6 new Belgian hip-hop albums to start the weekend: April Maey, Vinci & more
Another Friday, another musically outstanding list to take you on a trip through Belgian hip-hop land. Although this time, we switched it up a little. From now on we will be doing three weeks of articles with tracks and music videos, and one week with EP's or albums which caught our attention somehow. This is the first one dedicated to the joy of discovering a new album and playing it until there's another one.
Article and selection by Yaell Monas, header picture by Ines Vansteenkiste-Muylle
APRIL MAEY - TICKET TO ANYWHERE EP
Imagine waking up on a sunny Sunday morning with the smell of coffee and the windows wide open. That's April Maey's latest EP captured in a snapshot. Maey used to be a Chase Music intern who graduated from our Digital Storytelling postgraduate at KASK School of Arts and has now found her way to Spotify. 'Sunshine' is definitely the master track on this album. The soulful sound of the trumpets takes us back to the '50s and Maey's voice serves an amazing soul performance ready for a ColorsxStudios session!
BRINGHIM - KETAMA EP
It seems like team MOM isn't just chilling during lockdown. Bringhim released some music to quarantine to, in which he shouts out his daughter Lucy while praising himself for who he became. The EP serves a high level of producing, with tracks who offer more than just another beat. These are three quality Belgian hip-hop tracks to make sure you are not too bored.
VINCI - MARMER
Vinci's first complete album is out since last week. The combination between very musically produced instrumentals and honest written lyrics serves for good hip-hop. It's clear that Vinci is searching for his sound, going from acoustic and hip-hop ballads to danceable hit parade tracks such as 'Complex'. Our overall favorite track is 'Proceed', where Vinci finds his, in our opinion, perfect sound.
CM2 - TRUE TO MYSELF
'True to myself' is an album on which Cm2 shows how well he can rhyme. Although we would like him to use that rhyming talent to write lyrics which say a bit more or go a little deeper than he does here. He is well on his way to becoming one of the better Belgian hip-hop artists of his generation, and we will keep seeing a lot more with the support of the MOM management. Whoever produced A-Town should get a huge shoutout, because the beat claps. Epiphany is the perfect album closure for a trap-minded collection of tracks.
Sonnie Vegas - Into The Sonnieverse!
Vegas is one of the better autotune using trappers in Belgium, and that's what he shows on 'Into The Sonnieverse'. Somewhere in the line of Trippie Red with Peep-ish influences, which is very clear on 'Conciliate'. We actually like the creative process of how he uses autotune. The closing track of the album, 'Ha He Ja Hee Hoe Hoe', has the potential to become a Belgian trap hit à la Gucci Gang by Lil Pump.
RONNYHUANA - GET LOS III
There's a shitload of trap becoming popular, but once we hit Dutch rapping artists from Brussels they always stay true to meaningful and raw hip-hop. RonnyHuana is one of those artists from the Brussels scene. A scene that is known for their rudeness in their lyrics and darkness in their beats. Brussels hip-hop is almost its own niche, and Ronny shows off he deserves his steady spot in that scene next to other big names such as Zwangere Guy and Berry. As Brussels supports each other, Guy and Berry found their way to this album too. A decent representation of what's cooking in Brussels!
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