featuring @mca.rap @dheezydoesit @radiofreealiceband @annabellechairlegs @sweetgloom666 @kingfalconband @melaina_kol @sunkencages @lorgdotorg
For MC Abdul, hip hop is more than a genre, it was his education and his lifeline. In Palestine, children are often forced to skip childhood and barrel straight into the trauma of adulthood. This song is Abdul’s counter-narrative. The title itself, translating to “step by step” or “take it easy,” is a radical act of peace. It is a message to the youth: “Mish Moshkila” (not a problem). It is a plea to take it easy, to take life day by day, and to refuse to live in fear. “Shway Shway” is the third offering from the Rolling Stone Future 25 honoree’s forthcoming debut album out later this fall, following “Wein Abdul?” which Abdul has already performed for Stoop Sessions, Rap Shar3, 4Shooters Only From The Block, and One Take. Previous single “Wait For Me” also appears on the 8-track LP, detailing his experience learning the English language from rap legends, following a rich tradition of speaking up for the oppressed. This deep connection to hip hop culture allowed him to turn his pain into art and shaped the upcoming debut project.
MC Abdul made a historic Rolling Loud debut in 2024 as the youngest artist to perform on that stage in addition to a powerful showcase for GRAMMYs Global Spin. The Palestinian artist’s cultural impact was further solidified by starring in Mustafa’s “Gaza Is Calling” music video alongside Bella Hadid. Having toured and collaborated with artists like Macklemore, Elyanna and Saint Levant, and opening for global superstar Atif Aslam, Abdul’s resume is a testament as a powerful voice for his people. The peace-seeking warrior has already gained media support from Complex, Mashable, GRAZIA, Billboard, DAZED, RapTV, MILLE, Variety, VIBE, and LA Weekly among others, proving MC Abdul is the global phenomenon the world has been waiting for.
Shrouded in a mysterious vibe highlighted by eccentric synths and a prominent organ melody, Minnegasco strikes sonic gold on his latest single. Jon Forrest Little of Minnegasco lives by a certain mantra: “If you can’t hum the music minutes after hearing it, then you really haven’t written a song.”, and “livin in france” proves this statement true.
Get ready for heavy bars and pure destruction. Filmed on location at Rage Ground LA, the music video for “F*ck Em Up” brings a raw, aggressive energy to the screen as Dheezy and crew tear through cars and furniture destroying everything in their path.
Alongside powerhouse verses from Dheezy, Onyx, and Big Twins, the visual features an impressive lineup of cameos from hip-hop heavyweights, including Planet Asia, Kail Problems, Young Trav, and more.
It’s a high-octane, underground anthem that doesn’t hold back.
The Dheezy Does It LP is out now
Australian new wave/post-punk band Radio Free Alice share their newest single, “Kick in the Shins.” Like a frenzied stumble through whatever life deals the band on any given day, the narrative is driven by Noah Learmonth’s quick-witted storytelling and punctuated by the sharp uppercut of Michael Phillips’ saxophone. Today’s single once again sees the band continue their work across continents with Ewan Pearson (Depeche Mode, Royksopp) and Peter Katis (Interpol, Death Cab for Cutie, The National) — Stream / Watch the visualizer.
The single coincides with the band’s busy summer festival run in Europe and UK, including Rock Werchter and Bilbao last weekend where they were highlighted as a pick of the weekend by NME.
Reflecting on the new release, Learmonth shared, “‘Kick in the Shins’ is a fusion of two songs that never felt all the way complete. We loved the verse of one of them and the chorus of the other, and it worked when we combined the two. We wanted to create a song you could jump around to. At its core, it explores the feeling of being confused by the culture around you, and the isolation that often comes with that confusion.”
Following the release of her Ty Segall-produced new album, Waking Up – a raw and radiant collection of psych-drenched garage rock, warped folk melodies, and fuzzed-out confessionals – Annabelle Chairlegs is excited to share her new single, “I Feel So Mad.” Originally a vinyl-exclusive track from the record, today’s release is available everywhere now. Distilling chaos into a rolicking guitar track with a psychedelic flair, complete with buzzy riffs and lyrics that pull from frustration and loneliness.
