Indie artist Joe Wood releases the track Try.  It’s a solid track that is tainted by the 80’s with its layered synths, big harmonies and a sax.  He’s a DIY artist that writes and produces all of his tracks in his Brooklyn apartment. Mind you, I see a resurgence in the Brooklyn music scene. Joe notes, “My songs process my feelings of nostalgia, and the passion and desire I have buried deep inside to take risks and break free from the comfort of the past”.  Additionally, he just wrapped a show with Kings favorite Fly By Midnight at the City Winery. Give it a listen!
mgmt@joewoodmusic.com

I don’t know how many times I hear that rock is dead. It’s becoming a meme. Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine recently said rock music is nowhere which outraged Slipknot singer Corey Taylor who said, ” Tell that schmuck to go back to The F%&$ ‘Voice’.”   I think rock is seeing a facelift.  Lead singer Wes Lauterbach who fronts the rock act Lowborn tells Kings “I think rock is in two states right now, older rock which has put in its time and built its fan base, and modern rock, which will eventually grow until it becomes the new standard.  In fact, the North Carolina based band are seeing a rise in popularity.  Three of the singles on Spotify have been streamed hundreds of thousands of times and the press is starting to react.  Describing the live show Wes notes, “It’s a room of people who all have their personal battles and for the time we with them on stage, everyone is on the same page and we love it”.  Give the track Reckless a stream. 
lowbornmgmt@gmail.com

Shai Pelled who goes under the moniker Basement Alchemy releases the slow rocker Zero To One.  With big harmonies and a melodious chorus it has hints of classic rock. Think Queen’s The Show Must Go On.  Shai started posting covers on YouTube. After collecting 2 millions views and 14k subscribers, he started writing originals.  Mind you, his cover of R.E.M’s Losing My Religion is fantastic. It’s a notable release for rather a new artist. He would make a great support act for Greta Van Fleet. Give it a listen.  basementalchemy@gmail.com

Although Emo Rap has been around for a long time, analysts say the genre had an explosive year. Emo Rap is a subgenre of hip hop that blends lyrical themes of emo music. Emo rap is also called SoundCloud Rap. Who are these SoundCloud rappers? Well they would be Lil Pump, Lil Peep, Lil Xan, Future, Juice WRLD, and Migos. 

In fact, it was Jarad “Juice WRLD” Higgins that was Spotify’s “breakout artist of the year”. But can a Spotify breakout artist compete in the mainstream? 

Popular charting rappers like J. Cole, Russ, and Eminem have become dissenters while criticizing the scene as mumble rap.  

“Emo rap grew 292 percent in 2018 over last year,” wrote Spotify’s trends expert Shanon Cook in an email. “According to our data, emo rap’s share of listening started increasing in the fall of 2017, but really took off in 2018.”

Erika Montes who works at Soundcloud, said that early artists created the genre using influences from Atlanta’s Trap scene, emo, punk and beats reminiscent of the 90s.

Critics of the genre claims it glorifies drug use. Drugs like opioids, heroin, and fentanyl have been linked to the scene. But then again, those same drugs were linked to the 90’s grunge scene that killed off many rockers. 

The emo rap scene appeals to a community who are searching for something real. Will it dominate mainstream? Probably not. SoundCloud rappers are to rebellious for the mainstream. How long will it last? Nobody knows. The emo rock scene that birthed artists like My Chemical Romance and Fallout Boy lasted for 8 years. Many of the emo bands were embraced by top 40 radio. The SoundCloud rappers are probably to edgy to enjoy the same worldwide appeal, but they are big enough to be trolled by Eminem.