The Phasing Octopus is a relatively new artist from Birmingham, although they’ve hit the ground running in 2020, releasing a single a month through the spring and summer, and then releasing an EP, Bug[bomb], in October. Now they are back with another EP, I may be annoyed or whatever. The Phasing Octopus is an interesting artist, and maybe not what you’re expecting coming out of Birmingham. That’s because they are developing this really abstract and avantgarde mixture of jungle, drum and bass, hip hop, and industrial instrumental music.

Defame is a producer from Indianapolis who has been releasing music for about the past five years. Most recently, he gave us a beat tape this past May called houndstooth chops. Now he’s teamed up with Kansas City producer opal prism to deliver a split beat tape, NüVintage. NüVintage is a fairly straightforward project, but that doesn’t mean its not good or enjoyable. This is a beat tape, which means you’re not necessarily getting fully developed songs, but you’re getting enough to enjoy some good grooves and some interesting samples, chops, loops, flips, and whatnot.

Janko Nilovic might not be a name that is well known in the U.S., but the musician based in France who has been releasing music since the late ‘60s has been a staple sample source for hip hop producers for years. His music has been used as source material for tracks by artists such as Jay-Z, Raekwon, Kendrick Lamar, and Joey Bada$$, just to name a few. In recent years, he has found a new home at Broc Recordz, who have not only worked with him to rerelease a few classic albums from his catalogue, but have helped him record some new material as well.

Renee Dion is a vocalist/producer from Columbus, Ohio who has been releasing music for the last decade. Just this past May, she released a short project to help listeners deal with their mental health during the pandemic called Patience – Relax – Endure. Now she’s shifting gears slightly for a more personal project with guitarist Ryan Craycroft, A Series of Events. This EP is bookended by an intro and outro that mirror each other in style, with Dion’s vocals being processed to make her sound disembodied and floating in space.

Twenty years ago, a label was born in Brighton with an unlikely name: Jalapeno Records. Since that time, though, they’ve been consistently bringing you quality releases running from funk to disco to house to hip hop and back again. As they hit the big 2-0, they’ve put together this compilation to celebrate their catalogue, Jalapeno Records: Two Decades of Funk Fire. If you’ve been following Jalapeno Records this whole time, you’ll probably look at this track listing, and just knowing smile and nod.

Godforbid is a New York emcee, formerly of the group Alaskan Fishermen with Fathertime and Thirstin Howl The 3rd, currently fronting the band That Handsome Devil. Two years ago, he stepped out with a solo album, Jesus Chrysler. Now he’s back for a second round with How To Make Your Art Matter. For this album, Godforbid is working with Louis Mackey and Quandary, who both produced his first album, while also bringing in DJ Inbetween, Mister Jason, and Jeremy Page to round things out.

Flevans is a producer/deejay/multi-instrumentalist from Brighton that has been releasing music since the early ‘00s, when he first got signed to Tru Thoughts. More recently, he has joined up with Jalapeno Records, with whom he released a full-length album, Accumulate, just this past May. Now he’s back with an EP, I’m Over Here. On paper, I’m Over Here might look like a musical discard, or some filler, with just three songs to the track listing.

Amani Jade is a relatively young emcee from San Francisco who released her first album, RJ to AJ, back in 2016. For her second album, she’s teamed up with Bay Area producer Brycon (The Watershed, Diamond Lung) to give us The Cleansing. There are a few angles to The Cleansing that make it intriguing. One is the solid production work from Brycon, who manages to keep his West Coast boom bap interesting and just a little off-kilter and unexpected while never distracting you from Amani Jade on the mic.

Philadelphia artist ialive has been on a bit of a tear recently, having delivered a three-song EP with Detroit artist Mister this past July, producing W.O.T.W. by andrew. alongside Height Keech, and releasing his compilation production album, I’ll Wait Forever in February. He’s not done yet, either, as he now teams up with longtime friend and Pittsburgh-based emcee Cody Cody Jones for their first full-length album as a duo, Cool Code & Don.

Chicago emcee Rich Jones and producer Montana Macks have been friends and collaborators for about twenty years, first meeting on a school bus before they both began this journey into music. Going into quarantine in March, Rich Jones was trying to finish a different album, but couldn’t get his head right to do so. As it so happened, it was at about the same time that he reconnected with Macks, who started sending him beats.