King Rosé - Lightshow

Switching gears from his last single, "Lightshow" finds King Rosé in the spotlight with a little more attention this time around after his crazy debut single. Although the tempo of his latest work is more slowed down, the intensity and hunger is still there something which is slowly becoming a trademark for Rosé. "I'm aware of how their making them aware of me" is a very telling line I was interested in how he would follow up his first single "SZA" which definitely was a statement track and I think with this track he has done well. He isn't shying away from the attention that he is starting to find and that shows that he is ready for whatever may be next.

Look for his upcoming project Pushing My Luck to release sometime in the near future.

Dark Nimbus - Represent ft Steezy Grizzlies, Mike of Doom & Jack CityZ

It's a 93rdiiiWhop affair as various members from the groups come together to "Represent" on this banger of a track. Starting off the track with his trademark energy is 93' Bandits own Steezy Grizzlies who absolutely kills his verse, followed by 3rdiiiUth's Jack CityZ and Dark Nimbus who both spit dope verses but it's the latter who stole the show for me and has my favorite verse on the track. Only thing I was disappointed in was the fact that Mike of Doom's only contribution was the chorus, this joint sounds right up his lane I can only imagine how much harder this track would've been with a Mayor verse. 

Matt McGhee - Premium ft rMell & Ponch Royyel

"Premium" is the latest "episode" in Matt McGhee's SHOW and for it he tabs rMell and CHESS' Poncho Royyel who in turn do great in their respective "scenes". The episode is split into two incredible halves thanks to Panama Red with the later half featuring an uncredited special surprise guest. Overall I would say this is the best episode of the season so far and I'm definitely looking forward to the next one and the rest of the series.

I have to admit I was initially confused by the whole show/episode theme due to a lack of visuals but with Matt previewing this track with a video it all made more sense. Credit to him and Gram Fam for always coming up with creative roll outs for their songs, videos, projects etc. even going as far as to change or create a website around whatever their promoting, instead of the same ol' "Yo at midnight I'ma spam a link on Twitter" that most of these indie artists do. I'm actually surprised a lot of their peers haven't adopted or at least attempted to try and do something similar. It not only draws up more interest but it also more professional and is less annoying then posting a link but hey I'ma let you silly niggas cook.

Lastly, Matt decided to let the fans choose what the next joint would be and it seems like a track entitled "Dark" won so be on the look out for that and the "La Familia" montage footage soon.

Sidenote: this dude Matt mixed/mastered the shit outta of this track...and the streak is still alive. Props.

Aceology - Assumptions (prod. MadBliss)

Aceology is back and in rare form on "Assumptions" backed by some nice production provided by MadBliss for the first single from his upcoming Karma EP. AceGawd has been on a hiatus for about a year now, just dropping tracks here and there but with this he seems to be finally ready to release a new project. 

On his latest track he addresses his hiatus, those speaking on him and even brings up the critiques of his style. Speaking of his style it is funny how he brought it up seeing as for the last year or so he has had a "trap" influenced sound (see this and this) and many of his fans were asking if he was ever going to return to his more traditional/jazz influenced sound (see this and this) that he had earlier in his career. It is how he says in the track though "gotta switch it up, no problem versatile and focused" he can do both equally well and because of that I don't have a preference but it is nice to hear him on this style mainly because it's been so long. I have to say it seems like the homie always sends me quality music and this is definitely one of the strongest singles he has put out from the lyrics to the mixing of the track everything works. Hopefully his Karma EP will be out sooner rather than later I'm interested in hearing what Ace has cooked up until then I'll have this on repeat.

Plue Starfox - LO•KI (HFIL)

I came across this nice little gem from Plue Starfox earlier today and found myself pleasantly pleased that I did. "LO•KI (HFIL)" finds Plue spitting over his usual choice of hauntingly-dark ambient production dropping some impressive lines along the way. I thought the way he played around with the title was pretty dope. Similar to frequent collaborator SIR E.U when it comes to wordplay, weaving in and out of lines ranging from various topics of video games, anime and metaphors in general. It is always a treat to listen to both artists because of the sheer amount of references that they spit, maybe one day we'll get a Plue x E.U rap track. Guys?

However, to get back to this track which, in my opinion, may be Plue's best in terms of his flow at least. He sounds more comfortable and polished then he has in the past. He has come along way from the first time I've heard him spit that's for sure. He is also one of the best at making anime/video game references and not forcing them or sounding corny, you ATF niggas should take notes...and he is the AD-LIB GAWD!