Enigmatic Rapper NiVo Drops New Single: and I know

Enigmatic Rapper NiVo Drops New Single: and I know

NYC-based rapper NiVo has today released a new single: and I knowNiVo showcases his knack for melodies on the track, crooning over a playfully refined trap beat. NiVo makes expert use of autotune and reverb, allowing his vocals to take center stage in the mix.

and I know revolves around themes of transparency and communication. NiVo’s noticed how women have started to treat him differently, as his music career evolves. He makes it clear that he’s always going to be straight-up with his intentions and he expects his love interests to do the same.

“And I know is for anyone who has communication issues with a potential partner. It’s meant to just encourage people to stop caring so much and just cut to the point!” 

and I know is NiVo’s second release of September, having released Back In My Back just a few weeks prior. NiVo is part of the NYC/Dubai-based record label and collective Nuit Sans Fin.

Follow NiVo on socials @Nivo1000 to stay up to date with one of hip-hop’s most promising young artists.

Justin Love Drops Vibrant “Get Out” Video Featuring GASHI

Justin Love Drops Vibrant “Get Out” Video Featuring GASHI

Justin Love’s recent single, “Get Out” featuring Gashi, has been the highlight song of this summer, amassing 500k streams in just 2 weeks since release. Love and Gashi have unveiled an amusing video to accompany the song.

The Get Out video revolves around inspiration and celebration, showing Love and Gashi reap the rewards of their hard work after grinding for years in the ultra-competitive music industry. They’re “mini-mes” are portrayed by two cute kids who envision their futures ahead, complete with fancy cars, big houses and the lavish lifestyle of achieving your dreams.

Justin Love and Gashi had the following to share words to share about the Get Out video:

I always strive to act as a role model to the younger generation and show them what hard work looks like. This video is a glimpse through the eyes of a young me to what can be achieved through years of determination.” – Justin 

This record and video are one of the greatest songs / videos I’ve ever been a part of and I’m very excited for the world to see this work of art.” – Gashi

Justin Love earned a Grammy nomination earlier this year for H.E.R.’s smash hit Focus, contributing as a songwriter. Get Out has amassed over 500k streams in a couple of weeks since its release, his third single of the year following up Runaway and Bad Mind. Love still has a few more songs up his sleeve that he’s excited to share before the end of the year.

Alexander Lewis Is Soaring The Skies With His New Release

Alexander Lewis Is Soaring The Skies With His New Release

Innovative producer Alexander Lewis is back from the war after releasing his latest single Win the War, and this time he offers us an exhilarating instrumental track called Soar. The bi-coastal artist has been on a roll with the recent releases, all leading up to the Red EP that will be released in the upcoming months.

Soar signifies a transition period in Lewis’ career. Lewis is praised for his earlier EDM work, but lately the artist has been switching to a more Hip-Hop/Trap oriented production style, and Soar is another product of this new era. Lewis does a great job at creating a climactic feel by slowly building up the production and making it sound lively through the orchestration. Although strings are not as common in Hip-Hop productions, Lewis took full advantage of his resources and incorporated them seamlessly into the song, which helped setting a more dynamic and rousing atmosphere. What really differentiates Lewis as a producer is his trombone melodies. As a trained trombonist, Lewis includes this underestimated instrument in all of his works to establish a fusion of genres.

Lewis is not stopping here. Win the War and Soar are just a tease of a much greater, long form project. Red EP is Lewis’ most ambitious project yet, and the fans are excited to hear more of this work.

Stream Soar by clicking HERE

Holly Gets Personal With Fans In New Music Video

Holly Gets Personal With Fans In New Music Video

Today is a strong day for Holly, Portuguese producer/DJ, as he unveiled the music video for his new single Encontrar feat. Slow J. The hip/hop artist is building anticipation for his upcoming EP – Avenal 2500 – which will be released on May 17th. The EP is speculated to be a very introspective work, as it can be interpreted from the reflective nature of this new single. Holly decided to team up with his close friend and successful Portuguese rapper Slow J for the production of this personal project.

Holly describes the meaning of the song and working with Slow J with these words:

“’Encontrar’ is an extremely important record for my soul at this point in my life. Every day, I’ve been facing this process of self-betterment and striving to become the best artist and person that I can be rather than fearing that I won’t achieve my goals, which makes me feel like I’m climbing up a never-ending stairway. It makes this record even more special to have the energy of Slow J, since he’s one of my closest friends in music and is also an artist that I look up to immensely.”

