Welcome to ‘Top 10 Tracks’, the essential weekly round-up of the best new music.
At the end of each week, we count down the ten essential new tracks you need in your rotation. Ranging from rappers in the Emerald Isle to boundary-pushing, experimental producers and everything in between, it’s all hits, no filler.
This week, Biig Piig returns with a new sound, a new rapper from Belfast introduces himself and Gaptoof curates a line up of heavy hitters on his latest release.
Belfast spitter Emby takes listeners on a trip on his debut single.
Featuring vocals from Becky Mcniece, ‘She’ follow’s up Emby’s feature on Rory Sweeney’s ‘Two Faces’ and cements his position as a serious contender.
Soft Boy Records producer Gaptoof has invited a serious line up of talent for his latest effort ‘Polymer’.
Featuring a slick opening verse from MANIK MC, a laidback offering from Lex Amor and soulful vocals from fellow Ireland native Carrie Baxter it’s a winning combination.
Wu-Lu is merging the commonalities between rap and punk to provide socially conscious anthems that speak to truth in increasingly turbulent times.
Drenched in thick and uncompromising instrumentation, ‘Being Me’ cuts through the noise with incendiary lyricism.
“It’s a song that speaks the thoughts of those of us who feel they don’t have a voice. This is the start and the beginning of thought” says Wu-Lu.
Grab a drink and surrender to the brighter evening’s with HIRA’s sun-kissed feel good anthem ‘Y’.
Dripping in guitar licks from funk’s golden age it’s an uplifting slice of forward-facing pop ahead of the summer.
As we edge closer to the June 25 release for Kojaque’s debut album Town’s Dead, he’s given another taster of what’s to come.
‘Wickid Tongues’ sees Biig Piig provide an introduction to the jazzy cut before the Dublin rapper interjects with lovesick lyricism.
It comes after Kojaque debuted ‘Shmelly‘ on COLORs and recently shared the video for the title track ‘Town’s Dead’.
Though a relative new comer to the scene, KAM-BU has shown he can chop it up with the big guns and to date has married style and substance without compromising his mission statement.
Pushing the boundaries of what has been seen thus far in hip hop and drill in the UK the London aritst has returned with a menacing new cut ‘Dumpling’.
Increasingly veering away from her established lo-fi hip hop sound, Biig Piig’s new EP The Sky Is Bleeding dropped today ushering in a new era for the NiNE8 Collective member.
‘American Beauty’ feels like the perfect closer to her intimate and cinematic project and simultaneously explores new rock-influenced territory.
‘Prayers’ is the final single before the arrival of Strange Boy’s upcoming debut album HOLY / UNHOLY landing on June 25.
The traditional Irish sounds of the Bodhrán, Flute and Banjo coupled with the Limerick spitter’s unfiltered lyrics results in another compelling effort from one of the country’s most exciting prospects.
Brooklyn-based polymath Binki’s sound is hard to pin down.
Originally moving to New York to study acting, he gravitated towards music after landing on something special and hasn’t looked back.
In a saturated music market where the barrage of new tracks feels increasingly disposable, Binki’s earworm hooks have been running laps in our minds.
His latest effort ‘Clay Pigeon’, highlights the intersection of his interests as an artist Influenced as much by The Clash as he is modern hip hop.
Fresh off signing to Stones Throw and following collaborations with Steve Lacey, Peyton is grappling with insecurities on ‘Let It Flow’.
Resigning to the powers of the universe, the soulful cut is topped off with a colourful verse from Brice Blanco and comes ahead of her debut album PSA.