Artist: Xavier Omar
Listeners looking for alternative R&B that’s a little more thoughtful and vocally developed than artists such as PARTYNEXTDOOR and Bryson Tiller, can find just that in Soulection affiliate Xavier Omar, F.K.A SPZRKT (Spazzy Rocket). Omar has made a name for himself amongst heavy SoundCloud listeners and amassed a strong following in the past two years. He has...
During this pivotal election season, musicians and entertainers have gone above and beyond in making their voices heard not only through social media and spoken word, but also through their art. On his new tape, Taylor Gang affiliate Ty Dolla $ign (whose better known works usually include having “two of my bitches in the club”) is no exception, attempting...
"I felt very exposed. ... Not that it was all bad, but it wore down these outer layers, and everything kind of hurt." That's Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon in a recent interview with The New York Times, talking about the explosion of popularity he found himself in the middle of after the release of the band's second album,...
The rock band Crobot, equipped with their funk-rock revival sound and new age psychedelic elements, recently released their sophomore effort, “Welcome to Fat City.” For loyal fans, this album delivers the exact same hardcore sound from their first album, “Something Supernatural,” but unfortunately that’s not enough to keep this album interesting.
“Welcome to Fat City” offers 12 tracks that follow...
Artist: Ka
A cross between Earl Sweatshirt and Ghostface Killah, Ka is a Brooklyn-based FDNY Captain turned rapper who’s been on the scene since the ‘90s, starting out with the underground hip-hop crew, Natural Elements. Relatively inactive for quite some time after, Ka was reintroduced on GZA’s 2008 release “Pro Tools,” before the release of his debut solo LP “Iron...
This summer saw the release of not one, but two albums by elusive alt R-and-B artist Frank Ocean. Initially releasing “Endless,” the audiovisual album, only to release “Blonde” about 72 hours later. While many loved the Endless project, it was quickly overshadowed by sister project “Blonde,” many conjecturing that “Endless” was merely a preemptive offering before “Blonde’s” release.
While...
With indie rock as their mainstay genre, you'd expect something cheery and upbeat from Wilco’s 10th studio album, “Schmilco,” especially considering their last album, “Star Wars” was chock-full of vibrant riffs and pulsating drums. Wilco opts to flip the switch this time around with “Schmilco:” a barrage of acoustic guitar-driven music that showcases lead singer and guitarist Jeff Tweedy’s...
Keenon Daequan Ray Jackson is in a different place. Two years ago, the man known as YG was bicken back, dropping sexually brazen party anthems for the block and adequately not giving much of a fuck whilst his 2014 debut, “My Krazy Life” earned widespread acclaim.
Though now, to deem the man a carefree party rapper would be profusely myopic....
The Highlander appreciates artists in all forms, even those less renown. As such, in our "Under the Radar" series, we bring light to the underappreciated and incredibly talented. Enjoy.
Haroula Rose
If there is anything one can say about Haroula Rose’s music is that it’s intricately crafted. The Chicago-born, LA-based folk singer and guitarist weaves her music with calm and care that...
Radiohead fans are weird. As raving, rabid ones ourselves, we can tell you that upon hearing that their website was slowly disappearing, we logged on and watched it disappear in real time over the course of an entire day. Throughout the entire media stunt, where Radiohead methodically erased their online presence, there was a ton of speculation as to...