#RADARCOLLECTIVE V1.8

Welcome to our #RadarCollective where we curate some of the newly discovered Indie artists/Groups that we feel you need to listen to for great vibes on your weekend / weekday. Whether you need to get hype or chill on some classic hip-hop, R&B/Soul vibes, these are artists & songs you need to check out. This week’s features include music from Isabelle Brown, Kakuyon, GV & Steve Benjamins. Scroll below and immerse yourself in great music from acts you might have never heard about.

Think you have what it take to hit our radar then submit your music here.

Steve Benjamins – Still In Love With You

This is the first single from the upcoming 2018 EP ‘Manhood’.

This has been a breakout year for Steve Benjamins. His music has been featured on official Sony Music Playlists, Spotify Playlists (Fresh Finds), Noon Pacific and more. His two other singles from this year have been streamed over 360,000 times.

 

GV – “Tunnelz”

GV is a next-generation hip-hop artist with Brooklyn blood and the mind of a revolutionary. With a name like “GV”, meaning, “God’s Voice”, this man is on a mission to make a profound statement with his music. His most recent singles, “Exhale” and “Another Hit” seemed to come out of nowhere as a one-two punch, knocking people off their feet and putting GV on top. With a new eager fan base awaiting his next move, his brand new single, “Tunnelz”, along with its compelling, fully realized music video, is sure to be the song that breaks him through as the voice of change in Hip Hop.

 

Kakuyon – Conscience feat. Shotta Spence

Kakuyon is an artist/producer from New Jersey. With a varied style of sound Kakuyon blends electropop with R&B synths and Hip Hop vibes. This tune is the perfect mood shift to add some energy to day. Kakuyon’s debut project, Now Go And Flourish, was released in January in 2017. EarDrummers artist Shotta Spence is a versatile rapper with a knack for wordplay, strong hooks, and a style all his own. Together, these artists create a track that is suitable for any day of the week and guaranteed to bring up the energy.

 

Isabelle Brown – Hey Romeo

Isabelle Brown is an old soul trapped in the body of a fearless fourteen year-old; as inspired by the rich emotions of Nina Simone or the force-of-nature energy of Tina Turner as that blend of old-school R&B, jazz and hip-hop influences found in A Tribe Called Quest. Isabelle’s curious, contemporary twist on these classic sounds is explored playfully on her second track, ‘Hey Romeo’: written and recorded when she was aged just twelve (and bootlegging Eric B and Rakim), ‘Hey Romeo’ was effectively conceived as a fantasy about singing to someone in the crowd who has no idea of your existence (nor the fact the song is about them). The refreshing, immediately-infectious results suggest a songwriter and vocalist of incredible promise.

Isabelle Brown’s story thus far is not that of your typical, potentially-precocious teen star-in-waiting: hard graft, grit and vulnerability, those core values of true Soul music, underpin even her most powerhouse vocals. Born and raised in Brighton, she wrote her first love song at the age of seven (“which when you think back,” she says now, “is an absolute laugh, as I’d never even kissed a boy but thought I was the number one romance guru”). Brought up between two creative, unconventional households – her parents separated around the same time – Brown’s irrepressible voice slowly began to draw on experiences of her own. She has spent the last couple of years singing, writing, performing or recording every weekend or school-holiday, with a close-knit circle of friends, collaborators and family protecting her (largely from her own furious ambition to “get on with it”) every step of the way. A debut project, assimilating these early recordings, is expected early next year.

Balancing youthful, restless innocence with innate musical maturity, the strength of ‘Hey Romeo’ and ‘Pot Of Gold’ suggests Isabelle Brown is quite simply born to do it.