Tag Archives: hip hop

UMC20: The Best of March 2024

What a stacked month!

Between the 20 songs that comprise the UMC20 Best of March 2024, and the two latest, completely epic episodes of our Official Podcast, The Quinn Spinn, our end-of-month compilation contains nearly three-and-a-half hours of listening enjoyment!

Get it while it’s here. Next Wednesday, we’ll drop the first all-new UMC of April. Soak up the memories from the month that has been!

Track listing
Bootsy Collins ft. Snoop Dogg, Fantaazma, Wiz Khalifa, and Dave Stewart – The Influencers
Spence Brown – Scotch Thoughts
Miles Squiers – 24 Hours
Game Changer – Just Sayin’
Adam Paddock – Sweet Ohio Light
Izzy Rage – Wreck
TsukiMai – Selenophile
Cardiac Half – Gloom
YEARB4 – BABY I’M DYIN’
The Minimum Wage – Everyone Is
Pepperwood – Drowning
The Ghost Club – If I Fell (Don’t Wait Here For Me)
Crow and Gazelle – Take It Away
Max McNown – Dead Set
Dustin Kensrue – High Scalers
Kat & Zach – Winter Flower
Bronco Redahan – High on Lonesome
The Kentucky Gentlemen – Beg Your Parton
Mikayla Lewis – All is Well
Rome – Forever

An Important Lesson in Self-Expression (ft. Izzy Rage)

Izzy Rage shows no hesitation in being his full self. A highly conceptual, Nashville-based producer and artist, Izzy uses his art as a vehicle for self-expression, and he — alongside his cohorts in Rage Crew — strive to create a world where individuality is the norm.

Get to know Izzy on today’s edition of The Quinn Spinn, where we learn we can find self-confidence and purpose at any age.

Stream Izzy Rage’s new single, “WRECK”

Opening theme: REVEL 9 – All I’ve Become

The Quinn Spinn
Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Apple Podcasts⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

FLASH SALE: $5 Off NashLive! Tickets Using This Coupon Code…

For the first time in 2024, it’s officially SHOW WEEK!

We feel like celebrating, and we invite you to celebrate with us. So, we’re doing something special for you. Through this Tuesday, March 19 at 11:59 p.m. CT, we’re offering $5 off tickets to this Saturday’s NashLive! experience at Helping Our Music Evolve when you use the coupon code NASHFLASH.

(You know, because it’s a flash sale…)

As a reminder, NashLive! is allowing three artists to completely transform the stage on Saturday, March 23.

The first three chosen artists are:

  • Alexis Donn: a Nashville-based pop artist who will be bringing us into her immersive, galactic and glittery Star Child Universe. A custom Space-O’s cereal will be available for purchase upon your way in.
  • The Healers: comprised of Lord Goldie and Foundation Mecca, a duo of Nashville-based heal hop artists on a mission to heal the world through music. Both prolific in their own right, The Healers are among Nashville’s most prominent and best beloved hip hop acts.
  • ARREIS: On her newest record, Vices, ARREIS takes on the human condition and dives deeply into the the fact that everyone has a little bit of darkness in their lives. From fiery, bright reds to muted, sullen maroons, the red era is ready to make a dramatic mark on the world of pop music.

Get those tickets here, and get them for $5 off while you still can!

LISTEN: Spence Brown’s ‘Scotch Thoughts’ Are ‘A Meditation on Time’

A sobering fact of life? None of us knows exactly how much time we have left.

So, let’s not waste any of it.

Spence Brown — who, you may recall, recently made his triumphant return to the artist side of the tracks — just hit us with another new single, “Scotch Thoughts” is a slick and soulful hip hop vibe; one Brown calls “a meditation on time” in light of his father’s recent heart attack, and the realization that it’s up to us to make the most of every moment.

