Eric Mayson - Ōp-Nope

Eric Mayson is a name that you might not know, but if you’ve spent any time with the Minneapolis music scene over the past decade, you’ve probably heard him collaborating on keyboards and/or vocals with someone, such as Caroline Smith, Aby Wolf, Big Cats, or his hip hop band, Crunchy Kids, just to name a few. Back in 2015, he released his first solo album, Details, a sprawling epic piece of music that brought together all sorts of different musical worlds.

Mathematik - ReAL/iS-HiM

Mathematik is an emcee and producer from Toronto who made a splash back in 2005, when he released the album No Division. Since that time, he’s remained relatively quiet, with only a couple of singles here and there. Now he finally steps back into the spotlight with his official follow up album, ReAL/iS-HiM. While there isn’t an extensive catalogue to fill in the fourteen year gap between albums, ReAL/iS-HiM does sound like the work of a veteran who has been doing this for years, and who knows exactly what they are about.

Myka 9 & Adriatic - In Motion

Myka 9 is, of course, one of the true legends of the underground, having been part of the Good Life and Project Blowed, contributing to groups like Freestyle Fellowship and Haiku D’etat, and having a very long solo career as well. Even this deep into his career, he shows no signs of slowing down, having just this year already released collaborative albums with AbnormaL Injustice and Slippers. Now he delivers his third release of the year by teaming up with Minneapolis producer Adriatic to drop In Motion.

Little Simz - Grey Area

Little Simz is an emcee from London who made a splash in 2015 and 2016 when she released her first two albums, A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons and Stillness in Wonderland. Now, after touring and guesting on a few albums, she comes back with her third full-length album, Grey Area. There’s something to be said for reaching the third album in your career, and the growth that comes with it.

Sarah Violette - Pay No Mind

Sarah Violette, fka Essence, is an emcee from Portland, Maine, who has been carving out her own path since the beginning of the decade. The last time we heard from her was just about a year ago, when she dropped her Anxious Love EP. Now she comes back with a different look on another EP, Pay No Mind. It’s always interesting to see an established artist step out and try something new after they’ve established a certain style, which is exactly what Sarah Violette is doing on this EP.

Substantial - Recompositions

Substantial is an emcee and producer from the D.C./Virginia area who has been making and releasing music for the better part of the last two decades. He last released an instrumental project by the name of The Garden a little less than a year ago. He now returns with a new EP, Recompositions. With a title like Recompositions, you might expect something like a remix project, and you would be half right.

Elaquent - Blessing in Disguise

Elaquent is a producer originally from Guelph, Ontario who has been making music for quite some time now. Over the years, he’s worked with notable labels such as URBNET and HW&W, just to name a couple. His last release came last year, when he contributed to Fat Beats’ instrumental series, Baker’s Dozen. Now he makes his Mello Music debut, as he drops Blessing in Disguise. One of the things that has set Elaquent apart over the years is just what a complete musician he is.

Clear Soul Forces - Still

Clear Soul Forces is the Detroit group consisting of Ilajide, E-Fav, Noveliss, and L.A.Z. The quartet came together ten years ago, and since then have released a string of mixtapes, EPs, and albums. However, it’s been four years since their last album, as they’ve been working on different solo projects and exploring different opportunities. They’ve come back now to release their strongest effort to date, Still. Their last album was called Fab Five, which referenced that these four emcees were working with producer NAMELESS on the project.

Benny Sings - City Pop

Benny Sings is a Dutch artist who has been releasing albums for over fifteen years. After releasing a handful of albums on Dox Records and working with artists like Goldlink and Mayer Hawthorne, he seeks to cross over to an American audience as he makes his debut on Stones Throw with City Pop. If you’re not familiar with Benny Sings, his style of music is a soul-flavored pop, with a touch of indie rock for balance.

K.Raydio & Shrimpnose - ...And the World Weeps

Minneapolis vocalist K.Raydio had been going strong a few years ago, with excellent albums made in collaboration with producers Psymun and O-D. She recently broke a period of silence with a series of self-produced demo collections she’s calling the “Sync” series, but right now is the time to debut the project she’s been working on over the past couple of years. She teamed up with producer Shrimpnose, and after a couple of years of hard work, they now present …And The World Weeps.