changes and different rhyme schemes.

Additionally, I met Seven almost two years ago and seeing how far she’s come and the growth away from music as well as musically is insane, I’m glad she’s found her purpose and I really hope she keeps pursuing music because I really believe she can reach groundbreaking heights and achieve more than what any of us are aware of.

Uh Uh

Clavish, Fredo

The piano riff is different!! The melody and the sliding 808’s are crazy, and that’s the beat alone. The way Clavish comes in actually makes me laugh, because at this point it seems this music game is too easy for him.

Today I think I’ve run out of adjectives, because on every track I keep talking about the artists’ delivery, but the consistency from Clavish when it comes to his delivery and vocal is clean every time. Also the flow works so well for this type of beat and definitely suits his discography well.

Fredos entrance is what we have been waiting for, and it seems as though he has been putting work in behind the scenes as every time I hear a new Fredo verse, it’s better than the last. I feel as though this was the best idea for a collaboration, because I feel Fredo’s and Clavish’s run in the UK scene are highly under-appreciated. The places they’ve come from and with the longevity they’ve both stood the test of time and I think they deserve more props then they get.

The word play and correlation between Clavish’s and Fredo’s “Uh Uh” is brazy and this is a very strong comeback song. Also, as we’re talking collaboration, a Clavish x Fredo mixtape would actually hit different.

The Most Generous (SNM)

Jordy

“The pressure made diamonds, and I dealt with it incredibly”. Eshhh, nah this is smooth, it gives me almost vintage Italian inspector movie vibes, (so specific lol). The hook is so clean and his voice sits so nicely with the neo sound, I’m up to the second verse and my ‘stank face’ hasn’t stopped screwing.

Jordy’s climb is real and is happening, his career has so much potential, and style is so well formed and developed, he’s really in his own lane and nicely found his sound and adjusted it accordingly. This song was my favourite from the tape, but it wasn’t an easy choice, this tape definitely needs a segment for its own.

The word play and references and even the storytelling and comparison bars are so cold, and I respect the references to God highly. Jordy is on the way up.

MARCH 6TH 2024

Everything / Excuse Me (One Time)

BXKS / BXKS, Joe James

From the jump, I knew this tape would hold weight and strengthen the foundation BXKS is building. Each song is a hit, no skips, no wasted bars. It is such a valuable body of work, especially at this stage of her career.

‘Everything’, with close contention from ‘Absurd’ was my favourite track from the tape. I feel as though BXKS raps from a perspective that anyone can respect and relate to, and this song paints a vivid picture of the story she was portraying to her listeners, complemented by the way in which she delivers the story.

Also, as if the tape wasn’t already certified enough, Joe James left his stamp on his feature on ‘Excuse Me’. The tone at which he raps definitely sets him apart from other rappers in the game, it’s almost like his voice alone slots into the instrumental as another instrument. Followed from BXKS’ impeccable flow, you can tell these two definitely makes sense together on a song and the idea of a collaboration EP/tape would excite a lot of fans.

Like Magic

Chy Cartier

Chy Cartier is definitely cementing her place in the scene, gaining attention from rappers such as; Little Simz and Wretch32. For me what sets her apart from other rappers in the genre is her cadence and delivery, for example, when I hear ‘BOSSED UP’ I can’t help but not sing the end of each bar, you can tell she knows what she’s doing and been around recording, while gaining techniques and experience for a while. It’s good to see from an early fan’s perspective as I feel as though she has really found her sound and developed it to a point she is setting her own lane, and ‘Like Magic’ is just another example of that.

Her rhyme scheme is definitely an indication of what her workrate must correlate to. The way she comes in is cold and the patterns and pockets she finds is very impressive.

Furthermore, the hook is catchyyy!!! And the repeat of the 4 bars in the hook definitely adds to that, creating easy learning for when this comes on.

