5 Artists/Bands from Singapore & Malaysia to Look Out For in 2017

The Southeast Asia region has a wealth of independent music geniuses at every corner. We've seen the rise of young Indonesia rapper Rich Chigga take the international scene by storm, and Singaporean phenomenon Gentle Bones also make waves across the ocean. Not to be outdone, Malaysians have Paperplane Pursuit reaching the Billboard Charts in the United States which only goes to tell about the abundance in good music that can be found within these region. Today we take a look at some of the exciting new bands and artists to emerge in 2016 with new music and records being lined up for release in 2017. Here is our list the 5 Artists or Bands from Singapore and Malaysia to look out for in 2017 

The Soundtrack 

Electropop outfit The Soundtrack

This band has been around for a couple of years, but only recently ; after years of writing, experimenting with samples and self-producing, are ready to put out an EP many reckon would be game changing for the Malaysian local music indie scene. The Soundtrack's 3-piece lineup is Kenzo on vocals, Pritiv on Ableton Push + Guitars and Koon on Keys. This trio has also formed their own record label called NEOLUCIDSOUND and produce for a collection of young upcoming musicians. 

Being heavily influenced by electronic DJs like Mura Masa and Flume, alongside indie bands like LANY and The 1975, the new record has a 'drive around town feel' with ambient electronic pads, ghosting samples and lovely guitar hooks that would send you to the backseat of your car with your lover all night. They have already released their first single Trust_Touch early September so this band's yet to be titled EP is a definite piece of music to look out for. Take a sneak peak of the EP here :

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/thisisthesoundtrack

Soundcloud : https://soundcloud.com/neolucidsound

Bakers in Space (Singapore)

Bakers in Space

Bakers in Space are a 4-piece Singaporean indie rock band started by Eugene Soh back in 2013. Members consist of Amirul Hakim, Eugene Soh, Ernest Foo and Hafi Zainor. Powered by the sounds and reverbs of a thousand guitar lines coupled with the Eugene's almost 70s or 80s style vocals, solid grooves on the drums and psychedelic effects, the band has experimented with many method of expression through their sound over the years. 


Tales of life in the busy city of Singapore, the hidden angst found in the high demands of an urban community, listeners can find solace and also meaning in the band heavy, moderate and even light tunes. You might also get a cake baked for you from space if you turn up to one of their shows(I don't guarantee it so don't come after me if there is none) but definitely look to have a good time. Having met the group a couple of times, I can vouch that they are indeed the coolest bunch of Singaporeans to be around. Here's a live video performance by them at the Analog Factory, Singapore performing their song 'Drifters'.

Their upcoming Explosions EP will be coming out mid 2017 so look out for it you definitely don't wanna miss it!

Follow their social media platforms :

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/BakersInSpace/
Instagram : @bakersinspace
Soundcloud : https://soundcloud.com/bakersinspace

The Last One Awake

Christian Palencia aka The Last One Awake has been in our scene for quite a number of years now, with a few different stage names from ChristianBPalencia to The Barefoot Musician among the few stage personas. I think its now safe to say there will not be anymore stage name changes anymore because Christian has finally evolved into his final form The Last One Awake. (Sorry I just had to, he's a big Pokemon fan!) He plays a very intriguing genre called Storyteller music where he brings his audience on a journey through his stories while connecting to theirs with melody and brilliant deep felt lyrics aimed to make even a grown man cry. 

He has come a long journey since he started to make music for a living, and on the 17th of Dec 2016, Christian launches his long awaited debut album, recorded in Tasmania, Australia with a cast of amazing musicians he now calls the Quiet Stars. Get your tickets here 

Here is The Last One Awake performing Belle's Song recorded with an amazing band in Tasmania. Let the feels roll in. 

Found this little piece on his website that sums his persona in a sentence and mirrors the musical genius this guy is. 

"The boy who traveled the edges of the earth in attempts to find himself and the answers to all his questions, only to realize the answers had always been right in front of him; at four in the morning, when the rest of the world was asleep."

Find his music on social media here 

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/thelastoneawake/

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/thelastoneawake/

Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8o4qGJS0rhuAi8s93cFMZw

Soundcloud : https://soundcloud.com/thelastoneawake

 Rozella 

Rozella from her page True Complexion

Rozella, full name Rozella Marie is a electropop singer-songwriter from Sabah. She formally decided to pursue her music career in 2013, and moved to Kuala Lumpur in 2015 to make her mark, and boy did she do well. 2016 was her breakout year with multiple achievements that has made her one of Malaysia's brightest shining upcoming stars. 