“When you can’t hear yourself think. The boys are talkin too loud. Now get in the car we’re driving around like the girlies in Death Proof,” bandleader Lindsey Mackin says of the new song.
Los Angeles punk band Sweet Gloom share new single “Stargazer.” It’s the second single from their forthcoming sophomore album, No Love Lost, out August 21 via Sneak Dog Records.
New York City alternative rock band King Falcon officially announce their high-energy Bloom EP due out September 18. Alongside the announcement of the long-awaited project, the band share the latest taste with soaring track and video “Hourglass” out now. The band’s signature blend of searing guitar riffs, introspective lyricism and fiery vocals continues to captivate listeners worldwide as they blaze a trail of their own.
The forthcoming EP from King Falcon pushes the band’s sound to new territory while maintaining their singular sonic identity and foundation over six eclectic tracks. With its irresistible, anthemic choruses and searing guitar riffs, the band dives head-first into a more refined, self-assured sound. Frontman and primary songwriter Michael Rubin says, “These songs have new sonic elements beyond what we’ve done in the past and we’re really excited about that. This EP is the bridge between our first record and more music we’re currently working on for 2027.”
Melaina Kol, the alias of Nashville musician Logan Hornyak, is excited to share “Idola,” a new preview from their upcoming album, Okay that’s a great idea because if I do that then, out via Julia’s War Recordings on August 14, 2026. “Idola” proves that house music is seeped in vulnerability, as fragmented vocals layer between glittering cello and percussion. An official music video for the track premieres today; watch here.
“‘Idola’ is one of the more lyrical ones that I believe to be about growing old with someone and fearing constantly disappointing them as a response to what you think love should actually feel like,” Logan explains.
Santa Cruz/San Francisco indie rock band Not Yet, Old Dog share their debut single, “Not Afraid of Loud Things,” out now via Lauren Records.
LISTEN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ValrInYOFes
Blending indie twang and alt-country with slowcore and shoegaze textures, “Not Afraid of Loud Things” captures the disorienting transition into adulthood: balancing imposter syndrome, fear, and the pressure to appear steady while everything underneath feels uncertain.
The song also serves as the band’s origin point. Written before Not Yet, Old Dog had officially formed, the song began as a collaboration between guitarist/vocalist Melody Caudill and drummer/vocalist Jordan Taylor. The pair developed the song over months of live performances with their respective projects, Career Woman and Hearsing, before bringing it into the collaborative songwriting process that would eventually become Not Yet, Old Dog.
Building from moments of quiet unease into cathartic release, “Not Afraid of Loud Things” introduces a band whose songs are shaped collectively and performed with emotional urgency. Its tension between outward confidence and private uncertainty lies at the heart of Not Yet, Old Dog’s approach to songwriting.
Brooklyn-Philadelphia based and Indian-born drummer/electronic music producer Ravish Momin’s Sunken Cages moniker is the result of a twenty-year evolution that refuses the logic of Western electronic music from the inside out. Where most producers treat the drum machine as a simulation of acoustic percussion, Momin dismantles that assumption entirely, constructing electronic kits from South Indian folk drums, rare percussive traditions, and electronic sound design. The result is not fusion. It is something that did not exist before.
His upcoming album Neram Pularumbol (As The Dawn Breaks), set for an August 7th release via Mahorka Records, is Sunken Cages’ long-awaited follow-up to his 2021 debut on On The Corner Records. Over the past 5 years he has developed an idiosyncratic production style that blends South Indian folk instruments with electronic drums, dark synths, drones and industrial textures to create a freshly deconstructed global club music.
Today, Momin shares the new single “Athiraavile.” Aided by Indonesian artist Rani Jambak, fragmented rhythms and vocal swirls are as primordial as they are clubby. Jambak is a composer, producer, instrument designer and vocalist, who adds haunting vocals and chants to a frenzied ‘Chenda Melam’ — a traditional drum ensemble in Kerala. The track is further layered with drones and industrial synths, while a heavy kick drum punctuates the chenda drum patterns.
