Take From Him by Tommy Ice

Tommy Ice delivers on his promises. After posting on Twitter that he’d drop a song if the corresponding tweet reached 150 likes, he’s following through. Only a few hours after launch, Tommy’s goal was reached and far surpassed sitting at over 250- at the time of writing. Although the track didn’t drop at midnight, fans were still patiently waiting for the newest release. Today he held up to his side of the bargain and released a mature, almost melancholy single, ‘Take From Him’ that he teased a few weeks prior.

Click here to listen on SoundCloud.

A QUICK CONVERSATION WITH TRAP LIVES MATTER

Trap Lives Matter is a new streetwear brand mending the streets and fashion together. The brand, although somewhat new, has been seen thousands of times online with its bold color ways and it’s memorable Trap Lives Matter logo. Here’s a few questions to give answers to where this brand came from and where it’s headed. 

What first sparked the idea for the brand?

TLM: What sparked the idea of my brand was growing up in the hood everybody was hustling and trapping. I seen many people get locked up for it, including myself. The name basically explains itself u got people out here that can’t get a 9-5 and that don’t wanna get a 9-5. They rather feed and provide for their families with hustling their lives matter to everyone isn’t perfect so that’s why I choose the name Trap Lives Matter.

Have you always been into designing clothing and accessories? 

TLM: Yes I’ve always been into designing clothes. I’ve been designing since I was in middle school. I just finally got that push I needed to start doing my own thing. Now I got my own equipment making my clothes in house.

What was your first experience selling your clothing? When did you decide to make a website?

TLM: My first experience selling my clothes was at my cousin’s tattoo shop. I gave him a shirt and then a couple minutes later he was calling like, “Bring the shirts pull up they want them ASAP”. I made the website the second month after I started cause I was getting people from all over on my dm asking about it and asking when the website was coming.

You’ve done vests, satchels and strap bags, what are your plans for future accessories? 

TLM: One of my plans for the future is watches and purses. That’s all I can give out right now the other stuff low key y’all just gotta wait around and see.

Will we see more original designs and graphics in the near future?

TLM: Yes, in the future I will see original always gotta keep the OG around, but I got like 3 more logos coming soon.

How could someone reach out to you for a custom piece?

TLM: For custom pieces all u gottta do is dm me the colors u want and ima create a buss down fit for u.

Do you have any plans on hosting a pop-up shop or store?

TLM: Right now I’m planning a book bag give away. I’m not really pressed for pop ups shops rn I like to give back, but I will be doing some pop up later this year. And about the store, I do have something in the works now just waiting to see how it plans out.  

Any plans to collaborate with other brands down the line?

TLM: Yes, I plan on doing a collab with my brother ty and his brand RÈUSSI y’all go check him out. He really putting in work out here and Tatted Tone we got a collab coming FOREVASTR8 x TLM.

Click here to view the Trap Lives Matter website.

A QUICK CONVERSATION WITH DONALD $LUMP

Donald $lump arrives as a new sound within the underground. His ride in popularity in only comparable to his rise in skill and potential. His image is captivating, to say the least, but it’s his music and personality that binds him with his listeners. I asked him a few question to get to know the guy behind the image a little better. 

Where are you from?

SLUMP: I’m from Arizona. I grew up in Mesa and Chandler and went back and forth between my mom and my dad, but I lived in a small town till I was 6 years old.

How has your childhood affected your creativity? Do you often gain inspiration from your environment? 

$LUMP: I would say my childhood has definately affected my creativity in a positive way more than a negative way. I didn’t have many friends so that left alot of time for learning to play instruments and writing songs. Just being alone in my room gave me endless time to be creative and nowadays i gain most of my inspiration from things that happen in my personal life.

How did your name come about and what gave you the confidence to pursue a career in music?

$LUMP: It’s kind of a weird story: One day I was sitting there and I just dropped a song and I was sending it out to everybody showing everybody and nobody was really f☆cking with it so I felt that I was the rap game Donald Trump because nobody really liked me at that time. The fact that nobody was liking the stuff I put out really gave me the push to say hey if I wanna get better and show these ppl that I do have what it takes then I need to keep pushing the hate from the people who always gave me confidence in a wierd way.

How did your family and friends respond when you started?

$LUMP: My mom and dad have always been supportive of me pursuing music. I’m very blessed that they have been at mostly every show and even to this day my mom gives me feedback on songs before I drop them. My freinds have always supported me too. Shoutout my homie, Og Wilikers.

