McKinley Dixon is an artist who grew up between the DMV and Jamaica, Queens, but it was while he was going to college in Richmond, Virginia, when he launched his music career in 2013 with the release of an EP called Nappy Headed. With each subsequent release, Dixon has gotten more musically ambitious while also growing in comfort in tackling both personal and big picture issues through his music. His most recent album came in 2021, when he gave us For My Mama And Anyone Who Look Like Her.

Dillon is an artist originally from Jacksonville, but now based in Atlanta, and he is one of the co-founders of Full Plate Records. His last project came just a little over a year ago, when he dropped an instrumental album, Gardenstrumentals 2. Now he is back with a full-length album done in collaboration with producer Diamond D, Uncut Gems. Dillon first teamed up with D.I.T.C. member Diamond D back in 2017, when they released an EP called Black Tie Affair.

Es-K is a producer originally from Kansas City, but now based in Burlington, Vermont. He has been releasing music for about the last ten years, and in that time he’s worked with labels like Cold Busted, Millennium Jazz Music, and Inner Ocean. Just earlier this month, he dropped an EP called Always Something. Now he has teamed up with Norwegian producer Type.Raw from loop.holes to drop an album called Raw Essentials.

Memphis Reigns is a Bay Area emcee who is more than twenty years into his career, and still going strong as ever, with a bunch of collaborative projects over the last few years, including ones with Sankofa, Kid Forever, and CM. Most recently, he teamed up with D-Mitch to drop Kasan. Now he’s back with a new project with The L and Remshot, The Last Piece. Remshot is an up-and-coming producer from San Diego who started working with Memphis Reigns a couple of years ago, and then dropped Tokyo Time Machine with him and Shamon Cassette last year.

Silky Steps is a band from Estonia, originally formed in 2014. They released their first LP, The One, in 2017, and they’ve been growing in reputation since that time as more and more people discover their taste for funk and disco. Now they’ve signed to Funk Embassy Records to deliver their second LP, Universal Language. Silky Steps is a five piece band, consisting of Ivo Leesar on guitar, keys, and vocals, Lisann Aljaste on keys and vocals, Karl Birnbaum on bass, Siim Siimer on guitar, and Mattis Kirsipuu on drums.

Geoff Harkness is associate professor at Rhode Island College, and the author of the 2014 book Chicago Hustle and Flow: Gangs, Gangsta Rap and Social Class. As it turns out, back in the late ‘90s, while working as a music journalist in Lawrence, Kansas, he came across a group of four emcees from Topeka called DVS Mindz, and he not only documented them in his writing, but also filmed some music videos and a documentary about the group.

Kassa Overall is a drummer/producer from Seattle who has had a long career in New York, mostly behind the scenes as a drummer who worked with jazz musicians like Christian McBride, Ravi Coltrane, Jon Bastite, and Geri Allen. However, with the passing of Roy Hargrove in 2018, Kassa felt the need to step out and work on solo material, resulting in his first album in 2019, Go Get Ice Cream and Listen to Jazz.

Kari Faux is an artist from Little Rock who has been releasing music for about ten years now. While she had some tastes of success here and there, it was really her 2021 album, Lowkey Superstar Deluxe, that saw her finally break through and get the attention that she deserved. Now she’s back to follow that up with a new full-length, Real Bitches Don’t Die! One of the main themes of Real Bitches Don’t Die!

In today’s vinyl market, some re-issues might seem a little unnecessary. However, when it comes to actual reissue labels that are doing the work to find overlooked gems, they are just as vital as ever to making sure that these works of art can find their audience and get the appreciation they deserve. One such label is Now-Again, who have given us a gem of a re-issue of a re-issue, East of Underground.

Goodge is an artist from High Wycombe, UK. He has been releasing music for a few years now, making his first big breakthrough in December 2020, when he released his LP, Journeys of Jazz, on Cascade Records. Now he has joined up with Cold Busted to release his new album, Echoes of Yesterday. Every once in a while, you press play on a new album, and you can just tell from the opening bars that you’ll be in good hands.