GeeLit (@thereal.geelit on IG) is the dopest (and only) female member of the GODS Music Group collective and with her lusty new single “Come Thru” she provides listeners with the perfect sounds to totally vibe out to.
The track, produced by THAIBEATS (@thaibeatsnet on IG), presents smoothly auto tuned vocals from GeeLit as well as a feature from Va Beach artist AUD (@therealaud on IG). When asked about the inspiration behind the track, Gee states “My songs are always about someone or an experience I had with someone. The inspiration behind this song was some great sex I had. I want that shit again . So I made this song for that person & they like it. I just want ppl to be able to relate to my music & use it to help them express themselves.”
Gee also shared that a visual for the track is in the works and will be released soon. Check out “Come Thru” here!
$inbad is Virginia underground artist from Fredericksburg, Virginia who is one of the most noteworthy artists to come from his area. The artist, who recently had the opportunity to open for Yung Pinch, took time to chat with us for #MeetTheArtistMondays and gives us a little background on who he is as a creative. Check it out!
Q. Where are you from?
A: I’m from Fredericksburg, Virginia. Born/raised and will probably never leave.
Q. When and How did you discover that you had a passion for music?
A: I guess you could say I was about 13 when I found my passion for it, except I never really perused it. My oldest brother Michael AKA “Millz” (rip to the realest) used to make music in my parents basement, I would sit around and watch him and friends write rhymes and search beat pages and YouTube to record over, it always made me wanna go for it but being so young I was stupid and wanted to go out with friends instead.
Q. Who do you consider to be your biggest influences?
A: Slim shady ofcourse is my main influence, but besides that, I take influence from bones, pouya, germ, Black Smurf, Xavier wulf, Chris Travis, a lot of underground legends in my eyes. I could go on forever really. Music is just an influence in general.
Q. What has been the hardest thing for you to overcome as a creative?
A: Strictly worrying about myself. That’s a hard thing to do when there’s no many other creatives around you. The more I gained in music, i really started to relax about it and stopped giving a fuck.
Q. What do you think is your biggest accomplishment thus far?
A: Definitely working with some of my favorite artists, in example; Chuuwee, Black Smurf. Also opening for some of my favorite artists and continuing to do so. I’ve opened for Chris Travis, Xavier wulf, Yung Pinch, I was supposed to open for Jgrxxn and Omenxiii but the show kinda went south, so next time on that one, But yeah I think those are some of my biggest accomplishments, also being in the “industry” for maybe a little over a year, and gaining well over 100k plays on soundcloud, gaining close to 1k fans, and just watching my progression, when I stepped in to this “game” I didn’t ease into it, I took the steps others didn’t take for years.
Q. What upcoming projects do you have in store for this year?
Q: I have a main project I’m working on, not speaking on that quite yet. Other than that, I’ll have another EP dropping this year, and also a project with a good homie of mine and a rad artist known as VOHRTEX. So yeah keep a lookout, I dropped an ep earlier this year called PITCH BLACK. So ima just keep it going heavy.
Q. How do you feel about the underground scene? Do you feel as if it is too oversaturated and unoriginal?
A: If anything, I think in the music industry as a whole, the underground is the only original thing we have anymore. I keep up with underground artists more than tmz keeps up with Kim K. Lol
There’s a few that I think are unoriginal, that bite other smaller artists style because they have a higher “clout” but I just ignore em. Can’t get away from clout chasers in 2018, gotta look past em.
8. What qualities about yourself do you feel separates you from other artists?
A: My drive to work hard, and to try and perfect every single syllable I say. Artists now a days will be lazy on a song just because they see other artists get away with it. In my opinion, I’m trying to bring my “mainstream” lyrical sound to the underground and show the underground it doesn’t have to be all about layers and vocal pitches and weird voices to sound cool. BUT IM NOT HATING, I LOVE WEIRD VOICES AND LAYERS IT JUST AINT FOR ME TO TRY haha most of the artist I listen too are what I just described lmao
9. What was your biggest failure as an artist and how did you over come it?
A: Straight up only L I’ve seen myself take so far was getting scammed on a verse by another underground artist that I really fucked with, i won’t say no names, but they know what’s up. I don’t take many Ls tho, I try and stay low key.
Q. What advice do you have to upcoming artists who want to make a name for themselves?
A: Enjoy what you make, cause if you don’t enjoy it; then what makes you think someone else will? Gotta show that you’re passionate. That’s really it.
Keep up with Sinbad on his social media at the links and handles below.
K Kel is kicking off the spring season with a catchy new track perfect for your spring break playlist. The rapper, whose sound resembles a combination of LUCKI and Playboy Carti, has released his new song “Colorful Money”. The title of the song represents the artists desire to obtain currency of all kinds, even foreign money which is printed in various colors thus the name “Colorful Money”. The track itself includes a very dark, menacing, bass heavy beat and is produced by Stevie Cash and OG Yizzle.
Notable Lyrics:
“Black heart, young n*gga sippin on yellow,
I heard he ran off on your fellow, black hoodie ball like Melo.”
In a huge contrast to the times of the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, the hip hop scene of today has become quite saturated with mosh pits, leather jackets and new wave self proclaimed “rock star” rappers. Although the exact time when this transition was made is unclear (remember when all of this “rock star” talk was considered “white people stuff”?), with all of the avant garde fashion statements, dark subject matter and glorification of the rockstar lifestyle, hip hop has definitely entered into its “goth” phase and we are totally here for it.
