GRINDIN

Being a hot up-and-coming producer means a few things, most notably that there must be pressure and a heavy weight on your heart in the lead up to your debut EP release. After all, you are putting a significant piece of your soul out there on a platter, serving it up for the world – …

Ladi’s new album “Automatic”, sonically is not the sound of the Pacific-urban girl Aotearoa fell in love with during the 2008 summer when she debuted “Time Is Not Much”. Nope. She’s evolved. Her and her partner in music and life Parks went to Detroit to record with beat/production legend Waajeed and Grammy Award winning engineer …

It’s hard to believe it’s already been 9 years since The Foreign Exchange’s debut, “Connected” first hit shelves. Funnily enough, “Connected” was also released the same year Facebook launched. When you consider the means by which Phonte and Nicolay first linked (OkayPlayer’s forums), it’s kind of ironic that online collaborations through social networking have become …

Ghanaian-American Hip Hop artist Blitz The Ambassador has served up a new EP entitled ‘The Warm Up Ep’ which serves as a prelude for his upcoming 3rd album ‘Afropolitan Dreams’. Blitz has an acute lyrical sense to be able to flow in and out of English, and his native tongue without even breaking a sweat. …

14 KT, Ann Arbor, Michigan native and one talented producer set to turn heads with the weight of his latest release “Nickel & Dimed”. The album is 15 cuts deep, 14 knocking instrumentals and one ode from the man himself that calls out the frustrations of other shady individuals in the industry not willing to …

Apollo Brown’s first beat tape “Skilled Trade” has been re released by the good people at Mello Music Group and for anyone who let this slip through the cracks now is as good a time as any to get acquainted. The tape is a well crafted and timeless look into the golden era roots of …

As an avid fan of the irrepressible Mello Music Group roster, the honour bestowed upon me in my first ‘Jyeah, I am now a part of the Grindin’ fam’ opportunity, was certainly befitting. The significant impact Apollo Brown has had in shaping and continually evolving the careers of artists including Oddisee, Guilty Simpson & Gensu …

To put it simply, Omar Lye-Fook is “The Man” and you should buy his new record, which coincidentally happens to go by the same title! I’m quite happy to end this review right here, but will continue on for the sake of those who might be a unfamiliar with this legendary Brit. At 44, this …

Perth based beat maker/future world ruler Ta-Ku continues with his non-stop and consistently quality output, dropping another solid release in the form of “Retwerk Vol II” a collection of originals, remixes and reworks. Following on from the love and hype surrounding last years Vol I, it was a no brainer for Ta-Ku to make this …

East Coast producer Statik Selektah is back with his fifth studio album “Extended Play”. With 18 Tracks, 38 guest appearances (not including individual group members) and a total running time of just over an hour – “Extended Play” really lives up to its title. The album is pretty traditional standard ‘Boom-Bap’ hip-hop – that’s not …