The Late Ones drop powerful protest “Babylon Exists” single

The Late Ones — a socially-conscious reggae/hip-hop hybrid made up of brothers Tui Avei and Tau Avei, along with their cousin Josh Brunson — have dropped “Babylon Exists”, their first single off the upcoming four-song EP, Lately, set to be released on December 4th through Easy Star Records. Adding itself to the long list of extremely […]

TSM Artist #HotList: November 6th, 2020

Welcome to the Election Tuesday episode of Top Shelf Music’s Artist #HotList, with your host Alexia Johnson. Considering this week is all about Democracy, the catharsis of the most heated and aggressive U.S. election to date, Alexia has compiled songs centering around political action from up-and-coming artists of all genres. “Thunder Clap” — I Am […]

Atmosphere returns with ‘The Day Before Halloween’ album & movie

Does it ever feel sometimes like we have slipped into another reality? Another dimension where everything feels the same, yet totally and completely different? That’s exactly what hip hop veterans Atmosphere have done with their new album, The Day Before Halloween, released on, well, the day before Halloween. Getting inspiration from thriller fiction novels, as […]

Long Beach Records LATAM launches state-of-the-art website

The punk rock label you know and love out of Long Beach has branched once again into uncharted territory of late — Latin America! After initiating Long Beach Records as a do-it-yourself, no contracts, no BS label in 1998, founders Michael “Miguel” Happoldt (producer of Sublime, et. Al.) and Greg “Mudd” Lowther (of Perro Bravo) […]

Top Shelf Music News: Episode 9

Velcome to the vonderfully scary vorld of Top Shelf Music News [evil laugh]! This extra haunted Halloween episode extraordinaire stars your hosts Matt Cook & Kristy Rose, with Kyle Smith joining as musical guest! Explore the rotten music world of COVID-19, with updates on artist news, upcoming releases and all-around good-to-know knowledge. See you all […]

Tropidelic drops “Sunny Days” single & video, feat. Devin The Dude

The hard-working boys from Cleveland are back in action with not only a nostalgic new single featuring Devin The Dude, but a bangin’ new video to boot! That’s right, Tropidelic — the horn-heavy, reggae-hip hop conglomerate — has partnered with one of Houston’s top emcees to render “Sunny Days”, a song about reflecting on simpler […]

Roots and Tings’ “Election Time” surges with raw political honesty

Every four years we feel it. Every four years we dread it. The overwhelming frustration and, for some, fear that comes with ‘Election Time’ in America. The never-ending flood of lies and misinformation, cheap political promises and in the case of the current administration, the blatant and obvious sexism, classism and racism seem to invade our […]

Surfer Girl’s debut single “Hero” hails political change

Aer frontman Carter Schultz is back in action — calling for an action hero, that is. Resurfacing from his last Aer release in 2016, Schultz debuts the first single “Hero” today under the new sobriquet Surfer Girl off Ineffable Records. Surfer Girl might sound laidback, yet they are far from politically passive. “Hero” has all […]

WORLD TRACK PREMIERE: Edjacated Phools “Tell Me” feat. DELA of Slightly Stoopid

Edjacated Phools of Baltimore, MD is definitely knowledgable in their craft. The reggae rock-meets-hip hop six-piece conglomerate teams with Slightly Stoopid‘s DELA on sax for this sweet end-of-summer anthem and we’re stoked to host the world premiere! Out everywhere tomorrow, “Tell Me” will complete your summer season in stoney, surf style. Starting with waves crashing […]

Stand for music by supporting the #SaveOurStages Act

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, […]

Top Shelf Music News: Episode 7

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 […]

Wes Anderson recruits ¡MAYDAY! & Trey Miller in “Red Cup Dub”

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 […]

Steven Malcolm x Shaggy ignites in “Fuego (Remix)”

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, […]