Rachel Laminack, Author at WKNC 88.1 FM - North Carolina State University Student Radio

In this blog post, we will be taking a closer look at some of the best new music releases from interesting and innovate artists in the alternative hip-hop scene, in addition to a few R&B and alternative-pop highlights. All of these tracks were released in October or November 2022.

Note: Some songs on this playlist contain explicit lyrics.

Top Track

“GLORY*” by Jean Dawson is off of his new album, “CHAOS NOW*”. This is Jean’s third album, and is more Indie Rock than his previous albums. Some other standout tracks include “POSITIVE ONE NEGATIVE ONE*“, “0-HEROES” and “BLACK MICHAEL JACKSON”. If you enjoy these songs, I highly recommend checking out his last album “Pixel Bath”, as it is one of my favorite albums.

Local Artists

Tommy Richman, an artist from Virginia, released his first album “ALLIGATOR” on Oct. 28. This playlist features “703”, a track with a very unique sound that can be best described as funky punk.

“BROTHER WASSUP?” is a collaboration between Young Wabo and ERNESTO BIRMINGHAM. This is the pair’s second song together, as they released “WHO THE GOOD GUYS?” earlier this year. While I would describe both ERNESTO BIRMINGHAM and Young Wabo as hip-hop artists, this song pushes the boundaries of the genre in a very interesting way.

Mavi, an artist from Charlotte, NC, released his second album on Oct. 14 “Laughing so Hard, it Hurts”, consisting of mostly lo-fi hip-hop tracks. “3 Left Feet” seems to touch on a relationship ending and the feelings of a breakup. Other standout tracks include “My Good Ghosts” and “Last Laugh”.

Another artist from Charlotte, LORD JAH-MONTE OGBON, released his third album of the year “DIS TEW MUCH” on Nov. 15. Yes, you did read that correctly, he has released three albums in 2022. This playlist features track eight titled “Alicia Keys in the Face”.

Alternative-Pop

spill tab tapped into a alternative-pop punk genre with her newest single “CRÈME BRÛLÉE!”. This is her third single of the year, quite different from the indie-pop style of her previous single “Splinter”. It features an amazing instrumental, and I hope that she continues to experiment with these sounds in the future.

“Maybe Love” is Maz’s second single, a new artist from Utah in the alternative-pop sphere.

R&B / Soul

Fousheé, who was featured on Steve Lacy’s newest album, released her second album “softCORE” on Nov. 18. “supernova” is different from the normal music Fousheé makes, but shows that she continues to push boundaries in the alternative R&B and neo-soul genre.

Hip-Hop

“Demonslayer” by AKAI SOLO is from “Spirit Roaming” released on Nov. 11. Another highlight from this album is “The Weakest Crest”.

On Nov. 25 MIKE, Wiki and The Alchemist released a three-track EP which included the title track “One more”. MIKE plans to drop an album called “Beware of the Monkey” on Dec. 21.

Listen to this mix on Spotify. Note: Some songs on this playlist contain explicit lyrics.

Hope you enjoyed! Check out September ’22 New Releases here.

Rachel L.

If you are like me and live in constant fear of someone asking “What music are you listening to?” while listening to normie trash, then this playlist is perfect for you. Here are a few of the best Indie and Underground tracks released in September.

Note: Some songs on this playlist contain explicit lyrics.

Up first is “Jesus Freak Lighter” off of Blood Orange’s new EP “Four Songs“. The track is largely instrumental, and the synths on this song are incredibly groovy. While Blood Orange has been making a lot of music with other artists lately, including a personal favorite of mine “We Will Always Love You” by The Avalanches and Blood Orange, this is their first solo music release in over three years.

Loyle Carner is a jazz rap artist from the UK, and this playlist features his newest single, “Nobody Knows (Ladas Road)“. The samples, mixing, lyrics, and flow of this single are all perfect. This song is the third single off of his upcoming album ‘Hugo’, releasing on Oct. 21.

“SHELL” is off of Kenny Mason’s new album, “RUFFS“. Kenny Mason makes experimental hip-hop with metal and alternative influences. Other highlights off this album include “HALOS“, “333 / ATOM“, and “NOSEDIVE (feat. Jean Dawson)”.

“Yellow Brick Road” by Sudan Archives is a perfect example of new genre-bending music, with influences of R&B and electronic music. This song is off of her new album, “Natural Brown Prom Queen“.

“Greatest Hits” by Jockstrap is another mostly instrumental song, which is very experimental-electronica sounding. This track is from their debut album, “I Love You Jennifer B“. If you enjoy this track, I would recommend listening to one of Jockstrap’s first singles released – “Acid“.

“cracked screen” by blackwave. and Lute, as well as “Griffith Park” by Carter Ace are two alternative hip-hop songs that are very upbeat and groovy.

If you enjoy abstract hip-hop, you will enjoy ‘hollow’ by Medhane and JUNIE., and “ROSECOLORED” by justicexavier and Diz.

“SICK OF IT*” is the latest single for Jean Dawson’s upcoming album “CHAOS NOW*”. The album is scheduled to release on Oct. 7. Jean Dawson’s music is hard to define, falling under either alternative-pop or indie-rock. This track is a very upbeat alternative-style song.

“daydream” is an instrumental track by Luna Li off her new EP “jams 2“. The EP is only six minutes long and features six amazing tracks.

“Ghost (Injury Reserve Remix)” by Body Meat and Injury Reserve is a bit more of an obscure track and falls under the glitch-hop genre, but has incredible visualization. Injury Reserve is one of those artists that the more I listen to the more I find in their music to enjoy. There are so many little intricate details that at first listen seem odd or out of place but simultaneously blend in perfectly.

Here is a link to the Spotify playlist. Note: Some songs on this playlist contain explicit lyrics.

Hope you enjoy!

Rachel L.