FEBRUARY 28TH 2024

“Double Standards” (feat. Sampha) (On Purpose, With Purpose)

Ghetts, Sampha

The respect I have for Ghetts is immense at this point, the subject matters of which he doesn’t only touch upon, but engulfs himself and his artistry in is commendable. Where others would tread on egg shells or keep a shallow line between what would cause backlash, but still get a message across, Ghetts has never been afraid to speak out on what matters and indulge fully in spreading attention to what we all know, but may hold back on when in public settings. He can’t be silenced, even when shadowbanned around the release of his album, he rises, and ‘Double Standards’ is proof of that.

The consistency of Ghetts’ impact from when I was fully introduced to him back in 2021 at the release of ‘Conflict Of Interest’ has been gracing the UK scene since, and before I must add. Getting lost in the worm hole of YouTube, seeing his old freestyle videos, he’s come a long way to now performing at the MOBOs, releasing classic albums, and shutting down every ‘Daily Duppy’ he’s featured on.

Even though the song itself was released earlier this month, I still think it holds heavy weight with the songs released in his album. The feature from Sampha was actually exquisite, the vocals, the riffs, lyrics and the chorus which gives me goosebumps almost every listen. And to then be complimented with Ghetts’ honest, raw and heartfelt bars makes the song’s value rise ten fold.

“Lifestyle”

Jbxnu

Jbxnu is elevating! I met with him at a show in Birmingham a while back and seeing him shine is refreshing to see. He’s in his own lane, with his own sound, with his own destiny and it’s all coming into fruition. He’s really chasing the dream, and I can sense his hunger and genuine passion for the music, which, unfortunately I feel is a rarity these days, especially in our scene.

When I spoke with him, if I’m not mistaken, he told me the reason for starting music was at the strain of a broken heart, or along those lines when broken down and paraphrased, which to me really makes sense, you can hear it in his earlier music with ‘Summers End’ for example, but with ‘Lifestyle’, you can see the maturity his music has delved into, staying original, with the old style essence of which he possessed, but grown, almost like his whole perspective has changed. And I really rate the path he’s going down.

The song itself is jumpy, honest and the flow is crazy! The bars, especially when repeating “she love me, she hate me…” had me screwinggggg. The “CF” bar, and even the cadence was hard. The singing to the end of some bars were different and I’m all for it. This is a what music should be, real to the bone, and even though Jbxnu didn’t go into his emotions as much as previous releases, I could still connect and find relatability on a level with him away from his artistry through this song, you can tell he’s been putting work in the studio, rather than just the pen, and that’s where I feel a lot of artists can closer connect with who they are and want to be as an artist. Also, I don’t know if I’m reaching, but the bells from the beat sound very similar to Cadets freestyle ‘Slut’, which is a nice touch due to the subtlety.

In reflection, Jbxnu should’ve been an artist for the watchlist from us, but from now, definitely is, his style, tone and subject matter is rare, not many artists are touching/comparative with him with that sound because he’s just doing his own thing, not focused on the trending sounds or what the numbers may bring, but just doing him, and that’s where the longevity stems from.

“Midas Touch” (Thanks For Hating)

Potter Payper, ADMT

ADMT’s hook was serious. The way he came in, and the lyrics he portrayed to the listeners added to the song and definitely suited a Potter Payper mixtape hands down. I like this song even more, not for the obvious stuff most casual listeners are probably used to, but from the subtlety, like for example at the end of ADMT’s hook, when the beat fades out and you can hear the echo separated from the vocal, it gives me an eerie feel to the song, which in itself is substantial for a track like this.

Potters entrance was nothing we’re not used to, at this point the consistency from his over 10 year run has to be looked in to, because there’s not many artists putting music out like he is, and to do that for over 10 years in any situation and keep the quality rising is not just a casual feet.

The song is filled with punchlines, two separate hooks that merge so well together and bars from Potter that show us he is and will always be a top contender when it comes to the ‘Real Rap’ top spot. And that alone is from this single, the album just proves why Potter is picking up awards effortlessly.

“L’s” (PTSD)

Nemzzz

If it wasn’t for uni coursework, assignments and the competition from the songs that dropped this week, ‘PTSD’ would have its own segment, because as a whole, the three part single was very cold. Nemzzz has his own sound and he is leading it. His consistency and bar work is top tier and his flow has always been different.

