andrew ft. Everyone: Flying Colors

As if 2022 hadn’t already been a hell of a year for andrew, he manages to add to his successes with a loosie that deserves as much attention as his earlier full-length offerings. The main reason being is that it takes the form of a gigantic posse cut that features the sort of guestlist that indie rap dreams are made of. Joining andrew on this self-produced behemoth are Defcee, Zilla Rocca, iAlive, Jymmy Kafka, Bloodmoney Perez, Jesse The Tree, PremRock, Rich Jones, Cody Cody Jones AND Alaska. A lineup so insane that you’d probably think I was making it up if the track wasn’t available for your listening pleasure below. As usual, downloads can be found on Bandcamp.

Career Crooks: Never at Peace (Stream)

Last month gave rise to a flurry of new releases, including the latest from Career Crooks. Never at Peace marks the end of a superb year for Wrecking Crew, as well as a strong finish for Zilla and Small Pro, who dipped back into the same winning formula that had made their earlier projects so successful. Features come from the likes of ShrapKnel, iAlive and Blueprint, while the release itself was accompanied by a bunch of merch and physical options, including a very limited Mini Disc version. You can listen to the album below, then check Bandcamp for the full array of goods.

Zilla Rocca: Vegas Vic (Stream)

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More essential listening from Wrecking Crew, as Zilla Rocca unleashes his new album, Vegas Vic. Zilla is the second member of the crew to raise the bar with their solo material this year, following on from PremRock’s magnificent, Load Bearing Crow’s Feet, which emerged back in June. Zilla’s pen is flowing stronger than ever, living up to the claims that this is his boldest album yet. The production picks prove the perfect fit too, with Disco Vietnam scoring the lion’s share of the credits, alongside contributions from Small Professor, Doc Heller, DJ M-1, Mute Speaker and The Expert, plus DJ Chong Wizard flexing his skills on the opening track. No surprises on a few of the features, thanks to guest spots from PremRock, Curly Castro and Alaska, as well as Scorcese, ialive and Alex Ludovico. You can check the album out in full below, then go cop yourself a download or physical via Chong Wizard.

ialive: I’ll Wait Forever (Stream)

A superb project here from ialive, as he achieves his vision of assembling a group of his favourite artists to go to work on a selection of his favourite beats. It’s a fantastic array of names on the tracklist, including Philly affiliates Zilla Rocca, Curly Castro and Torito, as well as the likes of Uncommon NASA, Sleep Sinatra, Unsung and Googie. It’s an ambitious album to pull off, but that’s precisely what ialive has done in spades, simultaneously shining a light on the talent both within his peer group and within his own production techniques. I’ll Wait Forever is out now via Bandcamp and you can also stream it below.

ialive: Odd Orts (Stream)

Nice selection of previously unreleased track from ialive, as he releases his latest project, Odd Orts. The EP features six tracks, recorded between 2016-2018, that never made it on to any official releases. Production comes courtesy of Juan Cosby, Unsung and ialive himself. You can stream Odd Orts below and downloads are available over on Bandcamp.

Jumbled: August Heat (Stream)

Excellent new project to remind us of warmer times, as Jumbled releases August Heat. The project took shape during a particularly scorching summer in Baltimore, as Jumbled gathered together some of his recent beats with the aim of finding an MC to jump on them. This quickly turned from one contributor to many, as Jumble enlisted the ample assistance of Torito, ialive, Berko Lover, Alaska, Luke Sick and a whole load more. The album is available to stream below, with ‘name your price’ downloads found over on Bandcamp.

Zilla Rocca: 96 Mentality (Stream)

As reported the other day, Zilla Rocca returned to the fore last week with a new project and I am pleased to report that it is a worthy addition to his already exceedingly robust repertoire. He is a true student of the culture and 96 Mentality embodies everything that comes with that title.