soso and Maki are artists from Saskatchewan, who have both been working for about two decades, periodically coming together to work on projects, but also branching out and working on other collaborative projects and solo works as well. Their last project together, Not For Nothing, came out about seven years ago. Now things have finally lined up for these two to come back together to make a new full-length album, If and Only If.

Sleep Sinatra is an emcee from Lincoln, Nebraska that has been putting out music for about the last seven years. Just this past December, he released an album with producer August Fanon called Routes. Now he’s back with a brand new project, Sleep Gloriously. Sometimes, when you have strong sense of self of who you are as an artist, you don’t need to overthink things. By this, I mean Sleep Sinatra might be working with a different producer in Ed Glorious, but he’s not making a major change to his approach to the hip hop he likes to make.

Cadence Weapon is a Canadian hip hop artist that has been paving his own path since dropping his first album, Breaking Kayfabe, back in 2005. He recently took the time to talk us about his exciting new album, Parallel World, recording and filming under the pandemic, and what he has lined up for the near future. Scratched Vinyl: You’ve got the new album coming out, Parallel World. What was your general approach coming into this album?

Chryst is a producer from Bangor, Maine, who has been releasing music for about the last four years. We last heard from him in August of last year, when he put on the three-song collection, Lush/Chemist/Promise. Now he’s back with a new EP, slow the roll. slow the roll is a bit more fleshed out than chryst’s last project, and as a result, we can get a better sense of what he is all about as an artist.

Gianni Brezzo is not the given name of an artist, as you might assume, but the name chosen by Cologne-based producer/musician Marvin Horsch for his jazz/neo-soul project. Horsch had been recording under his given name starting in 2013, but debuted Gianni Brezzo in 2017 with the release of the album, tak€2. Most recently, the sophomore Gianni Brezzo album, The Traditional Heart, was released in July of last year. Now Gianni Brezzo makes their debut on Jakarta with an EP called The Awakening.

Cadence Weapon is an artist born and raised in Edmonton, but now based in Toronto. He broke through when he was still a teenager, releasing his first album, Breaking Kayfabe, in 2005, right as the music industry was going through some seismic shifts. In 2012, he officially entered the next phase of his career with the album Hope in Dirt City, which saw him shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. Now in his mid-30s and three years after his self-titled album, Cadence once again enters a new phase as he drops Parallel World.

Korea Town Acid is a producer who was born in South Korea but is now based in Toronto. She’s been gaining traction in the Toronto DJ and beat scenes over the past few years, releasing her first project, Mahogani Forest, back in 2018 on Cosmic Resonance. Now she makes her debut on URBNET as she takes her next step forward with her first full-length album, Metamorphosis. Korea Town Acid is best known these days as a deejay and producer, but its also informative to know that before all that she was a classically trained pianist.

Fort Wayne emcee Sankofa is an artist that is always working and searching for possible collaborators. In 2020, he dropped three projects and a couple of singles, working with producers like Chef Mike, wingclipper, El Keter Ben Tzadik, phd beats, and Franz Branntwein. Now that 2021 is in full swing, it should come as no surprise that he’s right back another new album, The Most Delicious Gold. Sankofa might not always work with producers whose names you know, but once you hear the beats they are cooking up, you’ll definitely want to get to know them more.

J.Lately is a Bay Area emcee who has been going strong over the last six or seven years, touring, releasing solo music, and recording with Deuce Eclipse. We last heard from him in August of last year, when he released Campfire EP. Now he’s back with a full-length album, Winnebago. With the majority of the album produced by long time collaborator Space Cadet, along with a couple of tracks from Trey C, you can rest assured that you’re getting song after song full of warm, full bass and laid back West Coast R&B/hip hop.

Cloudchord is an Austin-based guitarist/producer who has been making music for years. He first came on our radar when he collaborated with Chicago emcee ProbCause on an EP, Moonflower, which came out last October. Now he’s teamed up with Portland producer Oatmello to release a new EP, Birds. There’s no secret formula to what makes this EP work – just beautiful, chill beats and gorgeous, subtle jazz guitar. I’m not familiar enough with the nuances of either artists’ production techniques to parse out who contributed what, other than knowing that Cloudchord has the tasty guitar licks.