The music video was shot in Lisbon and directed/edited by Made in Lx, produced by Sente Isto and features the talented dancer Elohim Atons performing an evocative dance routine. Holly and Slow J also appear in the video, connecting with the audience through imagery.

You can listen to Encontrar feat. Slow J from the link below!

Brasstracks Drop Dynamic New EP: “Before We Go”

Brasstracks Drop Dynamic New EP: “Before We Go”

Among the best the Big Apple has to offer, Brasstracks dropped their brand new EP entitled “Before We Go”.

Unlike most current hip-hop, Brasstracks new EP continued their relationship with live instrumentation, rather than drum machines and synths. Ivan and Conor have created a signature blend, infusing R&B soul with live horns, percussion, and hard-hitting hip-hop.

Among the 7 songs on the EP, many featured rising artists from different genres including: R.Lum.R, Grace, Pell and Charles Gaines. The variety of Features demonstrated Brasstracks musical versatility. Tapping into more genres than ever before, while maintaining their unique sound, Brasstracks conjured their most ambitious project yet.  

Brasstracks shared some words about their upcoming EP and plans afterward:

“We’re BEYOND excited to share this music with you, but we realized you may not know what this project is all about, or the story behind some of the songs. Most people have so far thought that “Before We Go” is some sort of sign of our hiatus or of us splitting up as a band. Exactly what we wanted to you to believe, but it’s certainly the opposite of what’s going on. Truthfully, we just needed to get these songs to everyone, “Before We Go” start and finish an album. Our journey has only begun. It’s going to take some time, and we promise not to starve you guys with music – but that’s the root of it.

For Those Who Know was for our fans who stuck with us through an awkward transition from electronic and bombastic to more live and nuanced, from Soundcloud to Spotify and Apple, etc. Before We Go is a declaration for not just our fans, but for everyone, that we are here to stay, and the next project is going to be even bigger.”

Before We Go Tracklist:

1. Will We Ever Know (Intro)

2. Everything I Got (feat. Anthony Flammia)

3. Follows (feat. Grace)

4. Vibrant (feat. Pell)

5. I’m Alright (feat. R.Lum.R)

6. Snowdaze (feat. Charles Gaines)

7. Will We Ever Know (Outro)

The Vibrant Tour (remaining dates)

February 22nd – San Diego, CA – Music Box

February 23rd – San Francisco, CA – Mezzanine

February 27th – Vancouver, BC – Imperial

February 28th – Bellingham, WA – Wild Buffalo House Of Music

March 1st – Seattle, WA – Neumos

March 2nd – Portland, OR – Star Theater Portland

March 5th – Boise, ID – Reef

March 6th – Las Vegas, NV – The Bunkhouse Saloon

March 7th – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall

March 9th – Denver, CO – Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom


New Single Out by Driftwood Titled ‘Higher Mentions’

New Single Out by Driftwood Titled ‘Higher Mentions’

Back with a new and impressive single titled ‘Higher Mentions’, Australian based artist Driftwood is adding another piece to his project. Becoming a unique artist hasn’t been easy, but his work has definitely proven successful in this new track that is accompanied by an additional music video. It tells a slight narrative that Driftwood himself created to also allow the viewer to make up their own version of as it progresses.

“I  generally  fly under the  radar and don’t like  to make a fuss about the  fact that I do have a hand  in every part of my creative  process. I like to paint pictures  through music and film, but I don’t  like to star in any of my videos and prefer  to collaborate with people who inspire me. I am fascinated  by literature, music, film and life, and I strive to tell stories across  audio & film to provoke thought and emotion.” –Driftwood

With a skillset and mindset that sets him apart from other artists, Driftwood can be expected to continue to produce content that makes you think as well as enjoy overall with his unique electo-hip hop sound. Keep your eye out for more from this artist and follow him below to keep up to date!

Watch ‘Higher Mentions’ Below Now!

