With music easily made and readily shared by new artists every day, there are hundreds of high quality songs that fly under the radar. Every week, BEWARE Bowdon scours the web to weed out the dimes from the duds and share the wealth via BEWARE’s Block, a collection of eight buzzing tracks from artists currently breaking ground in their respective genres.
Soup feat. Ferrari Banx – “Date of Birth” (Prod. by Yorel)
Birthday celebration coming up? Soup has your theme song with “Date of Birth,” a lighthearted jam that will leave every listener bouncing along in unison. Complete with swirling pads, easygoing drums and a bean bag bass line, Soup’s latest offering is a flat out fun record that requires no invite and is fly enough for any gender on their big day.
Brian Ennals – “Badu Vision”
Brian Ennals is one of Baltimore’s best kept secrets and has been for a few years now. Although he doesn’t release tunes too often, Ennals has earned attention with his vivid raps and passionate delivery, always offering personal raps with a punch. Ennals’ latest record is “Badu Vision,” a spacey taste of soul that speaks on sticking to your guns amidst turmoil and seeing your desires into reality. I’m pretty sure Miss Badu would appreciate this one.
Clairmont The Second – “No Favors” Video
Clairmont The Second isn’t the first rapper to stand solo in an empty room and call it a music video. However, the Toronto rapper/producer sure knows how to spice up a normal setting. Bright with confidence, Clairmont styles with ease over house-inspired leads and waves of brooding bass, showing he’s more than capable of entertaining the masses with his colorful schtick.
MIKNNA – “302”
The line that separates Rap from R&B has never been more blurred, but that open door policy has allowed artists like MIKNNA to really find their lane. Listen to “302” and you’ll hear a luxurious audible trip that allows the self-proclaimed electro-soul duo from LA to sing-rap with ease, truly reeling listeners in with their exotic production prowess and overall cool. When can we go back?
dopeSMOOTHIES – “untitled” (Prod. by Flip)
The more dopeSMOOTHIES keeps his momentum going, the more he manages to spread his wings. After a timely love letter last week from the MD rapper, DS returns with much more weighted subject matter, speaking first-hand on suicide prevention and the loss of his father. With courage on his side, the rising rapper went out on a limb and exposed himself like he never has before, offering a somber reality check to anyone on the ledge, letting them know they do matter and their actions definitely have consequences. When music can be therapeutic, no topic is too taboo.
Mark Steele feat. Nivam – “Turn Around” Video
There’s no such thing as negative when Mark Steele’s “Turn Around” comes on. Despite speaking on the infinite injustices swirling around him on the daily, the Durham, NC singer uses soothing production and an adjustable delivery to offer positive vibes during negative times. If Mark’s smart, his upcoming Almost Time project will be filled with more songs to lean on.
Yusef Kamaal – “Lowrider”
For obvious reasons, songs titled “Lowrider” typically have a very specific context, as if they’re almost supposed to be built with bottomless bass and West Coast whistles. The new single from London producer Yusef Kamaal looks to shake the preconceived notion, offering more of a funky Latin house vibe that’s loose in spirit, aged like fine wine and will have no problem rocking a party right for hours on end. Hear more boneless instrumental grooves via Yusef’s upcoming Black Focus project, which you can pre-order here.
Matt Simons – “Lose Control” Video
To be honest, I can’t remember exactly where I first heard Matt Simons’ lucid single, “Lose Control.” However, the slow-building dance track managed to make one of my personal playlists on Spotify and I’ve been moving to the groove ever since. The uptempo song carries forward-thinking vibes, looking to stir listeners who are stuck in a rut and let them know they’re capable of anything. Now, Matt’s colorful new video has brought that open-ended concept to life. Don’t think twice, press play now.
Want more? Check out previous installments of ‘BEWARE’s Block’.
Want to see your music featured here? Send your music to submissions@smokingsection.net with “Attn: BEWARE’s Block” in the subject.