Since moving to Kuala Lumpur, and working with electronic producers Nick Davies of Manners Maketh Men and pop-tronic maestro Darren Ashley, she has managed to get her song 'Dark Side' to chart on the Malaysian English Top 10 multiple times in 2016. She joined the Tiger Jams competition which she won and her track 'Home To You' that became her latest single was remixed by Scottish Synth pop band Chvrches which is a dream come true for many electronic artist. Check out her single which will be included in her latest EP scheduled for release in 2017.

Home To You - Rozella x Darren Ashley
 

Follow Rozella on all social media platforms for more updates 

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/rozellamusic/

Soundcloud : https://soundcloud.com/rozellamusic

Sam Rui (Singapore)

Samantha  Rui started posting Youtube covers in 2013, with a cover of All I Want by Kodaline with Joel Tan(who then on went to be Singapore sensation Gentle Bones) when she was just 17 years old. Fast forward 3 years later, she is fast becoming Singapore's most talented musicians putting up brilliant music. What started as a indie Youtube cover hobby turned into Samantha's music baby of R&B and soul. She started messing around with samples, recording and production software where she found herself working with big Singaporean electronic music producer FAUXE in 2015.

They dropped a track called 'Down' on Soundcloud, a sexual collaboration about making love until the break of dawn and that served as a launching pad for Samantha's music career. She has now gone on to release 'Boys', 'You' and 'U the 1' a few music platforms like Soundcloud and Bandcamp to solidify her status as Singapore's Artist to look out for. Her super sultry vocals makes her an angel on the record with an attitude. She will be one of the local Singaporean artists performing at St. Jerome's Laneway Festival Singapore in January of 2017.

Here is here first single off her upcoming EP 'Better Now' which is out on Spotify

  

Follow her on social media for her latest updates and new music

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/samruimusic/
Soundcloud : https://soundcloud.com/samantharui
Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/user/eatmypantssam

Like our list? Comment below and tell us about your favourite upcoming Southeast Asian Artist or Bands.

An album review of “I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it” by The 1975

The 1975 has risen to global stardom in the past 5 years with their funky and groovy indie pop tunes coupled with an emotional connection to the darkness and hardships of a human being. Loved by hipsters and Tumblr people, this band from Manchester has captured the imaginations of their fans with aesthetic art and modern pop-culture references which are embedded in each of their songs. They are a self-produced band, and without help from a proper major label, they have managed to achieve a notable amount of success. They recently release their second major album, title "I Like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it." Here is a review on the album.


The album starts of with a self titled instrumental with a choir singing lines of lyrics from different songs from their first self titled deluxe Album, THE 1975. Great reference for fans who have followed their music from their first 4 EPs launched back in 2011. The title is bizarre, but in an interview with NME Magazine, frontman Matt Healy explains that this second record was meant to be as crazy as it can get, a well thought out description of the story of The 1975, a bunch of best friends from Manchester, England making it as one of the biggest independent bands in the world at the moment.

My favourite stand out tracks of the album will be Love Me, A Change of Heart, Loving Someone and Somebody Else. Everyone loves The Sound and Ugh! but i'm going to omit those song from my list because I have read a few reviews on that new hit singles. Here is my thoughts on those songs listed above.

Love Me, drops as a self aware, post-millennial song about being objections but totally honest about it instead of hiding behind political correctness. It has a hooky funky guitar and bass-line with tones from a 70s pop track. This song probably embodies the crazy and bombastic nature of The 1975, that lends its ears to genres of all kinds as you go along the record.

A Change of Heart. This song is why fans love the 1975. The first album felt like a movie set in the 1980s, ambient, groovy, emotional but fun. A Change Of Heart easter-eggs lyrics from 3 different song off the first debut album, namely Robbers, The City and Settle Down. Its a song about doing all you can for someone you love, to find that she/he had a change of heart. I dub this song the part 2 of Robbers which sounds beautiful if you listen to both songs next to each other.

Loving Someone is a song about compassion. Almost coming across as a electronic rap piece, the song's tagline "yeah, you should be... Loving Someone, Oh Oh, Loving Someone." sticks in your mind as a line that would define how you treat other people, equally and with kindness. This song almost becomes a cry to accept people that are different from us, and restore hope to humanity.

