Music Videos

Morray Recruits Cordae for “Still Here” Video

Published

2 years ago

March 4, 2022

Weasel

Using his church-trained voice, melodic mastery, and incisive pen, Morray speaks for those going through the struggle. Teaming up with Cordae for his latest soulful single, Morray shares “Still Here,” a new anthem for strivers and survivors. The new song finds common ground between the two Grammy-nominated artists, layering soulful piano and twanging guitars over crisp East Coast percussion. Morray opens the song with a emotional hook about his attempts to find liberation while still playing in the rap game, and Cordae follows with a thoughtful and penitent verse about his upbringing and his desire to keep it real: “Oh Lord, Oh Lord I heard you/Found myself and I’m searchin’/We been sinnin’ but won’t do it on purpose,” says Cordae. The Fayetteville, NC native follows up the Raleigh, NC native with a verse of his own, as he speaks on the stressful life of an artist on the move.

The video for “Still Here” finds both rappers in Atlanta, as they illustrate the highs and lows of neighborhood living. During Cordae’s verse, he rhymes from a kitchen that is alternately frozen and aflame, while Morray draws a line between historical and modern forms of racism, connecting past slavery with modern police brutality. Though the video covers heavy topics, it is never grim, as both rappers rejoice in the company of those who share similar experiences and resolve to keep on keeping on. “Still Here” is Morray’s first new single of 2022, and follows the breathlessly intense “Never Fail” ft. Benny The Butcher, which debuted in November and drew coverage in The New York Times, Complex, The FADER, XXL, and many more

One of the biggest breakout stars in hip-hop in 2021, Morray is currently basking in the glow of his GRAMMY nominations for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance, each honoring him for his involvement in J. Cole’s “m y l i f e” (also featuring 21 Savage). The two GRAMMY nominations are the culmination of a meteoric rise that started with “Quicksand,” a GOLD-certified hit released in late 2020 that reached the Billboard Hot 100, racking up over 200 million streams in the process. The commercial and critical success of “Quicksand” and its follow-up singles turned heads around the industry, garnering the Pick Six Records/Interscope artist a position on the coveted XXL Freshman list for 2021 and “one to watch” designations from Complex, Billboard, SPIN, Pigeons & Planes, and many more. Recently, Morray earned Best New Artist nominations at both the BET Hip-Hop Awards and the Soul Train Awards.

In April 2021, Morray released his critically acclaimed debut album Street Sermons. Debuting at #41 on the Billboard 200 and propelling Morray to #1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart, Street Sermons taps into the spiritual uplift and church-trained singing that makes Morray’s brand of hip-hop so unique, taking unflinching looks at the Fayetteville native’s youthful struggles and indiscretions and examining his motivations to succeed. Complex ranked Street Sermons at #10 on their list of Best Albums of 2021 So Far. In July, Morray revisited one of the tape’s highlights “Trenches,” recruiting Polo G to add a verse for “Trenches” (Remix).

Street Sermons was just the beginning for Morray, who’s leveling up in every sense of the word. Morray joined his “m y l i f e” collaborator J. Cole on “The Off-Season Tour,” rocking sold-out crowd in a series of stadium dates. This summer, Morray performed “Quicksand” on JImmy Kimmel Live, and was highlighted by Rolling Stone as the “Best Debut” performer at Rolling Loud Festival in Miami.

With the follow-up to Street Sermons on the way, Morray is out to prove that he has the stuff to be a staple at the top of the rap game for many years to come. For an artist with Morray’s talent, the sky is the limit. Stay tuned for much more from Morray as 2022 moves along.

Watch “Still Here” ft. Cordae

Artist To Watch

Dee-1 Releases New Visual “Lines Drawn”

Published

5 days ago

December 2, 2023

Kalisha Perera

Emmy-nominated educator turned entertainer, Dee-1 (@Dee1music) addresses critics and fans alike in the official music video for the Danny Beats-produced single “Lines Drawn,” following his viral interview on Sway In The Morning centered around industry hypycrosy. Filmed by Tufts University‘s own Jalen Hill, a student enrolled in the New Orleans native’s “The Intersection of Hip Hop and Social Change” course, the timely track and its accompanying visual postdate Dee’s previously released album UNO. Serving as the first official leak from his forthcoming LP From The Hood To Harvard, the song is a beacon of light as unfavorable headlines engulf online media.

“I did this song as a response to the industry being so shaken by me drawing a line in the sand and saying that we need some accountability for the messages we’re glorifying inside Hip-Hop. This is part one, there’s more on the way. A shift is happening from a genre and cultural perspective,” says the National Social Emotional Learning Consultant in a press statement to Medium Creative Agency about the release.

Award-winning rapper. educator, host, activist, business owner, and keynote speaker are synonymous with Louisiana‘s Dee-1. The Nasir “Nas” Jones Hip Hop Fellow at Harvard University is a Billboard Top 10 charting, game-changing MC with a persona to match his penmanship. He’s transitioned from being a middle school math teacher in The Boot to a Hip-Hop heavyweight with much more to accomplish. He has released 10 albums and 21 projects thus far in his career.

