Michigan producer Apollo Brown has emerged as one of the more notable producers of this decade, whether it be as a solo artist, as a member of the group Ugly Heroes, or collaborating with the likes of Guilty Simpson, Boog Brown, Ras Kass, or Skyzoo. For his latest effort, he’s teamed up with Bay Area emcee Locksmith to release an EP called No Question. Sometimes you don’t need a release to be groundbreaking or different, you just need it to be good, and that’s exactly what Apollo Brown and Locksmith have given us with No Question.

Shubzilla is an emcee from Seattle who started releasing music in 2012. Her career really kicked into gear when she met producer Bill Beats, also from Seattle. They released their first collaboration, Dinner and a Movie, back in 2014, and then followed that up with an album called Boomers in 2015. They’ve now come back with a follow up to that album, Boomers V. 2. Shubzilla is affiliated nerdcore, but if you haven’t listened to Shubzilla before, you might be in for a little bit of a surprise.

Kiefer might be best known as part of Mndsgn.’s live band, but just last year, he released his debut solo album on Leaving Records, Kickinit Alone. Now, the UCLA-trained jazz pianist/beatmaker comes back with his sophomore effort, Happysad, this time on Stones Throw. It might seem a little obvious to say it out loud, but what helps separate Kiefer from the rest of the pack is the combination of his ability as a general hip hop producer and as a jazz pianist.

The Midnight Hour is a project that’s been a long time coming. Los Angeles producer/composer Adrian Younge has been making quite the name for himself over the course of this decade, releasing some great solo albums alongside collaborations with the likes of Ghostface Killah and Bilal. Back in 2013, he found himself working with the legendary deejay/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad of a Tribe Called Quest, and soon the skeleton of this album was formed.

Longshot is an emcee originally based in Chicago, but now lives in Minneapolis. He’s also one of these artists that has flown under the radar for a lot of people, but it you talk to someone from one of these two cities in the Midwest, they’ll probably start gushing about how good he is. Fortunately, one of those people that did know how good he is was none other than Doomtree producer Lazerbeak.

Handbook is a producer from York, England, who has been releasing music at a steady clip since the beginning of this decade, collaborating with the like of Sol Supreme and The Paramedics along the way. His latest release, an EP by the name of Reminiscence, comes courtesy of French label Cascade Records. The songs on Reminiscence were all written at a certain point in Handbook’s life when he was very happy, and it comes through in the music on this EP.

Lex the Lexicon Artist is an up and coming emcee from the Bay who has been making some big splashes in a short amount of time, including being one of Scratched Vinyl’s favorite acts of SXSW 2018. After putting in the work, playing shows, writing songs, and building a following, the time has finally com for her debut album, Raging Ego. Lex is an interesting artist for a lot of different reasons, including her background, which she gets into a little bit over the course of the album.

Jermiside is an emcee and producer from Cincinnati that’s put out a few releases on HipNott Records, and also contributed to the supergroup Lessondary. One of the many other members in Lessondary was a producer also from Cincinnati, Brickbeats. The two actually met back in 2003, and released their first collaborative project, a self-titled album, back in 2006. As long as they’ve known each other and have been working together, it’s been six years since we got a release from the duo by themselves.

Chances are that even if you’re not familiar with Dallas artist Creative Mind Frame as a solo artist, you’ve seen him hop on stage or on record with another nerdcore artist, playing saxophone or rhyming. That said, as great of a collaborator as he is, he’s also a solo artist whose last release came two years ago, when he dropped Nerdcore Emulation Station 3. Now he comes back with an EP called Standard Deviations.

Elder Orange is a producer from Vermont who first started releasing music in 2014 as part of the now defunct World Around Records. All he’s put out so far have been singles and contributions to some collaborations. Now, he’s finally ready to release his debut album, All My Friends Believe in Ghosts. There are a lot of different ways to approach a solo instrumental album, whether it be sample-based beats, or a series of collaborations, or any number of things.