Somebody Else is definitely the song of the year for me. I have never experienced jealousy if i saw my ex-girlfriend with somebody else, but this song managed to make me feel that way regardless. That alone is testament to the brilliance and emotion put into making this song.

Overall, the album is an emotional investment. You have to put aside time just to journey along the ride of almost an exploration of different genres, but identically set as a The 1975 record. I would definitely recommend this to someone who is searching for music that is fresh, and honest.

A look back to the 2000s, the Punk Rock Era of Music

Punk rock music was the genre of the years 2000-2010. Many record labels looked to sign punk rock bands during that era, and those years produced many legendary bands making infectious pop-punk music. Among those bands are Sum41, Boys Like Girls, We The Kings and many more. This era was the era of making rock music radio friendly and mainstream, and those that hopped on that genre made it big during those years in the 2000s and enjoyed plenty of commercial success during that time period. In this post, we take a look at two of my favourite bands of the 2000s which I'm sure many of you would resonate with. Here are the bands : 

Simple Plan

Photo taken from Simple Plan website

This pop-punk outfit rose to fame with their debut album, No Pads, No Helmets…. Just Balls in 2002 with hit singles “Addicted” and most popular anthem of our generation called “Perfect”. The band consists of Pierre Bouvier, Jeff Stink, Sebastien Lefebvre, David Desrosiers and Church Comeau. They are basically a French-Candian band, which gives them an interesting cultural heritage having made it big in the United States of America before breaking out into mainstream international radio. They followed up their debut album with Still Not Getting Any in 2004, a self-titled Simple Plan Album in 2008, and recently Taking The One For the Team this year. Started in 1999, Simple Plan doesn’t seem like slowing down, as they have slowly evolved from a pop-punk teen angst band to a mature punk rock band singing about life and its adversaries. 

Yellowcard

Lights and Sounds (2005)

This band was one of the biggest bands in the 2000s. I’m pretty sure every person who was born in the 90s will be familiar with the song “Only One” by this band as the song we would listen to when our world fell apart (at that teenage years it was most probably a break-up) and the song would hit right home every time. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida in the United States in 1997. They have then went on to produce 10 records to date, with albums Ocean Avenue in 2003, Lights and Sounds in 2005 being the peak of their success, being signed to Capitol Records in 2002. The band slowly faded into obscurity after their album Paper Walls in (2007) and made a comeback in 2010 with a new line-up. Their signature sound was alway a pop-punk sound with a distinct violin playing most of the hooks of the songs, which made their pop-punk sound even more emotional with the added strings. Sadly, Yellowcard has announce that they will be producing a final album and go on a farewell tour to close a chapter of a brilliant run of music in the music scene. They will be missed. Farewell, Yellowcard.

Now, the world of music is dominated by EDM music and Hip Hop, coupled with the commercial pop music. Do you think there is hope for the pop-punk scene? Share your thoughts in the comment section below! 

A weekend filled with good, chill vibes : Goodvibes Festival Malaysia 2016

Good Vibes Festival 2016 was a weekend long music festival with a big mix of local and international artist gracing its stages. The location was perfect for a hot-weathered, summer all year Malaysia, where it was held in The Ranch, Genting Highlands. The festival attracted people from all around Southeast Asia and the world and was pretty well run overall. 

Festival Grounds set-up : 

Image taken from GVF website

The festival space was very well utilised, with two main stages, Red and Blue Stage, set up side by side, and acts playing on each stage every hour while the next act sets up on the other stage. This was brilliant transition from one musical act to the next, where the festival go-er could enjoy the acts they came to see easily. There was also set up in the middle of the festival grounds, an alcohol section called the Star Club, where only non-muslims were allowed in. 

Behind the Star Club, there was the Electric Fields, where prominent local DJs played their sets. Scattered around the festival grounds were also plenty of activities and different booths set up. There was plenty of food vendors, a super big and giant trampoline, a Topshop/Topman picture booth with popsicles. The slight downside to it was that most of the goods sold at the festival was pretty expensive than usual. 

