Magna Carda is a group from Austin who got started over ten years ago, with core members Megz Kelli on the mic and Dougie Do on the keyboards and beats. In summer of 2021, they gave us their last full-length album, To the Good People. Now they are back with a different type of project, Little Trumpet: The Soundtrack. Little Trumpet is a short film written and directed by Megan Trufant Tillman, who you might know better as Megz Kelli from Magna Carda.

Ivan Ave is an artist from Norway who had a breakthrough in the mid-2010s when he signed with Jakarta Records and released a couple of projects with collaborator Fredfades and then a couple more with mndsgn. In 2020, he made the move to Mutual Intentions with the album Double Goodbyes, which also saw him incorporating a lot more ‘80s R&B and smooth jazz-rock into his sound. That then led fans to wonder where Ivan Ave would go from there.

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. He debuted on Jakarta in 2021 with the release of The Awakening. Most recently, we got an EP called Amoria released this past November.

AJ Suede is an artist from Seattle who first started putting out music in the mid-2010s. He has really hit his stride lately, and he’s coming off a particularly prolific 2022, which saw the release of an album with Small Professor, Hundred Year Darkness, a self-produced album called Oil on Canvas, and an album with Televangel, Metatron’s Cube. He’s already released a short project in January called Indica Music, but now he’s back with Televangel to release another album on Fake Four, Parthian Shots.

junclassic is an artist from Queens who has been part of the hip hop scene for a minute, but really started his solo career in earnest about fifteen years ago with the release of 2 Much Ain’t Enuff. Since that time, he’s been working at a steady pace, collaborating with people like MF Grimm, billy woods, Mr. Troy, Wun Two, and Pen Pals along the way. His last album, Long Days and Short Lives, was released in November of last year.

MC Longshot is an artist who originally came up in the Chicago scene, but he’s been based in Minneapolis for quite some time now. His most recent album came out just about a year ago, when he worked with producer Cell Uno to deliver The Healing. Now he is back with thirteenth full-length album, Chocolate. To make Chocolate, Longshot is working with Canadian producer Jay Bee. Jay Bee is a little enigmatic, with not too many releases to his name, or any sort of biographical information available, but his credits do include a track with Mega Ran.

Mister T is a producer from Kavala, Greece who has been releasing music for over a decade now. In that time period, he’s worked with artists like Jean Honeymoon and Mr. Echo. His last solo album came in 2021, when he dropped Soul Shower. Now he’s back with a new full-length album, Synchronized Roots. If you’ve spent time with Mister T’s previous projects, you might have a decent idea of what to expect from Synchronized Roots, in that he’s still digging in the crates and finding some creative ways to flip samples and give us some funky beats.

Yazmin Lacey is an artist from Nottingham, UK. She started releasing music in 2017, when she dropped her first EP, Black Moon. Since that time, there have been a few more EPs, with the latest, Two Takes EP, done in collaboration with Congi, coming in December of 2020. Now she is finally ready to take that next step in her career as she releases her debut album, Voice Notes. To craft the sound of Voice Notes, Yazmin Lacey is working with producers like Craigie Dodds, JD.

Hellsent is an emcee from Chicago who has been releasing music since the mid-2000s. In 2014, he teamed up with Berlin-via-Jacksonville producer Batsauce to make the album Bat Outta Hell. In 2018, the came back together for round two when they dropped Illegal Tender. Now they are finally back for round three as they drop their latest album together, JIMI FLOSS. Sometimes you just need an album to meet expectations. In the case of JIMI FLOSS, that’s perfect, because the first two rounds were so good, you just want more of the same, with maybe a little variety to spice things up of course.

Kendra Morris is an artist based in New York City. After some initial success with the release of her first two albums, Banshee and Mockingbird, released in the early 2010s, Morris found herself in a bit of career purgatory for the next few years. There were good things, such as her collaborations with Czarface, and some key syncs on shows like Ray Donovan, but she lacked label support and had trouble getting her own projects off the ground.