Follow Driftwood

Soundcloud

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

Darci – These Nights

Darci – These Nights

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From Darci: ‡ Wanted to drop a free song for the holidays to say thank you for the luv ‡ S/O Complex for the premiere ‡ This is “These Nights” 💕


‡ Wanted to drop a free song for the holidays to say thank you for the luv ‡ S/O Complex for the premiere ‡ This is “These Nights” 💕

Free Download: www.toneden.io/darci/post/darci-these-nights

Stream/DL:
Apple Music/iTunes – itunes.apple.com/us/album/these-n…987?i=1321652988

Spotify – open.spotify.com/track/41m0JNF2IjHsoZIYsWL1Tv

Learn More: bit.ly/DarciTheseNightsComplexPremiere

Keep Up
www.facebook.com/DarksideDarci
twitter.com/DarksideDarci
www.instagram.com/darksidedarci
open.spotify.com/artist/1lAvOODEAbUI5b51WRBbdx
@darksidedarci

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Lyrics:
These nights
You know what they go like
Shots up I forget about the whole time
dollar bills while she shake it under strobe lights
Wait until we take it on the road like

I’m afraid of me
I’m afraid of you
I got lanes to pick
I got lanes to choose
So much left to get
So much left to lose
I’m just trying to live
Trying to find a mood for it

I’m just trying to find that shift roll right
Im not dealing wit the hype
I don’t fuck with your vibe
Take that to the other side
I don’t know
I don’t know
I just end up like a ghost
Some days
Some nights
I prefer to be alone

When I take the tone I go away
Maybe you can pull me close and feel a way
I just need to find a little space
ay
You know how I’m always wide awake
Finna slay

These nights
You know what they go like
Shots up I forget about the whole time
dollar bills while she shake it under strobe lights
Wait until we take it on the road like

I’m afraid of me
I’m afraid of you
I got lanes to pick
I got lanes to choose
So much left to get
So much left to lose
I’m just trying to live
Trying to find a mood for it
I’m afraid of me
I’m afraid of you
I got lanes to pick
I got lanes to choose
So much left to get
So much left to lose
I’m just trying to live
Trying to find a mood for it

Try to find a mood
Try to find a mood for it
Try to find a mood
Try to find a mood for it
Try to find a mood
Try to find a mood for it
Try to find a mood
Try to find a mood for it

Got me up
Make it roll
Over ice
Paper throw
Sip it slow
Find a mode
Hit the highs
Hit the lows
I’m sorry
I’m so sorry
I know I never knew
Try to find a better me
Try to find a better you
Ay

When I take the tone I go away
Maybe you can pull me close and feel a way
I just need to find a little space
ay
You know how I’m always wide awake
Finna slay

These nights
You know what they go like
Shots up I forget about the whole time
dollar bills while she shake it under strobe lights
Wait until we take it on the road like

I’m afraid of me
I’m afraid of you
I got lanes to pick
I got lanes to choose
So much left to get
So much left to lose
I’m just trying to live
Trying to find a mood for it
I’m afraid of me
I’m afraid of you
I got lanes to pick
I got lanes to choose
So much left to get
So much left to lose
I’m just trying to live
Trying to find a mood for it

Try to find a mood
Try to find a mood for it
Try to find a mood
Try to find a mood for it
Try to find a mood
Try to find a mood for it
Try to find a mood
Try to find a mood for it

DarciThese NightsCome AroundFree DownloadSome SayHip-hop & RapFeels

The Best “Best of The Year” Lists For All Things Music (Songs, Albums, Videos & Beyond)

The Best “Best of The Year” Lists For All Things Music (Songs, Albums, Videos & Beyond)

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Let’s face it, It’s kind of hard to be an original music blog in 2016. Considering the fact that a lot of the time people don’t event read your words, it can be frustrating to see quality work get skipped over for disposable click bait content that is only ruining our culture at a rapid pace. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good high school girl fight or collection of derpy cat gifs, but why can’t we have quality content from sources we can trust? Where did all the passion go? I know there is little to no money in “Blogging” and we are all far too old to do this shit for free shows, but what happened to people taking pride in what they do?

Well my goal for 2017 is to bring back that passion and to show people that there is a group of us out there that really care about this music, our culture, and the world around us. Our plan is to do this by just being authentic. You won’t find too many single features or BS e mail interviews on AlwaysHustle next year. What you will find are real words from people who care too much to just let this stuff go without being seen or heard.

Music is such an important part of our lives but the fans deserve something more than just the mindless dribble that most music blogs are putting out now. You will not be able to buy your way on to AlwaysHustle. If we like something or feel like it’s something that the world needs to know about, we will find a way to get it out there. I have been working in this business for over a decade now and it’s always been about making money, but now I see something bigger out there and a new hustle that we need to get on quick because things will not change with out action. When it comes down to it, I’d rather have a site with genuine value for the few people who read it then anything else at this point and if we can get people to change the way they think about music and life then it’s a huge win for me and this brand.

With all of this being said, I have not had the time in 2016 to really dedicate myself to the music I love. So rather then BS you with my fake ass picks of 2016, I have collected a list of lists that I think are worth checking out if you really want to get an idea of some of the better stuff that dropped this year.