Day 1 : 

The first day was probably my most anticipated day because it featured some of my personal favourite artists. Sibling duo Juno and Hanna, from Johor kicked of the festival with their experimental electronic music which pulled in the early festival go-er arrivals. The Fridays and Toko Kilat continued the local flavour with local legends Sevencollar T-Shirt being the highlight of our local musicians. Ta-ku chilled the night down with a surprise appearance from Wafia, and Purity Ring took it up a notch with some of the best lights and visuals, followed by Aussie boys The Temper Trap rocking the stage with ’Sweet Disposition’ capping of a brilliant set. 

The 1975 at GVF 2016

The 1975, who was arguably the biggest crowd-puller for the festival rocked up on stage with a few thousand screams as they began their set with hit single ‘Love Me’. The bands solid groovy tunes coupled with next level drumming by drummer George Daniel and the suave of frontman Matt Healy sent the crowd crazy with every hair flick and bad joke thrown from the stage. The crowd went into a frenzy during the last two songs, ‘The Sound’ & ‘Sex’ cementing the band as one of the Malaysia's newest favourite british bands of year.

Two Door Cinema Club however, took it up a notch. Their appearance was highly anticipated because 3 years ago, their performance at Urbanscapes was cancelled due to a member’s case of laryngitis. This time, no sickness to hold the guys back, as they rocked out songs from their hit album ‘Tourist History’ and upcoming album ‘Bad Decisions’. The crowd danced all night and when we thought the night had reached its climax, enter : Mark Ronson. The DJ killed it with his set as he kept people dancing from 11.20 all the way to the early morning (1.30am to be exact). He pulled out old-school hiphop tunes remixed with modern day EDM dance music which left audiences wanting for more. He brought the house down when he play his hit song 'Uptown Funk' and ended the night with a bang.

Day 2 :

I only managed to stay for awhile during day 2, but I will have to say, Day 2 didn't have a good flow for the entire night. The festival started off with Mutesite taking the stage with their instrumental progressive rock followed local indie boys Jumero got everyone moving to their chilled out tunes. +2db played next, doing their original tunes and also covering a song by Malaysian songstress Yuna, called ‘Crush’. Froya got everyone dancing to her adorable indie-pop tunes, while Subang Jaya based Enterprise got all experimental taking the audiences to another planet. Kyoto Protocol capped off the local bands leg by rocking their hards out and the crowd definitely rocked out with the band to hit songs ‘Jelita’ and ‘KL I Love You’. 

This is the part where the flow of the night wasn’t very good. Ryan Hemsworth, a Canadian DJ took the stage at a early 8pm. His set was cool, but it was a little early to try for hard dance music as the next act was Alina Barez, a soulful R&B singer with a very sultry voice. She had a nice set, but the mood at the festival took a slight dip as a consequence from overhyped dance music to chill tunes. Tokyo Police Club rocked out the stage after that set by Alina, and they were my favourite act of the night and a new discovered band for me to add to my Spotify playlist. Australian indie-folk group Angus & Julia Stone was next and so breathtaking, with the duo having such soothing voices. And DJ brothers Disclosure closed the night with what i hear was an energetic climax. (i missed their set cause I had to leave back to KL) For me the transition between genres from EDM to R&B, to Post Rock then to Indie-Folk left festival go-ers a little fatigued and confused at the end of Day 2. 

Having said all the festival was a success, improving on previous years with a stellar line-up and a well organised festival. 

NYK : R&B child from Southeast Asia

Malaysia has been graced with a bevy of talent over the years, with more and more artists breaking out from through the wonders of the internet, and others are just making waves by putting out big shows at indie music venues around the bigger cities in the country like Kuala Lumpur,  Petaling Jaya and Penang.

Meet Nicholas Ng, a 23 year old R&B singer personified as NYK when he steps on stage and he does his thing. He is a current rising star in the Malaysian indie music scene with plenty of potential. Officially starting his music career with his band, The Nicholas Ng Project (TNNP), the band packed out their first feature at local indie venue Merdekarya. They arranged plenty of smooth silky R&B covers and tunes with a cool set up with a raw, simplified acoustic sounds. This project eventually grew bigger and better together, until recently Nicholas decided to rebrand to NYK as a part of a new direction and a solidification of him as an artist.

Photo taken by Roshan Menon, concept by NYK, design by Kenzo Yeo 

I managed to sit down with Nicholas on a cozy afternoon at Bean Brothers Kota Damansara, where we talked about his music journey, the ups and downs of the industry and his future aspirations for 2017 and beyond. Here is how the interview went down. 

