Troye Sivan – “WILD”:
When Troye Sivan was fifteen, he nervously came out to his dad following a brief discussion on religion. Three years later, he made a ‘Coming Out’ video on YouTube – the site that initially boosted his popularity. Now, Sivan has released the music video for “WILD” which focuses on the love and friendship between two boys.
A large majority of the video focuses on the boys running together, riding bikes side-by-side, playing games… basically, doing what little boys tend to do. What’s great are the subtleties (a lingering glance here, a finger stroke there) that give away their feelings for one another, but it’s never explicit, only implied.
Now and then, there are shots of Sivan at his current age entwined with someone (the boy from his childhood, we’re led to believe) as he sings. The video is part one of a three-part series called ‘Blue Neighbourhood’, so it’ll likely end up feeling like a short film rather than three music videos. “WILD” comes from Sivan’s EP of the same name which came out on September 4. Watch the music video below and buy the EP here.
Section Boyz – “Lock Arff”:
Section Boyz, the South London crew from the 7 have dropped the video to their latest track entitled “Lock Arff”. The boys look set to continue their heat which is buzzing on the streets, with their latest release which was first played on Drake’s OVO’s Beats 1 Radio by tastemaker Oliver El-Khatib and now has visuals to match which are just as impressive.
The video, shot by Kaylum Dennis sees Swift, Deepee, Knine, Inch, Sleeks and Littlez, highlighting the elements that contribute to their appeal, as the Boyz take turns to spit their verses, split by a sinister but, typically as always, super-catchy hook. It seems like Section Boyz are going from strength to strength this year after having a breakthrough 2015. Over the past few months, the boys have received support from the likes of SBTV, GRM Daily, BBC 1xtra and even numerous co-signs from Skepta.
The Section Boyz have remained super consistent and have released banger after banger, such as likes of their catchy hit “Trappin’ Ain’t Dead”, and of course, there’s no forgetting the smash hit “Delete My Number”, which first highlighted the boys to the scene. “Lock Arff” will also feature on their forthcoming project Don’t Panic, available for pre-order now, watch the video below.
Jammer – “Royal Rumble”:
Jammer is back with a whole host of grime artists new and old in a mix of flows and styles that can only be described as a “Royal Rumble” just like the track name. The line-up consist of Jammer, D Double E, Hyper, Lethal Bizzle, Bruza, Royal, Face, Jendor, Footsie, Shorty, Discarda, Blacks and Ears. The instrumentation beats the gimmick filled lyrics hands down with a dirty bassy synth, rapid snare and the bouncy kick drum. You can watch the video via Vevo below.
Future – “Blood On The Money”:
Future has a brand new video for his new single “Blood On The Money”. The video is a pretty sobering affair as Future is seen at a funeral on a miserable day, this is supposedly to depict the fact the people have to die for Future to get his money as stated in the chorus “blood on the money and I still count it“. The track itself is just an average trap beat that Future’s flow slurs all over. You can watch the music video below.
Petite Noir – La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful (Album):
Petite Noir, a.k.a Cape Town’s Yannick Ilunga, has made his debut album La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful available for streaming via NPR’s website today (September 3). Ilunga’s album officially drops next Friday (September 11) via Domino Records.
The album sounds brilliant and follows on in style from the most recently released single “MDR”. It mixes styles such as Afrobeat and 80s New Wave into an exciting combination that Ilunga himself dubs as Noirwave. One of the album’s highlights is Ilunga’s versatile voice which carries an unusual type of soul through its clean and cold tone. La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful is definitely worth a listen, you can stream it courtesy of NPR below.
Lucy Rose – “Till The End”:
One of my most favourite British artists Lucy Rose has just released visuals for her new single “ill The End”, which is taken from her excellent sophomore album titled Work It Out, which is out now on Columbia Records. Shot in black and white aesthetics, the video sees Lucy join the all female football team Boiler Room FC take on opponents of the opposite sex in a football match. On the back of her new video, Lucy has also announced a massive UK headline tour to take place in October and November, and will play London’s Forum on 18th November.
KDA + Tinie Tempah + Katy B – “Turn The Music Louder”:
House music producer KDA seems to have the perfect collaboration for his single “Turn The Music Louder” with heavyweight callaborators Tinie Tempah and Katy B. The track has one of the catchiest synth lines I have ever heard, and with Katy B’s sensational voice, this song is sure to be a top ten hit. Tinie Tempah does not have much of an impact as his lyrics are easily forgettable. However, at one point in the song, Katy B delivers a powerful trill that really shows off her singing capabilities. You can listen to the track via Soundcloud below.
JME – “The Very Best”:
On September 3, JME got nostalgic and released a Pokémon inspired video for his track “The Very Best”. The video shows the original protagonist Ash re-envisaged as a cartoon version of JME. The London born Grime MC goes hard over a beat sampled from the Pokémon theme tune. He takes no prisoners as he lets us all know his credentials: “I will drapes all your HP, that’s why they call man the very best“.
Before he uploaded the track and while on his way home, JME took to Twitter to let his followers know he had a new track to upload. It turned out that it was worth the hype; the track and its visuals are an absolute treat, especially for those whose childhood was built on the Pokémon franchise. Although obviously meant mostly in jest, this explosive track will have seasoned Pokémon veterans heading for the hills. See the video for the track below.
Words by Nick Bimson, Shanade McConney, Kenny Leavett, Joshua James and Ayo Adepoju
