St. Louis rapper Burna Maleik takes pride in his versatility and the diversity of his sound, be on the lookout for his new project, U Evol I, out everywhere now!

Brandon Maleik Hawkins, known by his artist name, BurnaMaleik, is a St. Louis artist making a name for himself with his versatile sound and lyrical wordplay. With his ability to adapt to any beat, whether that be R&B, traditional hip-hop, or trap, BurnaMaleik can acclimate to any sound and make it his own. He’s a unique artist to be on the lookout for because his diverse sound is what makes him different than his peers.

Starting his journey in music at the very young age of 10 but not seriously starting pursuing it until he was in his 20s, BurnaMaleik claims his upbringing has influenced his music and sound growing up. He says his parents are responsible for his versatility and diverse sound because they exposed him to different artists and genres. “From Luther Vandross to the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony,” the variation of melody is what BurnaMaleik says influenced him and his relationship with music. 

“I pride myself on the variety of sounds I make as an artist,” he said in a recent interview. “When the record comes on, you know it’s BurnaMaleik, and no matter what style of rap you prefer, BurnaMaleik will have at least one record you enjoy.”

His love for music and his fans keeps him motivated and gives him the tenacity to keep doing better. Burna wants his fans to take away that his music has both the fun-trap beat and the conscious flow on the same track, and that you do not need to limit yourself and with one or the other because the two can exist simultaneously. 

Burna feels there is no “need to take away substance to make hit records” and that you can have the hard beat with a conscious flow at the same time. He hopes his audience understands that they too can make songs with lyrical content and a message over a fun-beat. 

His newest project, U Evol I, has an overall Trap-Soul album feel, with the versatility and lyrical malice that audiences have come to expect from BurnaMaleik. U Evol I is Burna’s first official EP in his discography. The project is a visual and conceptual album and gives you a visual representation of light to darkness, from the albums’ start to finish. 

The visual project is an extension of his music, as each song takes you deeper and deeper into this sensual world and the dangers of love and trust created by BurnaMaleik. The visual takes place in a hotel room, where the scene goes from light to dark, or happy and sexual to mysterious and sinister. The energy changes as time passes in the hotel room, making for an incredible narrative and idea for a video. BurnaMaliek’s visual highlights a different aspect of the song. BurnaMaliek expands and illustrates each lyric of his song onto the screen up until the ultimate climax of his story, the demise of love and his partner being collateral damage. 

The project is creatively impressive and is available on all streaming platforms. In the meantime, also stay in touch with BurnaMaleik via his IG @burnamaleik. 

Check out his latest visual album, U EVOLI, below.

Lil Dolfin is an independent artist who’s name already grabs audiences attention. The Pine Bluff, AR native’s recently dropped a new four track EP called Dolfin Not Dolphin which showcases a masterfully crafted sound that Dolfin has been working on since he was nine.

When asked about how he came up with the name Lil Dolfin, he explained that he got his name in junior high from his friends. 

“I got my name in Jr. high school from close friends,” he explained. “I used to wear a lot of Pink Dolphin clothing. First it was Lil Dolphin, then as I got older I changed it to Lil Dolfin.”

The lead single off of Dolfin Not Dolphin is “King Kong,” a bubbly track that gives Dolfin the space to both showcase his work ethic and flex. With lyrics like “keep a lot of green on me, from the sun up, busting out the jeans on me” and “she know I touch money but stack up a lot,” Dolfin creates a perfect introduction to his sound for new listeners. The single also was released with a dope visual, which compliments the track even further.

Dolfin, born Darron Eaves, follows “King Kong” with “No T-Shirt.” Dolfin doubles down on a breakneck, NBA Youngboy-esk flow that shatters the Cali rap-influenced beat. Dolfin’s next track is a complete 180 from the first two, and further showcases his talents and skills.

“Avenue” capitalizes on the money hungry nature of “King Kong ” but slows the flow and instrumental down to a much more leisurely pace. With the “welcome to my avenue” line in the beginning of the song and Dolfin’s call and response flow, Eaves makes the track feel almost like a tour of his life. 

Dolfin’s final track “They Don’t Wanna” utilizes a Lil Baby type flow to detail people who look down on him. Lines like “they don’t wanna see a young n**** grind, I been putting in overtime” and “I hear voices they be talking saying I’m mixed up in the times, so when I rap this shit I do it to make a million every time” illustrate his ability to shake off those who have negative opinions of him.

As far as the message that Dolfin wants audiences to take away from his music, he says he wants people to feel inspired to “never give up” and “never stop going because it’s never too late.”

Check out Dolfin Not Dolphin below and follow Lil Dolfin on Instagram and Twitter!

Up-and-coming rapper DRE-SKI is no stranger to the world of hip-hop! Growing up in
the neighborhood of “Campus East”, DRE-SKI, whose real name is Mondre, would
listen to a lot of rap, including Jay-Z, DMX, Dip Set, Nas and Biggie. After graduating
high school, the Virginia Beach native got into music by writing raps over instrumentals
and would have his friends listen to them. But it wasn’t until he attended college and
opened up for Lupe Fiasco and Fabolous that people, including his friends, started
taking him seriously.

In 2012, DRE-SKI took a break from music and four years later, he hopped right back
in and started his own independent record label/brand, “XB Music Group”. Between
2016 and 2019, the rapper put out a few mixtapes – “Calm Your Taste Budz 2 & 3” and
“Keep The Change 1 & 2”. In 2019, he debuted his first EP, “Long Story Short” and in
2020, he dropped two different EPs, titled “Game 6” & “4 Real Ones Only”. His music is
available on all digital streaming platforms (Apple, Spotify, Tidal, Google Play).

DRE-SKI has always been passionate about music. Some of his musical influences are
Jay-Z, J. Cole, Fabolous, Pusha –T, Ace Hood and Moneybagg Yo. And just like these
artists, he’s looking to influence others with his music, engage with his audience and
build a solid, long-lasting fanbase. His versatility and lyrical ability make him stand out
from others, while his work ethic is impeccable. DRE-SKI is currently working on his
next EP, “Turning Point”, but he hopes to release a few singles by this summer. He’s
also working with a few music producers, one of them being Jay Uncut from Atlanta,
and EK from Virginia Beach. When he isn’t making music, DRE-SKI is focusing on his
next moves.

As an entrepreneur, he would like to sign emerging artists onto his record label and give
them the opportunity to propel their music careers. Outside of music, he is a realtor, a
real estate investor and the owner of a trucking company. Aside from working on his
new EP, DRE-SKI is looking to network a lot more so he can expand his brand.

Check out two of his music videos out now and get the latest on the rapper on all social
media platforms.

IG: @TheReal_DreSki
SnapChat: TheReal.DreSki