In March of this year, COVID-19 hit. The novel Coronavirus spread quickly throughout the world and into our communities. Life immediately changed for virtually everyone as we tried to contain the virus, closing ‘non-essential businesses’ as a result. The industries most hit by the closures happened to be service, retail, travel and, you guessed it, […]
Welcome to the late summer edition of Top Shelf Music News, with your handsome hosts Matt Cook & Kristy Rose. Joining the dynamic music-reporting duo is O.G. of Slightly Stoopid, commenting on just how incredibly stoopid this year has become. With election coverage factoring in the mix by sheer accident, enjoy the latest music industry […]
It was nearly 18 years ago when I first heard Jack Jones’ smooth, sultry voice on a dance floor in Las Vegas. I was blown away by the epic, raw talent flowing from his soulful pipes, but you see, he wasn’t performing. He was just dancing and singing amongst us. I knew right then that […]
Baltimore solo artist Wes Anderson has played for 20+ years — and sowed his musical oats in the reggae spectrum for over half of them! You might recognize Anderson as lead guitarist from Chicago-based band Shanghai Superstars or reggae rock band Fiction 20 Down or, most recently, Fiction 20 Down’s spin-off band, Big Infinite. Now […]
Indie rapper turned major label artist Steven Malcolm has built a hefty following up over the years — boasting over 2.1 million Spotify streams for his last album alone! That’s right, Malcolm’s The Second City was so fuego, it garnered attention from all over the globe, most notably from GRAMMY-award winning reggae superstar Shaggy (who, […]
Welcome to TSM Artist #HotList Episode 10, with your host Alexia Johnson! This week features new music from Danny Kalima & the Raw Rhythm Section, Rockstead, Sista Argie and Desert Shade. Featured songs: “London Bridge” Danny Kalima is a Malawian musician and accomplished vocalist, who recently partnered with the renowned Raw Rhythm Section to produce […]
Straight out of Toronto and Montreal comes Kaviedes: a hip hop artist, combining multiple genres to craft his sound. If Kaviedes were to be compared, he’s in the same vein as Lil Wayne, et. Al. Following two seamless singles “Mean” and “Brick By Brick”, this rising rap artist returns with “Get a Meal”, an ode […]
Hip hop-EDM duo Vokab Kompany is back with their latest LP, Small Viktories. The nine-track album is the first of four years and breaks boundaries by launching the listener on hip hop-driven electronic soundscapes — such that will transport you for any occasion. Whether you feel politically-charged or in the mood for romance or simply […]
Top Shelf Music News is back on the virtual airwaves, standing as the first post-quarantine episode with both hosts Matt Cook & Kristy Rose filming inside the newsroom! After taking June off to observe a month of silence in the support of Black Lives Matter, Top Shelf Music feels the world — and the music […]
UK hip hop artist Ramz follows up his “Belong To The Streets” and “Brixton to Oxford Circus” freestyle releases with an official ‘black is beautiful’ statement in his latest single “Underneath”. As nations around the world continue to demand justice for black citizens, particularly in America, it’s uplifting to hear artists standing firm in the […]
Audic Empire of Austin, Texas takes no names. Instead, this reggae rock band open fires on all topics in their latest Head Change album, now available on all streaming outlets via Reggae 360 and Blue Avenue Music Group. Matching the music’s metal-infused demeanor is the album’s producer Howi Spangler, frontman of similar zero-fucks-given reggae rock […]
Without the thrill of monthly festivals and concert getaways, 2020 has been, well, the biggest drag of all time musically. Great pieces of art have surfaced along the way, sure, yet only an extremely limited amount of events are being experienced in-person due to social distancing. Damn COVID. In summary, festivals need a do-over. Up […]
A second after the stroke of midnight on Juneteenth (aka, June 19th, a day commemorating the final emancipation of black slaves in 1865), John Legend unleashed his highly anticipated full-length album Bigger Love to the public. Four years have lapsed since Legend’s last Darkness and Light LP heightened the soulful superstar’s career ever-higher and, let […]
What to say about Run The Jewels… what to say about vigilante justice? For that is exactly what rappers El-P and Killer Mike are — lyrical vigilantes. Exposing the world for what it is one track at a time, this renegade hip hop duo bluntly states what’s been on everyone’s mind this past year and […]
Up-and-coming Jamaican artist Fyah Roiall defies classification, mashing UK grime with American trap and dancehall into something new, dubbed ‘grimehall’. Grimehall — or traphall, depending on preference — is a rising trend for JA artists, taking modern twists from other parts of the world to mix with traditional Caribbean music, rendering edgy rap-reggae paired to […]
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