“(It’s about) realizing that everyone’s time is limited, including your own,” Brown said. “It’s part of a larger project coming in the spring called 4am In Nashville, and one of the overall themes is opportunity cost; trying to figure out what is the right move to make. This is song number one on the project, and is the entrance to a dark place that we explore through the project.”

We’ll soon have even more glimpses into 4am In Nashville, with new singles due on March 29 and April 26. For now, we invite you vibe with this one!

UMC20: Fall in Love with These Tracks (Feb. 13, 2024)

There’s a lot to love about UMC20 every week. But, with warm and fuzzy feelings in the air for those who celebrate Valentine’s Day, that sentiment feels even stronger today.

This is a powerful, dynamic lineup of songs, featuring styles across the musical spectrum. We start with rock, give you a heapin’ helpin’ of Americana in the middle, and then progress to pop, R&B, and hip hop to round it out.

Also, we have not one, but TWO bonus tracks: We just announced that we’re going to two weekly episodes of The Quinn Spinn this week, and our two latest interviews are included at the bottom of the playlist!

Track listing
Olive Dares the Darkness – Not My Fault
The Mad Sugars ft. Monte Mader – Dare Me
Fame & Fiction – Knuckles
Sugadaisy – Slip n Fall
Cole Gallagher – Lost Sounds
Ben Carr – Seventeen
The Wandering Hearts – Letter to Myself
The Dead South – Yours To Keep
Moonsville Collective – Helen Highway
The HawtThorns – Nothing But A Shadow
Tyler Ramsey – New Lost Ages
The Steel Wheels – Sideways
Laura Mustard – Dirty Minds & Wild Hearts
Spencer LaJoye – Someday You’ll Wake Up Okay
Sabrina Song – Okay, Okay
Jordyn Tareaz – Again
Jetta – sticky ickyKuf Knotz & Christine Elise – High Vibrationz
Foundation Mecca – Felt Like This
RAHMAT ALLAHGXDMC – Rain

LISTEN: Lord Goldie Puts It ‘On da Line’

Through the years, Lord Goldie has shown that she’s willing to do whatever it takes to elevate her artist platform alongside the Nashville hip hop community.

Goldie’s latest single, “On da Line,” is just the latest motivational release in her Lost Tapes series. Produced by Play Dat Beat Wee Wee, the single illustrates the hustle it takes to succeed as an independent creative — including the fears we need to face, the actions we must take, and the distractions and relationships we must sometimes leave behind.

Sonically, “On da Line” employs a trap beat as the foundation for a triumphant soundscape; one which recalls the celebratory mainstream hip hop anthems of the late 2000s and early 2010s, while maintaining an “eyes on the prize” intensity fit for any workout playlist. Add it to yours after you try it out below!

LISTEN: Gangstagrass, Jerry Douglas Find Musical Kinship on ‘The Only Way Out is Through’

To continue their work of “illuminating the unity among seemingly disparate groups,” genre-busting quintet Gangstagrass called upon an acclaimed collaborator on their latest single.

That collaborator is 15-time GRAMMY winner and three-time CMA Musician of the Year Jerry Douglas, who brought his dobro to further bridge the divide between bluegrass and hip hop on “The Only Way Out is Through.”

“I’ve always been a collaborator, so I am naturally attracted to other collaborators,” Douglas said. “Gangstagrass is definitely in that category. For a while now, I was constantly asked if there is any type of music that I haven’t been involved in. For the longest time, my answer was ‘rap.’ Until I heard Gangstagrass, I didn’t know how it would work out. When they asked if I would sit in with them at the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, I jumped at the chance. ‘The Only Way Out Is Through’ is not only a huge box checked for me but a leap forward for me in my musical education. I love the song. I love the heart and soul these guys project onto the listener, and I am so thankful to be taken into the Gangstagrass family.”

The collaboration didn’t stop there; globally renowned ensemble The LowDown Brass Band provided horns on the track, further establishing “The Only Way Out is Through” as the latest example in Gangstagrass’ illustrious career of what’s possible when musical barriers are eliminated. Dynamic production artfully bridges the gap between the two conventionally juxtaposed genres, while uplifting vocals inspire us to persist through the rigors of life.