After watching his streams and learning more on Nemzzz’s come up, it’s nice to see how successful he’s doing with his music, you can tell he’s just a normal guy from Gorton, Manchester growing up in the ends, everything was natural and he found his own sound through experimenting, and you can see the graft from the previous years and how his music has drastically changed stylistically.

‘L’s’ for me was the best song out of the three, and definitely had the most replays out of the drop as a whole, and went straight to the top of the playlist. There were no wasted bars and I like how he always sounds relatable. When a lot of artists hit big success they sometimes slip into the world they’re living present time, which for the most part, the larger audience can’t connect with, but even when Nemzzz is talking about his success it sounds natural and brings up the comparison of how he got there, “so many parties missed, now I can sip my Cognac”. It makes me respect him and his journey more.

FEBRUARY 20TH 2024

“Boombox”

JoshuafromLondon, Ade Oyejobi

The originality from Joshua’s stylistic presence definitely holds weight when infused with a classic beat and subject matter that a love song needs, complemented with Ade’s spoken word prowess, this song was bound to connect with its listeners.

February 14th/Valentine’s love songs, in my opinion definitely holds an expectation for me as a listener, it’s almost imperative that the song hits its mark, whether that be heartbreak, honeymoon feels or just a bog standard love song, the song needs to match the date at which it was aimed for. And this song does this, and better yet, hits the nail on the head with the title ‘Boombox’.

It gives me a sense of those classic movies where a man, literally put, would stand outside of his lovers/crushes window and play a love song to win them over/win them back. The delivery of Joshua’s bars, punchlines and the way he transposes his voice to associate different roles within the song definitely adds to the value. And the addition with Ades smooth delivery, rhyme scheme and comparative bars compliments the track as a whole, you get a sense of his poetry percolating through to the song as the switch to music for him seems effortless.

This song is more than capable of holding the weight of more listeners, it just makes sense. I met Joshua and Ade both at the studio towards the end of this song being recorded and to see it finally being released makes me appreciate the song even more, and with that, it is definitely a ‘Song of The Week’

“Imposter Syndrome”

Zuko Rosemeid

“2024, we’re coming correct”… I hear no lies. The word play, reflective bars and energetic cadence just hits, especially the hook.

I watched Zuko perform at an event back in October-(I believe) and just like this song, his energy is actually unmatched. From a listener’s perspective, I feel as though Zuko isn’t afraid to implement different elements in his music, whether that be his delivery or something as simple as flow. Moving forward with this, his development over the last two years can’t go unnoticed, he’s constantly crafting his sound and staying consistent with it, leaving no loopholes sound or talent wise.

Furthermore, something I appreciate about Zuko is he doesn’t force it, he genuinely seems relatable, he doesn’t do too much or too little, which makes his presentation come across easily understandable, and this song is proof of just that.

“Far Away”

Little Simz

I’ll be transparent with everyone reading this, this song gets me!!! On first glance/listen, the song just seems like it’s a light hearted exit song to her new tape ‘Drop 7’, but for me, it’s far more than that. As a fan of Little Simz, (quite literally) dedicating a whole blog segment to her, I didn’t know what more direction an artist could take after such a seasoned discography at this stage in her career, but just like usual she achieved such a beautiful sound with this one. Beautiful, that’s actually the best way to describe it.

From the lyrics, to the flow, to the delivery, to the sound, this song is talent at its finest, and Little Simz is no stranger to opening up to vulnerability, And this song does that, but the subtlety at which she achieves it is so refreshing.

After hearing the EP, this song definitely left a lasting impact on me. At the announcement of the tape with the short clip of ‘Mood Swings’, I’ll be honest, I didn’t know what to expect, I knew she would experiment with a new stylistic angle, but from every song, each one delved into crafting a more perfected approach to the sound of which she was aiming for.

To conclude, this song has been my most replayed this week, got me in my feelings, and has made me actually ‘deep’ certain situations/character developments much more than I usually would have.