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Reef Hustle delivers raw tribute in "Momma Love." The single featuring Whoistevenyoung, is taken from his critically acclaimed 'What About War II' album. Soulful melodies and bass resonate throughout Reef's emotive lyrical performance. He embodies this 24/7, 365 dedication and touches on sacrifices, giving flowers, and making momma proud. Stream "Momma Love" below.
Babylon Dead releases "Death Upon Dem" through the Illinformed/RLD camp. Illinformed is a cornerstone of the UK underground, known for production work with Datkid, Cracker Jon, and the broader Bristol/Split Prophets scene. Fourteen tracks deep, with titles translating dancehall and reggae vocabulary into hip-hop architecture: "Real Badman," "How Yuh Mean," "Bare Burial," "Buss A Shot," "Chant Down," "Gully," "Redrum." Wyatt Earp features on "Out Here." The fusion of patois inflection with British boom bap creates a distinct statement that operates outside the standard UK underground template.
Korey B. and Micro deliver "Phenomena" – a ten-track project with features from Fountaine on "Bellrocka," DOBLEON on "7-11," Dusty Fox & Slick Devious on "Principalities," and Winston on "Small Pond." Track titles like "Viejito," "Fonzarelli," and "Ascension" suggest a thematically diverse approach – moving between nostalgic references and more spiritual or philosophical territory. The duo's chemistry across ten tracks signals an established working relationship rather than a one-off pairing.
Brooklyn and Copenhagen, Denmark connect on "Villano De Medianoche." NVY JONEZ LKR over Machacha's complete production, recorded at ARTILLERY Studios in Copenhagen. Machacha is well-established in the European underground, with his sample-based production gaining recognition through collaborations with US veterans including Roc Marciano and Hus Kingpin. Ten tracks deep with a dense feature roster: Bruxas Brew, Chop The Father, Felix De Luca, D-RELL & Rodey Cali's Remedy, ethemadassasin, K.Burns, Lenox Hughes, Starz Coleman, Apollo & Sham Blak, and Amor Hitz. Thematic territory ranges between the gritty streets of New York and California.
Alvarez Masterminded delivers a tight seven-track project on "Sinamatik Phenomenal." Barbaric features twice – on "A Dot Phenomenal Pt II" and "Bishop and Cable" – with Diego Dollaz appearing on "Buck 50." Track titles like "98 Polo ish" and "Bishop and Cable" telegraph deliberate references to late-'90s East Coast aesthetics; the latter potentially nodding to Tupac's Bishop character from "Juice." Compact execution, no padding. The kind of release that rewards focused listening rather than passive consumption.
Five-time WCMA nominee Evil Ebenezer returns with "Steroid Era," a 12-track concept project using baseball as metaphor for the high-pressure music industry. C-Lance handles production entirely. The track titles map the metaphor directly: "Sammy the Bull," "Pete Rose," "Young Pedro," "Bonds," "97 Rockies" – each chapter reflecting on grit, failure, authenticity, and resilience. Features from JUNK, K-Prez, K.A.A.N., and D-Rec. Evil's resume includes over 130 million streams, a #1 on Canadian iTunes Hip-Hop charts, and 600+ live performances across Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. C-Lance's heavy-hitting production – familiar from his work in the Jedi Mind Tricks orbit – provides exactly the backdrop this conceptual depth demands.
French-language underground from the La Vilerie collective. Loco Rodriguez on vocals, La Vilerie handling beats, Eikonoklast on mix and master, cover art by Le Vil. Eight tracks featuring Eduakapenn1 on "Panama Papers" and Logik Constantine on "Revelation." The album title "1993" references the golden era directly, and track titles like "#LESANCIENSCESTLETURFU" (loosely "the old guard is the future") make the philosophy explicit. French boom bap with a clear lineage to the early '90s, but operating in the present rather than dwelling in nostalgia.
Brownsville's MO Buks links with Doza The Drum Dealer for an album that wears its origin on its sleeve. Six vocal tracks plus six instrumentals, with features from Zill Money, Fa$t, Devious, Crise P, D. Goynz, Kaeson Skrilla, G.O.D., and Doza himself. "Go Brooklyn" stacks four guests for a borough-loyalty statement. The Brownsville DNA is unmistakable – experience, perspective, struggle, and wit colliding with soul-driven samples and hard-hitting drums. Doza handles all production, mixing, and mastering, providing total sonic cohesion. From Sean Price to today, Brownsville has produced some of hip-hop's most unfiltered voices, and MO Buks operates squarely within that tradition.
