OKnice is an emcee originally from Oklahoma, but now based in St. Paul, who has been releasing music for about the last four years. He’s released a couple of recent singles, but his last project, an EP done with producer Hex, Social Distance, came in April of 2020. Now he’s ready to release his newest full-length album, Have You Tried Being Happy? As you might have guessed from the title of this album, this is a hip hop project from OKnice centered around mental health, growth, and identity.

Amir Bresler is a drummer from Tel Aviv Yafo, Israel, who has been playing as a session musician for years, best known stateside for his work with Rejoicer, Omar Klein Trio, Steve Arrington, and for being part of the group Apifera. In November 2020, while under lockdown, Bresler had an itch to create, so he took a friend up on an invitation to a small village outside of Tel Aviv where he was able to set up shop in an auditorium known as “The House of Arches.

Brycon is a Bay Area producer who is already having a very busy 2022. In January, he released a full-length album with Equipto, Can’t Stay Perched All The Time. In February, he came right back with a full-length album with Professa Gabel, Corner Booth. Not wasting any time, he’s now back in March with a collaborative beat tape with Gahn, Gradskool. Of the projects Brycon has released this year, Gradskool might be his most straightforward of the three.

Ego Ella May is a neo-soul artist from South London who has been releasing music for nearly ten years, but she has really been on a roll in the last couple of years. She released her debut full-length album, So Far, on Tru Thoughts in 2019, and she followed that up with Honey For Wounds in 2020. In October of last year, she gave us an EP called FIELDNOTES. Now she is back with a companion EP, FIELDNOTES PT II.

The Phasing Octopus is a producer from Birmingham who has only been releasing music for a couple of years, but in that time, he’s proven himself to be one of the most prolific and inventive in his city. His most recent album, A Long Night, came out in January of this year. Now he’s back with a new EP, positive void coefficient…plus. As you might surmise from looking at the track listing of this EP, this release was the result of The Phasing Octopus having one single, “positive void coefficient,” which he liked, but he hadn’t found a home for it yet.

Scottie Spitten is an emcee from Houston who made a splash in 2019 when he dropped his debut solo album, S.C.O.T.T.I.E. Since that time, he’s remained relatively quiet. That is, until now, as he comes back with a different sort of project, P-800. If you are the type of person who stays up late watching ‘80s action movies on cable, then does Scottie Spitten have the project for you. That’s because if you look at the tracklisting for P-800, the clues might start to come together.

Stik Figa is an emcee originally from Topeka, but now based in Fort Worth. He kept busy in 2021, with a few EPs and singles before dropping his excellent East of MacVicar Ave album in September. Now he’s come right back with it, this time teaming up with Dallas producer August Fanon to release another full-length album, Heresy. For this album, Stik Figa and August Fanon are looking at the word “heresy” not just from the traditional religious context we often encounter the word, but also “as opinion profoundly at odds with what is generally accepted.

Eamon is an artist originally from New York who signed with Jive Records and had a hit when he dropped “Fuck It (I Don’t Want You Back)” in 2004. After that initial success, Eamon found his career stuck in limbo for quite some time, having projects get shelved or not properly promoted, forcing him to seek out collaborations here and there just to get something out into the ether. One of those collaborations led to him finally breaking out in 2017, when he teamed up with Stoupe of Jedi Mind Tricks to release his third album, Golden Rail Motel.

Ivan Ave is an artist from Norway who initially made a splash back in 2014 when he signed with Jakarta Records and released an EP called Low Jams, produced by mndsgn. After a great run on Jakarta, he left for Mutual Intentions in 2020 and released the full-length album Double Goodbyes. Now he’s back with a new project, Mid-Season EP. For Mid-Season, Ave pushes himself further in the direction he began to go on Double Goodbyes.

KAINA is an artist from Chicago, a first generation Venezuelan/Guatemalan American who released her debut album, Next to the Sun, on SOOPER Records in 2019. Now she returns to take another big step by releasing her sophomore album, this time on City Slang, It Was a Home. Sometimes sophomore albums can be tricky. At times, it can feel like you just told your whole life story on the first album and you have nothing left to say.