You’ll love listening through this one, over and over again. Dig in!

Hip Hop Culture & Finding Balance (ft. Raw Proof)

Josh Marinko (a.k.a. Raw Proof) is a Nashville-based hip hop artist who has spent decades immersed in the culture. Growing up as a military child, Josh lived all over the country before establishing roots in Tennessee, and has witnessed the massive changes that have taken place in Nashville and the music industry at large.

Today, we talk about those changes (and how we’ve adapted), the importance of building community, and the ways we find balance in the midst of the creative grind.

This episode of The Quinn Spinn was recorded and produced at Helping Our Music Evolve, Nashville, TN.

Opening theme: REVEL 9 – All I’ve Become

Raw Proof
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rawproof
Bandcamp: https://rawproof.bandcamp.com/album/bleakmatic
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7h7SjXBp6POeycuYYkEc42⁠

The Quinn Spinn⁠
Spotify⁠: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/3fhgcfrjZt19NLFagfRB5o?si=75a1de1d78a94064⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Apple Podcasts⁠: ⁠https://tinyurl.com/2tuvpzdh
Instagram: ⁠https://instagram.com/quinnspinnofficial⁠

LISTEN: Spence Brown’s ‘2024’ is an Anthem of Self-Discovery and Resilience

The New Year may not be as “new” as it once was, but there’s still plenty of time remaining to make your mark.

For Spence Brown, that means coming back to his own artistry in triumphant fashion, as he continues to blaze a trail in the production world. He claims his purpose on the new single, “2024.”

“Until recently, I felt like I had pretty much given up on my own music career, and was focusing mainly on my producer career,” Brown said. “I realized that I really regretted getting to this point over the last few years, and wanted to change it. So, I decided I would start the year off with an affirmation to myself about my purpose, and set my intentions to change my career’s trajectory. ‘2024’ is really about me saying ‘I’m going all in now,’ which I’ve needed to do for a while.”

“2024” provides a modern update to Brown’s previous single, “2020,” complete with the refreshed perspective that comes with four years of self-discovery in business and life.

“I had made this beat a while ago, and had it sitting on my computer until I came across it again. I immediately had an idea for what I would do with it,” Brown said. “Four years later, (this is) how I see things, and where I see myself going this year. There are even some callbacks to 2020 in the new song!”

How will you remember 2024, when all is said and done? Reflect on that question as you listen to “2024” below!

UMC20: The Best of January 2024

This is our first monthly “Best Of” edition of UMC20 in the better part of a year and, well… what a way to bring the HEAT back!

Y’all did a great job giving us some fresh sounds heading into the New Year, and it pays off in this multi-faceted compilation of some (but not all) of the best things we’ve heard in recent memory. We invite you to dig in!

Bonus track: Last week marked our first Quinn Spinn OG Family episode of 2024, as JD came back into the fold to chat about championship football and our 2024 intentions. Check it out here!

Track listing
Harris Hills – ACTION MAN
Intellect ft. Dave East – Too Many Losses
Mykel ft. Mileage – Rhythm Of You
Zhaklina – M.D.B.M
Kendra & The Bunnies – Manic Pixie Nightmare
ROM COM – Tom Cruisin’
Aaron Lee Tasjan – Horror Of It All
Alex Jordan – Saving Grace
The Steel Wheels – Hero
Laura Mustard – Good Enough
Teagan Stewart – New Nashville
J.Antonette – Run Girl Run
Quickdraw Kid – Bittersweet Tennessee
Fame & Fiction – Famous
Paul Nestler – That Dance We Do
Jon Worthy – Things Are Looking Up
Radio Flower – Winters Alone
Elise Browell – In My Mind
The Mighty Calm – Boardwalks
Keep the Eleven – Do You Wanna Change The World?

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