Checkmate – widely recognized for his unforgettable verse on the Rascalz' landmark Canadian anthem "Northern Touch" – reunites with K-Rec for "The Method." Both Vancouver veterans trace their roots back to the golden-era 1990s Canadian underground. Nine tracks, with features from Sadat X of Brand Nubian on "Good Nutrition," 4-IZE on "Day At Work," Moka Only on two cuts including the "Inference and Hearsay 94 Remix," Copywright on the title track, and Concise on "Burn It Down." Mastered by The Stuntman. K-Rec's production pays homage to classic boom bap craftsmanship while incorporating modern depth and polish, providing the perfect backdrop for Checkmate's razor-sharp delivery. The chemistry feels lived-in rather than constructed – two artists who've spent decades sharpening the same blade.
Ras Ceylon unveils “BuzzSaw,” the first visual and sonic transmission from Scrollz of Lion Rock — his forthcoming ninth album, co-directed by Timbo King and executive produced by the late Oliver “Power” Grant. Produced by 9th Prince of Killarmy, the track brings together Ras Ceylon, 9th Prince, and Timbo King in a hard-edged opening statement rooted deeply in the Wu-Tang Killa Beez lineage.
Originally released as an audio single in June 2025, “BuzzSaw” peaked at #2 on the HipHopGods charts and signaled the beginning of a new chapter in the Scrollz of Lion Rock saga. The record features an intro by Bobo David and an outro by Bobo Smith of Sizzla’s Judgement Yard, with mixing and mastering handled by Xarina for Studio X.
The official video, shot and edited by Hostage Media, was filmed at “The Wall” in Park Hill, Shaolin — the historic Wu-Tang District. Captured on the day of Oliver “PoWer” Grant’s homegoing services, the visual — along with the Scrollz of Lion Rock album itself — is livicated to his loving memory. A foundational architect behind the movement, Power’s presence and influence remain deeply embedded throughout the project, which stands among his final executive productions in the physical realm.
IG: @rasceylon @real9thprince @originaltimboking @wutangbrand
Ras Ceylon is an Oakland, California–based MC and the first Sri Lankan rapper to emerge within the western Hip-Hop canon (debut in 1999), blending West Coast independence, precise lyricism, and reggae influences with ancestral awareness and a global perspective. His music bridges regions, lineages, and generations while maintaining deep Hip-Hop credibility, aligning him with artists who share his militant, socially conscious vision and establishing him as a singular voice in both the international and independent Hip-Hop landscape.
Scrollz of Lion Rock is Ras Ceylon’s ninth official studio album, slated for release in 2026, and marks a pivotal expansion of his Hip-Hop lineage. Built on the creative foundation of his 2024 project Jacket Fulla Medalz with Wu-Tang affiliate Timbo King, the album elevates that partnership into a fully realized, long-form statement that cements Ras Ceylon within the Wu Killa Beez lineage while highlighting his unique globally grassroots voice.
Co-directed by Timbo King—who appears throughout the album as a recurring guest presence—Scrollz of Lion Rock features Wu-Tang Clan family Cappadonna, Prodigal Sunn, 9th Prince, and Solomon Childs, alongside acclaimed MCs Ras Kass and Planet Asia—voices woven seamlessly into the album’s narrative, functioning as extensions of a shared militant and lyrical tradition rather than conventional features. Executive produced by Oliver “Power” Grant & shaped through A&R direction by Matthew “M80” Markoff (Holy Toledo Productions), the project stands as a cohesive, long-form statement rooted in legacy, lyricism, and militant Hip-Hop tradition.
The album is also livicated to the loving memory of Oliver "Power" Grant.
Through this album, Ras Ceylon carries forward a disciplined, socially conscious Hip Hop ethos while expanding its reach across coasts, generations, and cultures, adding a vital new chapter to that legacy. Rooted in boom-bap fundamentals and sharpened by present-day urgency, the album confronts themes of power, resistance, survival, and cultural memory with precision and weight. Tracks such as “DisInfoAge”, “Free The World”, and “Ancestorz” reflect the project’s political clarity and enduring relevance. The album’s title, intro, and cover art draw from Sigiriya (Lion Rock)—an ancient Sri Lankan rock fortress symbolizing strength, endurance, and inherited knowledge—framing the record as both historical reflection and contemporary statement.
Sonically, the album is highlighted by DJ Allah Mathematics, longtime DJ and creator of the iconic Wu “W” logo, whose involvement lends the project both musical authority and symbolic lineage. Additional production from Cruise, Dawit Justice, and HBK’s AkaFrank forms a raw, cohesive soundscape rooted in authentic Hip Hop textures. Scrollz of Lion Rock stands as a focused, culturally resonant release built for legacy and collector permanence.