Dee-1’s music is part of a bigger lifestyle movement called Mission Vision, which centers around three core principles: Be Real. Be Righteous. Be Relevant. In 2020, Dee received the prestigious NAACP “Power of Influence Award,” highlighting his community activism and commitment to inspiring the youth. In 2021, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on “The Manhattan Project,” but he lost to Michelle Obama. Later that year, Dee was appointed to the “Louisiana Council for the Success of Black Men and Boys” by Governor John Bel Edwards, making him the first rapper in Louisiana history to become a governor’s appointee.

Watch the HD clip for “Lines Drawn” on YouTube and stream the single via Audiomack below. For a limited time you can purchase an advanced copy of From The Hood To Harvard exclusively on EVEN, here.

Music Videos

Dredloc Esco Shares “On The Low”

Published

6 days ago

November 30, 2023

Weasel

Florida rapper Dredloc Esco presents the music video for “On The Low”, his new single produced by Dynasty Beats. The St. Petersburg native has dropped a steady stream of music throughout 2023, notably “Addresses” (watch the official video on Youtube), “See Me Ballin” (watch the official lyric video on Youtube) and “24” (watch the official lyric video on Youtube). These singles add to a discography which includes full-lengths like Paycation, Cut 2 Deep with Yo Simi, and Color Blind Chopped Not Slopped with OG Ron C. Dredloc describes his new single as “hustle music at it finest, with a touch of Afrobeat to keep you grooving at the same time. If you love getting money over partying and spending money, put this song in your playlist”. “On The Low” is out now on BigBuc Entertainment.

Music Videos

Sexyy Red is the hood’s hottest prison warden in “Free My N***a”

Published

7 days ago

November 29, 2023

Weasel

With this summer’s Hood Hottest Princess mixtape, Sexyy Red established herself as the most exciting rising artist in music today. Never one to stop working, the St. Louis native shares a brand new video for “Free My N****a,” her new single. “Free My N***a” is a brash and infectious banger, as Sexyy makes an impassioned plea to law enforcement to let her baby daddy come home. In the video, directed by Jerry Morka and Laka of No More Heroes, Sexyy takes matters into her own hands, turning the tables on the police and breaking into the local prison, nearly starting a riot as she extracts her boo from the slammer.

Watch “Free My N***a” HERE
Stream “Free My N***a” HERE
A cut from the upcoming Hood Hottest Princess (Deluxe), “Free My N***a” adds an exclamation mark to Sexyy’s breakout 2023, marked by sold out dates, Hot 100-charting hits, and superstar co-signs. Sexyy’s breakout hit, the Tay Keith-produced “Pound Town,” spent multiple weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, reached the Top 10 on Urban Radio, and its Nicki Minaj-featuring remix “Pound Town 2,” earned a GOLD certification from the RIAA. Sexyy’s follow-up hit, “SkeeYee,” has risen even further, generating over 50 million streams across platforms, and reaching a peak of #66 on the Billboard Hot 100. Sexyy reached her highest chart peak yet with her appearance on Drake’s “Rich Baby Daddy,” also featuring SZA, a smooth Miami bass-influenced heatrock that currently sits at #14on the Hot 100.

A relentless barrage of twerkable anthems, Hood’s Hottest Princess builds upon Sexyy’s brash and unapologetic persona. Songs like “Hellcats SRTs“ and “Female Gucci Mane“ exude an irrepressible bad b*tch energy, combining Sexyy’s crisp wordplay with an addictive drawling delivery that has become her signature. The mixtape earned a sterling 8.0 review from Pitchfork, who wrote that the mixtape “sets the tone for what she hopes is the nastiest, sweatiest, and freakiest summer since the smartphone came along” and “…30 minutes of straight-up standing-on-the-table raps. There are a handful of songs on here that are bound to be summertime anthems.” Home to other hits like “Looking For The H*es (Ain’t My Fault),” and “Hellcats SRTs,” blessed with a remix featuring Lil Durk, Hood Hottest Princess is climbing the Billboard 200, where it reached a new peak of #75 this week, and Apple Music’s charts, where it is currently sitting at #7 on the Hip-Hop albums chart and #12 overall. Hood Hottest Princess is available everywhere via Open Shift/gamma.

Sexyy’s viral rise quickly fomented success on the touring front. After a viral performance at Rolling Loud Miami, Sexyy Red earned an invitation to open on tour for her biggest fan, Drake, during his “It’s All A Blur Tour” with 21 Savage. Sexyy’s first headlining tour, the “Hood Hottest Princess Tour,” sold out many dates within minutes of its initial onsale, including a 3,000-cap show in NYC and a 4,850-cap show in Chicago. The tour criss-crossed the U.S. for dozens of dates–including 24 sold out dates–including a massive sold out hometown show at the 8,000-capacity Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis. In all, Sexyy’s first-ever headlining show sold an estimated 70k tickets, making her one of the hottest draws in the genre in 2023.

After changing the game in 2023, Big Sexyy looks to carry that momentum into the new year.