Sharing another mouthful of their debut solo album, Lorg today releases “Cowboy Songs,” the final single ahead of I Fell For Fantasy on August 19. Looping personal patterns just like the song’s melody, the album opener foreshadows our hero’s journey ahead. Under the clouds of a serious heartache, Lorg sets out on their greatest quest yet — Stream.
“Going solo was spiritually difficult. I had always wanted to but it felt like I was throwing the baby out with the bath water,” reflects Lorg. “‘Cowboy Songs’ is one of the first songs I wrote from start to finish. I fleshed most of it out at home, and it seemed done to me, but I wanted to try something different and was connected to a studio in Asheville, Drop Of Sun, which is where I met producer, Adam McDaniel. I was very suspicious of working with a producer at first. My whole career was made without the help of studios, or PR, or labels. But doing everything on your own, while noble and exhilarating, can feel both isolating and pressurizing.”
“I remember tasking myself to write a song like a singer-songwriter with just an acoustic guitar and lyrics,” shares Lorg. The lyrics and melodies were all improvised over this mesmerizing simple loop. I like to do things that way, improvised vocals, but my rule when improvising is to sleep on it, and in the morning I can listen back and decide if it’s cool or not. Listening back to the first vocal performance, it was walking the line of happy/sad so intensely, I couldn’t tell if I liked it or not. And the feelings I was describing were things that I didn’t want to admit to myself.”
Tokyo-based artist and award-winning composer Yuma Koda shares his debut song “images on loan,” out today via Newhere Music, the independent Tokyo label home to artists including Eiko Ishibashi, Jim O’Rourke, and Takuro Okada.
Written by Koda and co-arranged with prolific drummer Shun Ishiwaka (Answer to Remember, SMTK), the track traces feelings of loneliness and remembrance. It features a spoken-word performance from Jan Urila Sas that feels like a negotiation with emotion in real time, alongside key figures in Japan’s new wave of contemporary jazz: Kei Matsumaru on saxophone, Marty Holoubek on acoustic bass, and frequent collaborator Takuro Okada on guitar.
“images on loan” offers the first glimpse of a forthcoming debut album, the latest expression of an interdisciplinary practice that has earned Koda acclaim across film, television, fashion, performance, and installation. His previous work includes the award-winning score for KONTORA and working on television drama scores alongside Haruomi Hosono.
Growing up, Koda spent much of his childhood in an independent movie theater run by his father, immersing himself in a wide range of films from an early age. While studying classical music theory in Italy and Japan, he developed a deep interest in jazz and electronic music and was strongly influenced by Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu.
Between 2017 and 2019, Koda divided his time between New York and Japan, forming close creative relationships with artists across disciplines, including filmmaker Neo Sora, painter Yukimasa Ida, and Tenchi Yoshimoto of the fashion label amachi.
Chicago-based alternative-Latin quintet Dos Santos share “Es Amor,” the title track from their fourth album, and first in five years, out August 28 via Otherly Love. Accompanied by an Osvaldo Cuevas-directed video starring Olivia Dankowski, the video is a love letter to the city of Chicago, the band’s home—its landmarks and neighborhoods. The song is the beating heart of the album, the place where its central themes first took shape.
The song’s melody came to bandleader Alex E. Chávez late one night while writing. It felt strangely familiar, though he couldn’t quite place why. “It stuck with me, this melody. Though I didn’t then know why,” Chávez said. Singing it in near darkness while plucking his nylon-string guitar, he felt he had encountered something bigger than himself.
Weeks later, while searching through an archive in the sweltering Texas heat, a record called “El Amor” spun on the turntable—one made by Chávez’s father decades earlier. “And there it was,” Chávez said. “That very same melody, the one that came knocking at my door. It was the voice of my father in his twenties.”
That discovery reverberates throughout Es Amor. Equal parts dream and memory, spirit echo and migration story, the melody forms part of the album’s sonic texture, a thread connecting generations. Its journey ultimately crystallizes the album’s central message: that love, in all its shades and surprise appearances, remains the most enduring response to a world marred by hate.
- Email: neill@outloudculture.com
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