Scrollz of Lion Rock is out Friday 19th June - https://label-caster.ffm.to/pnj7f81vtj
Physical copies of the album are also available now for pre order - https://www.1332records.com/product-page/ras-ceylon-scrollz-of-lion-rock-album
Possessed remains one of the most technically demanding MCs the UK underground has ever produced. A founding member of London-based hip-hop group Rhyme Asylum – formed in 2002 alongside Psiklone and Skirmish – his work has always been defined by vivid imagery, complex wordplay, and intricate rhyme schemes. Though Rhyme Asylum remained largely underground with limited mainstream recognition, critics and fans have consistently cited them as one of the most lyrically skilled hip-hop acts of all time, drawing comparisons to highly respected lyricists for their precision, creativity, and unconventional approach to narrative rap. "Absentia" puts Possessed over Think's production for a tight package – three vocal cuts ("Revolution," "Priority," "Take Me"), a skit, and the instrumentals for the full set. The Think and Possessed partnership has history behind it, and the chemistry shows in the cohesion. Compact execution, deliberate sequencing – no wasted seconds. For heads who've followed Possessed since "State of Lunacy," this fits squarely in the lineage while operating in its own focused lane.
Grand Agent comes from a specific pocket of early 2000s underground hip-hop that tends to be either well-remembered or completely unknown depending on how deep your crates go. His debut "By Design" on Groove Attack in 2001 established him in the Philly underground with a voice that was gritty, soulful, and more engaged with the lived texture of street life than with mythology. "By Design 2," with this Prickly Pear-produced EP serving as a three-track preview, revisits that foundation from the vantage of two decades of additional experience. Prickly Pear is a longtime collaborator whose presence here signals continuity rather than revision. The larger "By Design 2" album involves LE Square – a Philly production legend whose connections run to Gillie da Kid and who is identified as Pharrell's cousin – alongside producers Tribeca and Bjorn Von Kalt. Grand Agent now runs Philly Truce, a community conflict-resolution organization, and that work runs parallel to his music without overwhelming it. Three tracks here, the weight of a full discography behind them.
Ralphy Red arrives with "Sopranos Season 7" as a project that earns its cinematic framing through the quality of the material rather than the concept alone. Eleven tracks built across a roster of producers including bo_faat, _offbeats, Damn Dave Beats, Bestwon, and Pyramid Kapo – with Ralphy Red himself helming the boards on three cuts including "Cold Cuts" and "Bobby Bacala." The Sopranos reference sets an aesthetic expectation – mob imagery, street weight, narrative bars – and the project largely delivers. Features from Daniel Son on "Bobby Bacala" and ILL-IAS on "Pork Shop Hatchet" bring additional credibility to a release that already has its priorities straight. Underground Alley Rap Records handles the physical run: CDs and a vinyl pressing limited to 100 copies. In a landscape where the conceptual mob-rap lane gets crowded fast, Ralphy Red's execution here earns its place in the stack.
SNICK FOLEY has been building out of Queens for years without the noise, which in 2026 is increasingly a mark of authenticity rather than oversight. "Give the God His Roses" is his most expansive project to date – sixteen tracks released through Abstract Villains, self-directed and independent from the ground up. The production sits in the old-school lyrical lane while the delivery carries the edge that New York rap has always demanded from its borough representatives. Earlier releases – "When I Was Led to You," "Our Foley Father" – established a voice that blends technical precision with street-level honesty. This album doesn't break from that, it expands it. At sixteen tracks it has more room to breathe than previous efforts, and cuts like "LIVING WAGE," "DURACELL," and "ANTIsocialite" suggest an MC using the extra runtime to push at the edges of what he's been building. No major co-signs, no hype cycle – just the work.
A-F-R-O has been one of the more productive figures in the technical underground since R.A. the Rugged Man discovered him at seventeen in 2014 and brought him into a touring and recording relationship that shaped his early output. "Blood Rain" is described by the MC himself as his darkest, most experimental work to date – eight tracks built on boom bap foundations but pushed toward something more aggressive in tone. The production roster spans A-F-R-O, Alcapella, OBNOSSO, Drill Kid, and Bouklas, and A-F-R-O handled mixing, mastering, and arrangement himself. The sole featured artist is 4-IZE, whose presence is noted with genuine co-sign energy rather than industry courtesy. Coming off a dense release run through late 2025 – "No More Patience," "Trap Door," and collaborations with 60 East – "Blood Rain" represents a tonal recalibration rather than a pivot. The darkness here is structural, not cosmetic.
UUuTANG MASKMAN occupies an increasingly rare corner of the Wu-Tang-inspired underground: the experimental wing where abstraction is the point and mystique outweighs explanation. "RAPCHLORITHIZIDE" – the title parsed as a pharmaceutical compound, the concept framed as nothing less than a cure for humanity – arrives as a seven-track statement produced across four contributors including NAR, Arigato Beats, and Blasian Beats. The production stays in deliberately lo-fi, abrasive territory, and the MC's approach is consistent with his previous releases: esoteric framing, dense delivery, minimal metadata. For listeners who have been following his work through the HHHEADZ catalogue from "Santi Disciple of the 36th Chamber" onward, this fits exactly where you'd expect it. The shout to Australia in the liner notes adds one more layer of deliberately unresolved context.
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