How and when did music making become an important part of your life? 

October 2015, when I arrived back in Malaysia and entered the music scene. I got to know a lot about the scene: what worked, what didn’t. Then I met a bunch of friends who taught me how to produce by myself, and that made transcribing the music in my head into sound that much easier. So yeah, I’d definitely say I met the most appropriate group of friends that jumpstarted my songwriting.

Making music can be a hard thing to do when you’re out of ideas. What inspires you to write even through those situations? 

You can push through. I know some people do that; they just force themselves to carry on writing until they strike gold. Not wrong at all. I prefer to take a break; in can be in the form of a coffee, or it can be as big as a random trip up to Ipoh and Taiping to reset. I think that depends on how you write, too: I tend to write when I’m in the mood; it’s inconsistent, but when the songs do come out I end up being very happy with them. Others literally churn out dozens of songs a week, and I’d think they’d cope with a lack of inspiration with the former solution.

What are you views on the state of our local music scene as an upcoming artist? 

I think it’s going through a renaissance for sure… You’ve got acts like Talitha Tan and Paperplane Pursuit really getting themselves out there. I’m also a big fan of the Asian Century, and I think it’s really coming into play now; Asian culture including music is starting to take off, and we’ll only have ourselves to blame if we don’t ride it.

I’m more pessimistic about the local gigging scene in Malaysia. In all honesty I think the cycle of going to small bars and pubs and playing to the same group of people – people who usually happen to be fellow musicians or friends – is poisonous and deceiving. Musicians are lulled into an assumption that people care and that they’re being known when it’s essentially a group of musicians giving each other Facebook likes: valuable in the hundreds or thousands, but meaningless in the tens.

Photo by Axam

Best show so far? Tell us the story of that favourite gig(s)

Oh man, I’ve got two. First is the recent Tiger Jams show where I opened for The Sam Willows and SOAP. As an opening act you’d think the crowd was just dying to see Benjamin Kheng, but after I finished my set they were asking for an encore. I think that was insane of them, that kind of support was unexpected. Forever grateful for that one.

The second one is back in 2011, where I played for a freshies night at Taylors, myself being one of the freshies. There were 5 of us, amateurs who didn’t know what we were doing, we didn’t arrange anything; we just did It’s My Life by Bon Jovi, and the crowd went wild. There were easily a thousand 17 year olds there just scraming out the lyrics and jumping; it’s easily the best gig I’ve been to. I feel like that euphoria I got playing for such a big crowd at such a young age fueled that high even further; I can’t get that same innocent thrill anymore.

You started out as TNNP, rolled with Nick Yungkit and now NYK. Could you share briefly the transitions between the brand names and the process of solidifying your artist brand?

Right, that’s pretty straightforward. TNNP was a band, and we were gonna do R&B, but it’d be R&B in raw, acoustic form. You would hear a bass, a guitar and raw drums. Nick Yungkit was almost an accompaniment to that; initially it was my stage name when doing solo or acoustic shows. But chiefly it served as an awkward, unsure transition towards being a solo artist where I was looking for the sound I wanted to do. NYK is (at least I hope) me as a confident, matured solo artist. My sound’s shifted as well, I’m totally all in for electronic sounds, synths and Ableton, with huge African American and Korean R&B influences. Although sometimes for work purposes and other intimate shows I’ll put an acoustic guitar on, and be plain old Nick for half an hour or so.

What are your plans for NYK in the future? What can we expect from NYK in 2017? 

I might be signing onto a record label owned by a friend of mine, or I might consider other options. But the short-term goal is to get an original called FWB produced and out for everyone to listen. I’m hoping for it to blow up, I quite like the tune, and if that goes alright, we’ll carry on with more singles and possible an album. By the end of 2017 NYK should hopefully be a household name in Malaysia, or better yet, Southeast Asia.

