It’s no secret that the zeitgeist of hip-hop these days leans toward music that’s fun, if nothing else – typically to the chagrin of old heads and “real rap” fans everywhere. There’s almost an implied choice we’re supposedly obligated to make: listen to rap that bangs, or listen to rap with substance.

With his hallucinogenic new video for “Fear”, Orrin is bridging that gap. Aesthetically, it feels like a hard-hitting banger in the realm of SoundCloud rap, but the obvious intentionality behind the melodies, lyrics, and visuals here adds a great sense of originality and artistry to the track. His Warren Wolfe-produced single, “Fear,” is an abstract invitation into Orrin’s insecurities and imagination, as much as it is an opportunity to nod your head and bounce in your seat. Watch the Laneya Billingsley-edited video below.

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Inside and out and in again!

Love yourself in music and we will save the world! Thanks to Mattis and his velvety and catchy “Redemption” song. RABBII, the Swedish revolt-pop duo makes clear what slumbers in the night, when you are “Afraid Of The Dark“. Amanda Tenfjord makes more than just a good “First Impression” with her infectious track!

Inspired by loneliness and silence, Georgi Kay is like a “Lone Wolf” of the 80s.

Warren Wolfe, the experimental and queer rising artist puts us under his “Acid Reign (Part 2)”. A mesmerizing trip into the atmospheric mind and the intimate heart.

Get revitalized by “This Way,” the psyche-pop tune of Water Slice.

Freshly added on our radar and already a heartfelt favorite: meet Highlands Height’s singer Berma and his James Blake-ish “MIMIC,” a subconscious sound that takes us deep and very far away. Let us all be there. When we want glowing and soulful pop, we listen to RXC: with her newest single “GOLD,” she grabs us all and encrusts her sound into our minds.

If you want to drink a bit more until you get tipsy, you should check him on Facebook and Soundcloud, and follow his regular posts on our site.

Subscribe to Deer Du Bois refreshing playlist on Spotify now!

Recently, we introduced you to the work of Orrin who was questionning the concept of masculinity in hip-hop with his track “Switch“. The artist has just unveiled a brand new video for the Warren Wolfe-produced single “System Control”. It was secretly shot in an iconic museum and besides some comical situations, like this photobombed apparence at the entrance of the cultural institution, the video is actually a way to protest against their recent change in pricing policy. From now, people can’t freely access the museum anymore and will have to prove their identity. As a consequence, undocumented persons won’t be able to enter anymore. Drawing a bit of a parallel with the historic past of racial exclusion from the arts and culture in the US, the artist addresses here something much deeper than it first looks. Culture, arts and education, are efficient integration tools so how to approve these new rules? Based on a local story, Orrin raises an essential issue with a universal scope.

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In his latest video “Switch”, the up and coming artist Orrin knows how to use irony. Of course, the artist is not rich like some of his male rapper fellas, but he is still playing with the bling-bling imagery of hip-hop. Can you pay yourself a real mansion? Then why not using a Barbie’s castle instead? Orrin also plays here with the acceptable attitude that a ‘casual male rapper’ should have in order to tackle the toxic and one-way representation of masculinity in hip-hop. It is actually quite funny to check the Youtube comments on his video as people are not used to seeing these codes being called into question.

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As the artist detailed on Office Magazine, where the video was premiered:

[su_quote]The track is about people changing on me, and instead of confrontation, I put those emotions into a track where I can tell my side of the story… “Switch” is braggadocious, and while I do not have loads of money, it was cool to act like a baller for a second and flex in a Porsche.[/su_quote]

Follow Orrin over Twitter and Instagram.

With this cold and rainy weather, there is nothing better than music to warm us up! Hopefully, Deer Du Bois’ new playlist is here!

Written during a vacation under the L.A. sun, the new Benji Lewis song is a duo love-ballad on unreachable love in “Never Mine”. London-based artist Arlo deals with people breaking their promises in “Safe”.

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On “Forget Forgive”, we feel the nightly vibes of Someone, while she wrote this very personal song during one night in Amsterdam. Like a moonlit chant, deep in the woods, NY band Loma brings us the hypnotizing “Black Willow”.

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With young and emerging alt-pop star Noah De Leon, we discover the difficulties of connecting to the people closest to you, when you are struggling with your own identity on “Big Blue Eyes”. Berlin-based artist Fil Bo Riva is a bold artist with playful songwriting in his new single “Head Sonata (Love Control)”.

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London-over-Gothenburg singer Francis Novotny amazes us with his newest track “Broken Arrow”, an empowering song mixing his angelic voice with warm Eastern rhythms. On “New Supplier”, Airplane Man are looking for a remedy to cure their heartbreak and finally find the light.

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And with the Chicago songstress and mistress of pop Fee Lion, we go up into electric air on her buzzing and haunting track “On Me”!

If you want to drink a bit more until you get tipsy, you should check him on Facebook and Soundcloud, and follow his regular posts on our site.

Subscribe to Deer Du Bois refreshing playlist on Spotify now!

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