What do you think is unique about you and your listeners’ relationship?

$LUMP: I love my listeners and what I think is unique about our relationship is they keep it real with me, you know. If they dont like something they tell me and they always show me nonstop love I like to connect with them directly so lots of days I’m just in my dms directly communicating with my listeners/supporters. A lot of ppl just expect the streams/plays to come organically but you have to actually get out there and interact with ppl because your personality will take you a long way.

Do you see yourself venturing outside of music in the future?

$LUMP: Yes! There is no doubt in my mind that eventually I will venture into other areas. I would like to have a clothing line, get some shoes out, maybe a cooking show or something like that. I like to do many things and I hope music opens up some doors for me.

What’s a misconception you run into on the Internet about yourself?

$LUMP: A big misconception I run into alot is because my name is Donald $lump ppl tend to think that I support Donald Trump wich is not true. Another box I get put into a lot and I hear a lot is that I look like Lil Peep so ppl tend to pass me off as a Peep copy. Which, I don’t really mind because I love peep, but our music is very different. RIP Peep.

What are your hopes for the rest of 2019?

$LUMP: My hopes for the rest of 2019 are that I will continue growing exponentially and hopefully hit my first 10k views on Youtube on my most recent music video. Also I would like to collab with some of my idols before the year is over.

Click here to listen to Donald $lump’s SoundCloud.

All Tinted by Wolftyla

All Tinted is one of the last hits of the summer, boasting over a hundred thousands SoundCloud plays in its first week. Wolftyla takes her listeners on a rhythmic adventure layered with her smooth vocals. The track sounds like a sunset and captivates the energy of a summer that will be very much missed.

Click here to listen on Apple Music.

LOOK by Supa Bwe featuring Qari

Chicago is on a hot streak with the release of LOOK by local stars Supa Bwe and Qari. The explosive, bass-filled drill beat personifies Supa Bwe’s energy and makes it contagious.  Qari quite literally calms the track with his verses- cutting off Supa’s rage filled rants. The two rappers balance each others’ energy and the pacing of the song. On top of that, the song’s official Lyrical Lemonade visual has just dropped on YouTube, a collaboration with a fellow Eastern Illinois native Cole Bennett. It has all the right elements to be a hit.


                                     


Click here to listen on SoundCloud.
Click here to watch the Lyrical Lemonade video.

A QUICK CONVERSATION WITH YENT

YENT takes a fresh approach to Hip Hop with his blend of a somewhat pop-punk sound and emotional chords. His music ventures off from the classic, boom bap style of rapping  of the previous millennium and welcomes more melodies and somber tones. I asked him a few questions to get a full scope of his influence and his newest project, ‘TIME’.

Where are you from?

YENT: I’m from Wake Forest and Raleigh, North Carolina.

When did you first gain an interest in music and know you wanted to pursue it?

YENT: I’ve really been surrounded by music my whole life. My grandpa and some cousins were musicians, so I picked it up from them. I didn’t really start pursuing it on my own until I was maybe 6 or 7. I saw a concert by Green Day on TV when I was little and I knew that’s what I wanted for my future.

How did you discover hip hop, have you always been a fan?

YENT: I was around 6 or 7 and my dad had this stash of CDs and I had an old CD player in my room. I specifically remember hearing ‘World Tour’ by A Tribe Called Quest and that was what really got my into hip hop. Ever since then I’ve been a fan.

Who was your first #1 fan, who is it now?

YENT: My first #1 fan was probably my dad. He would always listen to me writing songs and playing guitar. He’s always come to my shows and showed all his friends my songs when they drop.

Who are your musical inspirations?

YENT: Growing up my biggest inspiration was Incubus and it still most definitely is because of the vocalist. He would sing but it was like he was rapping, too. They were like a perfect representation of like all my favorite sounds mushed together.

Your oldest song on SoundCloud ‘Crazy’ is much different from your ‘Blur’ EP, what do you think has influenced that change the most?

YENT: My trying to be more myself everyday. Crazy was a song I dropped to impress all my friends in high school. Blur is more me trying to figure my self out and it’s really down to the beats I picked from Jag and everything.

When you were looking through beats, what sound were you looking for? Did you know at the time?

YENT: When I’m looking for beats I almost want them to speak to me through the vibe, whatever I’m feeling at the time. I don’t personally like writing because it makes me filter through my thoughts too much. If the beats speaks to whatever I’m going through at the moment then that’s all I need!

How would you best describe your genre?

