Defiant, atmospheric and built on storytelling that refuses to play it safe: this week’s hip-hop bops move from protest anthems to mythology quests to late-night R&B confessions, all of it made entirely on independent terms.
Deptford Sound Collective – Miss U #Tupac
Deptford Sound Collective’s “Miss U #Tupac” is a brilliant tribute anthem: proof that a revolutionary can be silenced but the revolution cannot.
“Miss U #Tupac” is the official soundtrack to the forthcoming biopic Tupac Shakur: Life & Murder of a Revolutionary & Music Legend. It’s an exciting moment for the track, not least because it really works, blending bags of raw emotion with epic and anthemic energy. It’s got the vibe of an expansive hip hop banger, but it’s the message which is most important; that the conversations he started still matter, the hope he carried still ignites. I’ve had this one all day, and you should definitely check it out today.
We’ve kept an eye on Deptford Sound Collective for a few singles now, and they continue to impress. As a group or musicians, artists and community activists from Deptford in South East London, their work is rooted in the protest song tradition of the 1960s updated for the present moment. Built on global solidarity and a clear-eyed response to threats against civil liberties, “Miss U #Tupac” is their boldest and most ambitious statement yet, and we really love it. An essential single this week.
William McLaughlin – Summer Vibes
William McLaughlin’s “Summer Vibes” is a superb genre-blending hip-hop single: Latin, West Coast rap and jazz rolled into one with a whole lot of style
“Summer Vibes” brings together Kidd Bask, a Chilean hip-hop artist, and Feez, an American rapper, alongside McLaughlin’s own multi-genre instincts, channelling the feeling of North and South America colliding on a London summer night. And we all know that there’s nowhere better than London in the summer. And we love how this track captures that sensation of a party that nobody wants to end: cold drinks, warm air, good conversation and the particular weight of a moment you want to replay immediately. We love it.
McLaughlin, who records as Billy G. Mac, is originally from Devon and now based in central London where he works as a chef in Soho. Music has been the consistent thread across twelve years of his life, and “Summer Vibes” is the track he has been building toward: eclectic, specific, and built from a listening diet that runs from Red Hot Chili Peppers and Led Zeppelin through Ella Fitzgerald, Kendrick Lamar, Cypress Hill and Django Reinhardt. It’s an interesting path; and it’s led somewhere very, very special here. A great track.
Lil’ Mike – Shuryo
Lil’ Mike serves up the best kind of French trap; stunning production, a brilliant flow and loads of attitude in this standout single.
“Shuryo” is the lead single from Lil’ Mike’s HotDamn EP, and this one really impresses. Recorded at Ingué’s studio, the song takes direct aim at those in positions of power who exploit and control young people. And we all know they’re out there, right? The production is an absolute vibe, the flow is tight and i love the groove on this. Tough, irresistible, and impossible not to add to your playlist. It’s ambitious too; with the slowed section taking things out in style.
Lil’ Mike is a rapper and dancer based in France whose HotDamn EP centres on fighting for rights, goals and freedom. His music is built on clear moral convictions and delivered with the precision of an artist who takes the craft of both writing and sonic construction seriously. “Shuryo” is his current single and the clearest statement of what the project stands for. We’re really excited about this one, and can’t wait to hear where Lil’ Mike goes next.
Ray Gibbz – Royal Ruby
“Royal Ruby” is an beautiful piece of storytelling rap from Ray Gibbz, proof that one person in a home studio can build an entire world.
Ray Gibbz latest single is rap as adventure. Rather than the usual themes, the track follows a cinematic quest to recover a lost royal ruby, an ancient artifact tied to heritage and myth, and the writing leans fully into that narrative ambition. Not your average party track then, and it’s genuinely refreshing as a result. It plays out like a chapter of a larger story, scene-setting and unhurried, drawing on ancestral imagery to give the song a scale most singles never attempt. The result feels closer to a short film than a standard rap cut, the work of someone far more interested in telling a story than chasing a trend.
Ray Gibbz is a self-taught producer, songwriter and rapper from San Diego who builds every track himself from his apartment, with no formal training behind him. He cites Nas as a touchstone, and that classic, lyric-first lineage shows in his appetite for narrative over flash. “Royal Ruby” was made start to finish at home, which makes its cinematic reach all the more impressive: this is DIY hip hop that refuses to let a lack of resources shrink its imagination. An essential rap track this motnh.