A Lawrenceville bedroom, a PG County basement during a snowstorm, a Chicago birthday reintroduction, and a San Diego apartment tribute to Nas: hip-hop this week is four artists working entirely on their own terms.
BXMBI – Too Much
BXMBI’s “Too Much” is a brilliant piece of hypnotic trap-R&B: hard-hitting production, an angelic hook from Bovell, and a stunningly intimate bedroom recording
“Too Much” explores the particular burden of seeing through situations and recognising people’s true feelings: the discomfort of knowing too much in a world that prefers comfortable illusions. The production has the wavy, hypnotic quality that keeps thing compelling, and the touch of grit combined with Bovell’s soft, angelic hook is the track’s defining move. BXMBI found Bovell at a showcase hosted by a close friend and immediately knew the original hook needed replacing. It was a great call, cos the place this has ended up in is great. Recorded entirely in BXMBI’s own room, it’s a compelling peice.
BXMBI is an emerging artist from Lawrenceville whose music is built on the philosophy that life is 5% what happens to you and 95% how you react to it. That framing runs through “Too Much” as a structural principle: the song is not about the situations themselves but about the weight of awareness. He is currently building both online and local presence with live performances planned. “Too Much” is a great single, and we can’t wait for more. Keep an eye on BXMBI.
Dem Boyz from Gorgeous ft. Somos Animales – PG Bama (The Go-go Anthem)
Dem Boyz from Gorgeous’ “PG Bama (The Go-go Anthem)” is a stunning act of cultural defiance: recorded in a PG County basement during a snowstorm, released as a tribute to a late sister and a celebration of go-go’s 50th anniversary.
“PG Bama (The Go-go Anthem)” was recorded in a PG County basement during a snowstorm and released on 27 March 2026 as a musical vow fulfilled to the duo’s late sister, DJ K-la. The track channels the ancestral pulse of go-go music, drawing from Chuck Brown’s “Bustin Loose” and E.U.’s “Doin’ the Butt,” and propels it forward as a 21st-century international anthem marking the genre’s 50th anniversary. The celebration of being from Prince George’s County, known as “Gorgeous” in the DMV, is unapologetic and specific, and the track carries that locatedness as a point of pride rather than limitation.
Dem Boyz from Gorgeous are Frank Cisco “STEEL” Anderson and Lavell “Magnus” Copeland, both rooted in Prince George’s County, Maryland. STEEL is an Amazon bestselling author, disabled Naval officer veteran and creator of the Amerisoca music genre, serving as the project’s executive producer and conceptual architect. Magnus is an award-winning performer, producer and engineer whose live-band instincts give the duo’s sound its rhythmic foundation. “PG Bama” is their current single.
Joey P. – Walked In
Joey P.’s “Walked In” is an excellent lo-fi astral R&B track: the fan-favourite that defined his signature sound, reintroduced as he turns 25 and proves it has lost none of its pull.
“Walked In” was originally released in August 2021 and has been a fan-favourite since, defining what Joey P. describes as his signature lo-fi astral R&B style. With thousands of new listeners finding his music in the years since, he is reintroducing the track as a milestone marker: he turns 25 on 30 June 2026, and “Walked In” is where the journey started. The track still holds up completely, which is the best argument for returning to it. If you are coming to Joey P. for the first time, this is the right place to begin.
Joey P. is a singer-songwriter and guitarist from Chicago, Illinois, who plays across lo-fi, R&B and alternative registers with a fluid ease that makes genre categories feel beside the point. He has been building his audience steadily since his teens, and “Walked In” remains the clearest single statement of what he does and why it works. He is 24 years old and clearly just getting started.
Ray Gibbz – If I Ruled
Ray Gibbz’s “If I Ruled” is a superb self-produced hip-hop tribute: written, recorded and mixed alone in a San Diego apartment, paying homage to Nas with the conviction of someone who has been studying that record his entire life.
“If I Ruled” pays direct homage to Nas’s “If I Ruled the World,” one of Ray Gibbz’s primary creative touchstones, and was produced entirely by him in his San Diego apartment without formal schooling or traditional production infrastructure. The track lands as both a tribute and an original statement: the influence is explicit and acknowledged, but the voice on top of it is his own. Released 6 April 2026, it demonstrates the kind of comprehensive independent skill set: writing, production, performance, that makes a one-man operation sound like a fully resourced project.
Ray Gibbz is a self-taught producer, songwriter and rapper from San Diego who handles every element of his music independently, building a sound rooted in classic hip-hop influences while developing his own voice through relentless self-directed practice. He is actively seeking live performance opportunities and building his audience on his own terms. “If I Ruled” is his current single.