Check out some of these picks below and get ready for a new year with new perspective from people who really care.

Finally I want to thank you all for riding with me over the years. I am nothing without the friends and fans that I have made from running this site and it’s only going to get better from here!

Enjoy all the music and have a happy holiday season.

– Ben de Ayora
Never Rest, Always Hustle

The Best Music Related End of the year lists:

 

Red Bull’s Top 50 Songs of 2016

I do a lot of business with Red Bull and no other brand in their space comes even close to the impact that they make on the music community every year. Working on Events like 30 Days in LA and Their Sound Select Shows is proof enough that these guys know music and they love it just as much as I do. Their list of top songs for the year is not perfect, but you can bet that everything you listen to is bump worthy for one reason or another.

Magnetic Magazine’s 25 Best House Tracks of 2016

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I’m supposed to come up with some sort of “Best Hip Hop” chart for Magnetic as well but since I’ve been buried at work, for now I just want to give some shine to the very wise Danny Kaufman who came up with a solid list of House tracks from 2016. Hopefully I will have a bigger presence on Magnetic in 2017 as well but I feel like AlwayHustle needs me a bit more right now. We shall see I guess but for now get your grove one with this epic list.

Diplo’s Best of 2016

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Diplo probably didn’t make this but whoever put it together for him did a great job of curating the best of 2016. While I know that AlwaysHustle has always been more of a hip hop website, I’d be a fool if I left out all of the great electronic music that came out this year. If 2016 told us anything it’s that these 2 genres work well together and we can expect to see even more crossover in 2017. Check out the best from Diplo and Friends (mostly his friends) here.

XLR8R’s Best of 2016: New Artists

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While XLR8R has gone through quite a few changes over the last few years, you still can’t hate on this digital publication’s fine taste in music. They have consistently been an outlet I have kept tabs on through the years and their “Best New Artists” list for 2016 is full of both obvious stand outs and special gems that should keep you bust if you have been sleeping on the worlds of techno and REAL electronic music in 2016. You can read all about their picks right here.

Pigeons & Planes: Best Songs of 2016

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P&P is another site that started around the same time as mine except the kid who started this blog struck a deal with complex at some point because Complex couldn’t figure out how to cover this indie/underground shit by themselves. It was a smart move because even now, Pigeons and Planes still comes up with a lot of great music that you just won’t find anywhere else. With that being said, they are infamous for posting quite a bit of noisy bullshit as well but not enough to keep them off of this list of lists. Check out their top tracks for 2016 by clicking right here.

 

HighSnobiety’s – Best Albums of 2016

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No need for any BS here. I fucking love this website. Even though I can’t afford most of the shit they tell me I need to buy in order to stay cool, the fine folks who run HighSnobiety seem to have the exact same taste as I do when it comes to all things, fashion, art, culture and most of the time, music. They have put together a quality list of the tops albums of 2016 which is worth checking out which you can view here.

NPR – Top 100 Songs of 2016

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Thank god for NPR. Besides sports talk radio I really have nothing else to listen to in my car except for KCRW and the rest of the brilliant programing that NPR provides. This list of their 100 top songs of 2016 is about as solid as you can get for a list this long. While the placements of some of the songs could be up for debate, they really missed nothing that I can see and even though I wasn’t around for most of these releases, NPR is a name you can trust when it comes to music curation. Dig in to this monster list here.

Pitchfork – The Best Music Videos of 2016

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While normally I would tell the fine folks at Pitchfork to suck a D as far as what I think of their pretentious ability to curate and forecast a lot of the dope emerging music in our world, I actually believe they did a pretty good job with their list of the best music videos of 2016. Out of all of the other lists I tried to make my way through, they were the only ones that actually took the time to do it right and for that I will give them some shine (but not too much). There are some weird videos on this list as well but over all it gets the job done. You can check it out here.

Yung Pinch – My Time // Feel It

Yung Pinch – My Time // Feel It

No one can deny the influence that the south has on hip hop over the last few years. People are looking for those turn up songs in the style of acts like Future and Yung Thug and now we are starting to see a whole new class of rappers putting their own twist on that southern sound. Yung Pinch is part of that class and his new music easily fits into that mold created by so many ATL rappers and producers. The funny thing is that with Pinch, this style works incredibly well while also giving him a chance to stand out (he does not look like the average cat making this music and thats a good thing for Pinch). Check out “My Time // Feel It” and stay tuned for more music from this promising talent.