Five For Friday: [@lenlenlennnn], Living Testimony, [@ZakharArtist], [@LD_OSG] & more

Len – ‘DEAD END’

FROM: London, UK

GENRE: alt-rap

The latest mixtape from the Stockwell-born spitter is packed with treasures. Aonenine and ayrtn, as well as House of Pharaohs’ Sam Wise, are among the many fascinating names featuring on the tape as Len unleashes lyrical daggers and a distorted, trap-fused instrumentals. The ayrtn-assisted tune “PROSPECT”–is a particular highlight–the track sees Len and ayrtn trading flows over a hazy, woozy instrumental. Check it out above.

ABXL X Living Testimony – Do It For God (ft. Tee Supreme, Rap Tist, Reblah)

FROM: London, UK

GENRE: gospel / drill

London duo ABXL and Living Testimony (LT), have become a catalyst of gospel-drill, tapping into the classic bouncing sounds of London drill with natural ease on tracks like “Do It For God” and “Pslam 150”. It makes sense—drill hasn’t always had the best rep but the music can be seriously good, especially when you put the right flow and meaningful lyrics to it. ABXL and LT turn up the BPM and add in some of the cities signature flourishes, like the pulsing percussion and staccato rhythms, along with their gospel driven flows.

Internet Money X Yeat – “No Handoutz”

FROM: Los Angeles, US

GENRE: alt-rap

“No Handoutz” is the kind of track that could quite easily and unwittingly become on of your top played tracks of the month. It’s so tantalisingly spun that you feel the need to return again and again; kind of like a bag of crisps… there’s no stopping once you start. Internet Money can now claim to have worked with a host of big names from 24kGoldn to NBA YoungBoy and now with this latest release – the sovereign of popular alt-rap, Yeat. Earlier this month you might also have caught wind of the synth-driven ‘Luv Monëy‘ featuring UK artist Lancey Foux, taken from his recent album.

 

ZAKHAR – “Lights Out”

FROM: London, UK

GENRE: rap

Instrumentals you could bop to walking to your mate’s house or bump in the whip, driving for the sake of driving. At 17-years-old it wouldn’t come as a surprise if that was the setting in which the track was conceptualised, a youthful sense of freedom exudes from the lyrics, gently supported by the track’s instrumental. Zakhar began to capture our attention when he decided to post a few freestyles a couple of years ago while still training at Brentford football academy.

LD – “Million”

FROM: London, UK

GENRE: drill

In true Al Pacino-esque, Godfatherly fashion, LD (dubbed Godfather of drill) has shared with us his latest single “Million”. The single has been released as a part of a new two-part competition series hosted by LinkUp TV Originals, ‘The Process’ presented by Capital Xtra’s Rob Bruce and executively produced by Rashid Kasirye sees six young contestants go head-to-head for the unique opportunity to work with LD. The epic set of visuals sees LD bring us into his reality of taking risks and what that entails; as he details what is brought to life by both his imagery infused lyrics, and the creative music video that really helps to set the tone. You can check out the Godfather as he pays his fortunes forward through the new series here–Episode 1: ‘Making The Hit’ / Episode 2: ‘Making The Video’.