YENT: I feel like I’m definitely more on the alternative vibe sound wise, but I feel like I have my own spin on all the Rock and Hip Hop I grew up on. So, it’s really hard to kind of pin me to a specific genre but most people would just call it Alternative Hip Hop.

What was the biggest inspiration or the story behind this project?

YENT: My biggest inspiration behind this album was the need to get a bunch of stuff from my childhood experiences and a lot of the problems I faced with people switching up around me and trying my best to move on and be an adult. I listened to a lot of Lucky and Incubus while I would come up with ideas.

Click here to listen to his newest EP ‘TIME’ on SoundCloud.

A QUICK CONVERSATION WITH NOAHH OF TLG

Noahh is one of six members of The Lo$t Generation, pop-hip hop blended collective currently taking the music world by storm. The group, though still underground, has one of the most passionate fanbases on the Internet, and the talent to keep them coming back. I had a quick chat with Noahh to understand how the group was put together, what inspired him to start creating music and what we can look forward to on ‘Lo$t Tape 2’.

What sparked your interest in music?

NOAHH: When I was younger, my dad would always take me to live concerts. His homie was a drummer and handed me his drumsticks after a performance. Since that day, I always told myself I wanted to be a performer and touch people with music the same way their music had touched me.

Who was your first musical inspiration?

NOAHH: Weird Al Yankovich was my first music inspiration. I bumped every single remix he ever made and that was my sh*t in middle school. As I started making music in high school and taking it serious, though I’d definitely have to say cloudy Nueve, Emilio Zapata, all my brothers in TLG, as well as Post Malone, Kanye west & Justin Bieber.

Has where you live influenced your sound?

NOAHH: Where I live has definitely influenced the sound. Before I moved to NC, I was surrounded by country music in Kentucky, not ideal for the music I would want to make. When I came here, I was blessed enough to link up with my brothers and create a sound the city hasn’t had before.

Is The Lo$t Gen your first musical group? How did you guys become a group?

NOAHH: The Lo$t Generation is my first and only group. We started in 2014 in my junior year of high school... It was just me Jaheal, and Brody at first. Overtime I became close with the twins (Koke and juGGa John), and convinced them if they took their freestyles and popularity serious, they could make something big out of themselves. We made our first song & the rest is history. Soon after we discovered Emilio and were able to recruit him in as the final puzzle piece. We’ve been going hard ever since. I’m so proud of all of them, for real.

What do you think sets the six of you apart from other hip hop groups?

NOAHH: What sets us apart from other groups is many things. First we’re really supported in our hometown, most artists gain love outside there hometown, then the hometown stops sleeping on them and supports after. We do the opposite. Raleigh loves us and we love them, which is gonna help carry us to the top. Another thing is the family aspect and diversity. Before any music we’re a family first. Those are my brothers for life beyond music. I’d die for any of them no questions asked. Each of us make different sounding music individually and even different sounding music when we get together. Always keeping our listeners on their toes and never knowing what to expect next. I think our boy band image and how we brand ourselves helps too, haven’t seen anything like us since One Direction. LOL.

What moment made you realize TLG was really taking off?

NOAHH: The moment I realized TLG was taking off is when I went to Rolling Loud and got noticed in the middle of a crowd of people... I was 12 hours away from my hometown & got noticed amongst 60,000 people that was shocking to me . Above that, being able to do a show in your hometown and have over 250 people you’ve never seen before show up singing, word-for-word, to songs you wrote in your room really makes you take a step back and go, “Damn” you know.

Will there be any solo content from you in the near future?

NOAHH: There will be solo content real soon! We’re each working on solo projects to put out and show the world what we each have as solo acts. We’ve just been pushing the group stuff and branding it so when we drop our solo tapes it’ll get the same praise and love as a group album or song would. Wanna make sure the timing is right when it drops so it doesn’t land on deaf ears.

Will there be a tour for ‘2’?

NOAHH: We’d definitely love to do a tour for the album. We’ve got connections to lots of venues, lots of artists and people in different cities. If we’re able to fund it ourselves or get somebody to book us, or bring us along, then you’ll see ‘2’ coming to a city near you! You can definitely expect a Raleigh show, though. Shoutout our engineer Rob (@thatshitsoundslikerob) for always making us sound amazing. Shouts out to everybody who supports me individually as well as The Lo$t Generation.

THE LO$T TAPE 2 drops this Saturday. Follow The Lo$t Generation on Instagram @los.gen & Twitter @tlgmg