Watching him live many times, I would say he's one of the future artist that would definitely put Malaysia on the international map. I'll let the music do the talking on his talent and potential. Here's a video of NYK covering Snarky Puppy's Free Your Dream :

Find NYK and his music on these social media platforms ;

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/nykofficial/
Instagram : @nickyungkit 
Soundcloud :  https://soundcloud.com/nykofficial

No Black Tie – The Jazz Haven of Malaysia

No Black Tie, is arguably KL’s pioneer jazz bar where countless prominent performers and musicians from around the region have performed. The bar was founded by Sarawakian born-US trained classical pianist Evelyn Hii in 1998, and was 5 doors away a few years ago before they moved to its current venue. The bar is approaching its 17th year of establishment, and has become one of the most premier spots for a musician to play at and has captured the heart of Kuala Lumpur and all it embodies. Young indie and jazz musicians aspire to play at a No Black Tie show, where if you managed to play at the venue, you have ‘made it’ in our small local music scene. Prominent visiting jazz performers also from international shores entertain play at the venue as they tour around Asia/Southeast Asia. Among famous local artists to play here are jazz singers Dasha Logan, Evelyn Feroza, jazz pianist John Dip Silas and his trio, and many more. 

Beside jazz performers, No Black Tie also host other genres and events, like the classic Chopin to African Samba. They also host an Open Mic for indie bands every once a month, giving the untrained jazz musician (albeit talented musicians) an opportunity to grace No Black Tie’s classy stage. The sound system and acoustics of the venue is top notch and anyone looking for good music on a chill night would definitely enjoy any show on any given day.

The venue boasts a classic 1920 American look, with plenty of black and white photos of jazz legends, with the wooden wall and polished, teakwood floors being my favourite part of the ambience created as you enter. It does give you the feeling that you’re a part of the music that is happening on stage, as it is being played. Tables and chairs are classy and simple usually set up for two or four, with a candle at every table to give a romantic feel, perfect for a classy Tinder date. Food will be slightly pricey compared to the other bars along the same stretch, but the entertainment and standard of music will definitely make a trip to No Black Tie, worth it.

No Black Tie Opening Hours: 17:00 – late Monday – Sunday (closed on random Sundays) 

Address: 17 Jalan Mesui, Off Jalan Nagasari, KL (a few streets away from Changkat Bukit Bintang) 

Tel: +603 2142 3737

Chance The Rapper, Changing the Independent Hiphop Game

Chance the Rapper, whose real name is Chancellor Johnathan Bennett was born on April 16 1993, in Chicago, Illinois. He is an independent hiphop recording artist who has taken the world by storm with hit mixtape ‘Acid Rap’ & his latest project, ‘Coloring Book’.

 

Chance the Rapper

 Chance started his career when he was suspended for 10 days from school, for possessing marijuana on campus. Instead of moping around for the 10 days at home, he started working on producing his first mixtape, which he titled “10 Day” and uploaded the 10 tracks of his mixtape onto Soundcloud in December 2011, where it was widely received by the independent community there. This venture led him to appear on American rapper Childish Gambino’s sixth mixtape, ‘Royalty’ on the track “They Don’t Like Me” and later Chance joined Gambino on tour in North America as an opening act in 2012. Around this time, Sony Music and a few other prominent music labels offered him record deals, but he would soon turn them down due to his views on creative control that did not flow well with the music labels.

He then release “Acid Rap” independently, his second mixtape on music sites DatPiff and Soundcloud in 2013. This mixtape when on to put Chance as on of the biggest rappers in our modern era, and he wasn’t even signed to any labels! ‘Acid Rap’ was then nominated as Best Mixtape at the BET Hip Hop Awards as one of its biggest highlights. His record collaboration with Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment in 2014 was a huge success with songs like “Sunday Candy” topping charts across America. His latest endeavour, his 2016 “Colouring Book” mixtape has over 36 million plays on Spotify, which also features big-hit rappers and producers like Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West. The most impressive thing about Chance is that he has accomplished all this without the help and power of a major music label.

Coloring Book Mixtape

When someone listens to Chance The Rapper, he resonates so much to a generation looking for positivity in an already negative world. He not only acknowledges how run down the world is today, but chooses to respond to adversary with positivity and honesty. His gospel influence added with his brilliant producer mind, incorporates sounds that would keep you humming along to his tunes and feeling assured that everything is going to be all right. Stand out singles from his latest record will be “Blessings” and “No Problem”.

Rappers used to look to music labels as the Holy Grail to making it in the scene. Sign a multi-million dollar deal, cash in and make records by selling of the rights to their songs. Chance The Rapper, on the other hand has done it his way, without selling away his creative rights to his songs and earns every single penny earned. He has definitely announced his arrival as a big player in the international music scene, and he is changing the hiphop game.