If you know what you’re looking at, its quite easy to see how the hip hop scene has been influenced by rock n roll legends such as Kurt Cobain and Marilyn Manson. Dating as far back as 2010 when Lil Wayne dropped the “Rebirth” album and when thru his rockstar phase, rock n roll culture has been infiltrating hip hop. Rapper Lil Uzi Vert often refers to himself as a rockstar and is heavily inspired by Marilyn Manson, so much so that he got a $100k chain with a pendant of the rock singers face in all diamonds.
ICY!
Many rappers of today can even be seen sporting T Shirts of popular bands such as Iron Maiden and Slipknot as a fashion stateme
RIP Lil Peep
nt. Artists such as Uzi, Playboy Carti (who is a self proclaimed rock star as he states in his song “Wokeuplikethis”) and the late Lil Peep have brought “goth” inspired fashion to hip hop as well by sporting leather jackets, distressed clothes, super skinny pants as well as literal chains on their clothing; this all pulled together in a look that resembles something you’d see at a Nine Inch Nails concert. These fashion trends, although some may see them as something new, are actually classic looks that were once sported back in the 80s and 90s by some of our favorite bands. Fashion in hip hop today is definitely inspired by the rock n roll culture in more ways than one. This, however, is only the beginning of the hip-hop/rock n roll phenomenon.
There have been many changes in the sound of hip hop in recent times, many of which can be attributed to rock n roll culture. We all are familiar with Lil Waynes rock influenced track “On Fire”, which samples Amy Hollands “Shes On Fire” This song was only the beginning of the whole sampling rock music in rap trend. A lighter, more happier version of sampling rock music can be seen from rapper Lil Aaron who has songs entitled “Warped Tour” (which samples “Misery Business” by Paramore)
and “Hot Topic” (which samples Panic! At The Discos “I Write Sins Not Tradgedies”) playing off of the whole “emo” side of rock culture. For a darker version of sampling. rapper Xxxtentacion uses a lot of heavy metal samples in his music, one being on his song “Off The Wall” in which he samples Slipknots “Spit It Out”. Another style that has become prevalent in hip hop is screaming which is represented heavily in rock n roll music from bands like Metallica and Slayer (compare by checking out the links below)
Hip hop has also taken a dark turn as far as subject matter as well. While there is a lot of music that still talks about the stuff we are used to hearing in hip hop such as partying and flashy lifestyles, we are finding that it is now acceptable to touch on darker subject matter in hip hop such as depression and suicidal thoughts as well. Artists such as Lil Peep and Lil Xan discuss depression and drug abuse in their music with a mantra that is similar to the lyrics of doom metal band Black Sabbaths “Solitude”. (Compare at the links below)
More influences of rock culture in hip hop can be found at the actual concerts themselves. Mosh pits have become a common thing at hip hop concerts. If you’re unfamiliar with what moshing is, heres a rundown: picture a huge circle in the middle of a crowd at a concert with a bunch of hot, sweaty, people throwing themselves into eachother in rhythm to music that is playing at extremely high volumes. While some may find this a bit scary, moshing can actually be a fun and relaxing thing if done correctly and safely. This moshing/slam dancing phenomenon was actually something that was done at rock concerts years ago and in recent times the trend made its way to hip hop, adding to the lit factor of seeing artists perform live in concert. (compare at the links below)
The influences of rock music in hip hop culture have resulted in not only a awesome new spin on hip hop but it also has created a way for fans of one genre to potentially become fans of something else they never knew existed. What do you think of how hip hop is being influenced by rock culture? Leave a comment below!
In hip hop, there seems to be a gap between the groups of fans. On one hand you have the fans of the more lyrical style of rap that is produced by thought provoking artists such as J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar. Then on the other hand, you have individuals who prefer the more hype, high energy, beat heavy “yuh, aye” style of hip hop that has become popular in more recent times. Artists who can produce content that can appeal to both masses are few and far between, however, with his latest release “Where’s The Color”, R. Locko proves that he is a genre bending artist whose style is versatile enough to cater to any audience.
Over the past year, R. Locko has been taking tremendous strides toward earning the title of one of Virginias most progressive and versatile artists. Over the summer he released his motivational single “Do Something!” , participated in the No Options showcase alongside rappers like Wolf Hampton, Young Yung and lablemate K Kel and released his Left$iiide Lion EP. R. Locko also participated in the All Eyes On Va Cypher in which he shows himself to be one of the most versatile and lyrical young rappers of the 757.
Most recently, R. Locko has released a five track EP entitled “Where’s The Color”. On this project, he provides example after example of versatility, lyricism and impactful delivery. The project contains the high energy sound that has become popular recently by artists such as Playboy Carti and Lil Uzi while providing the lyrical content and subject matter that classic hip hop fans love. The project is produced by FREEDIESEL and shows R Lockos delivery of punchlines, story telling capabilities as well as his ability to captivate listeners with his subject matter of consciousness, self realization, and self awareness.
While simultaneously breaking every stereotype one could think about the emcees of today and bridging the gap of “lit” and conscious, R Locko is showing signs of being a breakthrough artist who redefines the Virginia hip hop scene. Check out his “Where’s The Color” EP Here!
