Aundrey shot in black & white, seated while sitting on a set of mobile stairs. 

With Inland Empire native rapper/producer AUNDREY GUILLAUME., introspective and emotionally intense music comes straight from the heart. The youngest of nine children, AUNDREY fell in love with music early when his father put him on the drums at Church, where he would perform with his other siblings. These church performances steeled AUNDREY against criticism and turned him into a perfectionist early on.In the process of his growth, AUNDREY always notes his gratitude during short-lived time in a group called Knowname, which he formed with some friends after graduating high school in 2015, and one of his late older brothers who taught him essential skills both in life and in music. 

. Now, we see the young rapper ripping off bandages from old wounds and laying it all out there.

dungeon.

zip.

cold summer. a playlist by AUNDREY GUILLAUME.

AUNDREY GUILLAUME.

Shelley wearing large pale pink glasses, standing in front of a blurry blue and beige background.

After the release of his critically-acclaimed debut album, 

., multiple GRAMMY nominee Shelley FKA DRAM has spent the past few years not only working on new music, but most importantly working on himself. Ever since he was introduced to the world with his songs, "Cha Cha," and "Broccoli," the multi-platinum singer's career has taken him on a journey enabling him to meet people like Rick Rubin, Snoop Dogg, Beyoncé and Erykah Badu. He's traveled the globe, toured with Kendrick Lamar and performed at Coachella. After getting wrapped up in the fast life with no breaks, he took some time to focus on improving his health, voice and personal growth. Now it's time for everyone to meet him: Shelley.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Shelley fka DRAM

A "…true testament to the true power of hip-hop", Wahid has made an impression on the genre and purveyors of the culture. Member of musical groups Cap 6 and, more recently, seeyousoon, the Bronx born/Orlando native has earned respect by many for his talent and has garnered levels of acclaim from listeners and peers alike. As co-owner of the label/multimedia company 1349 Enterprises, Wahid exemplifies what it means to be an artist who takes control of his own career.

Wahid

Portrait of Sol Galeano on a grey background

Sol Galeano is an interdisciplinary visual artist and musician from New Orleans, LA. Utilizing multiple forms of media, and unattached to genre, Galeano seeks to create fully-embodied, self-sustaining worlds through art.

Sol Galeano

aja monet wearing a traditional African beaded headpiece, along with a rich, red velvet dress with heavy embroidery across the front.

aja monet could have easily titled her debut album “when the poets do what they do,” because she understands poems not as words but as life-force. Poems issue from breath, body, memory, experience, imagination, spirits, and the faint whispers of ancestors. This is what makes the poem so powerful and dangerous, like violets pushing through concrete to kiss the sun, or unarmed people, arms locked, chanting and singing, forcing armies to retreat.

aja monet is that unstoppable violet beckoned by sun. She is the prophet of a people united. She is Jamaica. Cuba. Brooklyn. A daughter and sister, teacher and healer. A warrior who wields words like a bouquet of hand grenades, a soothing salve, silk sheets, and an offering to Yemaya—often in the same breath. -- Robin D. G. Kelley

Joined by musicians Christian Scott (trumpet), Marcus Gilmore and more, 

 out now via drink sum wtr - is insistent and unrelenting. Songs are reminiscent of jazz club virtuosity and melee, others of a healing balm in gilead. When you reach the end, you’re left with the feeling you get when heartbroken; gravity barreling back down to earth, sopping wet with tears, out of breath, overcome with love, despair, and all too aware that this is over far too soon. When the poems do what they do, they do absolutely everything.

give my regards to Brooklyn 

the devil you know

castaway

for sonia

when the poems do what they do

aja monet

NYC-based artist deem spencer looking directly at the camera while wearing a watch and hat

As deem spencer gets into the flow of his purpose, that is being a provider, he’s cautioned by overarching worries of impending doom. The 27-year-old emcee has heard that in the next lifetime, New York City could be underwater – but even in these current tides of chaos, the native reflects and retraces his upbringing while wading towards a hopeful future. 

Hailing from the gritty section of South Jamaica, Queens, deem’s mellow rhymes have made him an outlier in New York’s rap sphere. In 2017, deem made his debut on the cathartic EP, 

, where he faced an impactful familial loss and reconciled with his own morality. Two years later, he resurfaced with his tranquil debut LP, 

, grappling with self-realization in the midst of heartbreak. And then followed up in 2021 with his sophomore effort, appropriately titled 

, which brought the rapper’s minimalist approach full-circle, with thoughtful arrangements and seamless wordplay.

Introspective in nature, deem’s abstract quality is both intrinsic and groundbreaking in the contemporary New York hip-hop landscape. Five years into his journey, deem has elevated his craft while remaining grounded in the likelihood of being on to greater heights.

To have it all

adultSW!M

deem spencer

heath240 with a female arm across his chest 

Heath240 is a film school dropout turned musician. Studying film for his first year of college, Heath fell out of love with the craft. As he took time to understand himself he fell in love with creating music, and artists like Kanye, Childish Gambino, Pharell, and Tyler the Creator really inspired him to create music that pushes the edge. 

Taking a keen interest in the visual aspect of his music, he’s made it a point for all of them to look like movies instead of the typical music video.

trippin'

Heath240

Kari Faux seated in a hat with garters and white shoes on, looking directly at the camera

With nods to Outkast and UGK – particularly the 2003 classic Speakerboxx/The Love Below – the vibe of REAL B*TCHES DON’T DIE! and the heart of Kari Faux’s latest effort is authentically Southern, without ever sacrificing the unique flow that she’s become so known for. Across the LP, Kari has enlisted the likes of Big K.R.I.T, Devin The Dude, Jazz Cartier, Gangsta Boo, Phoelix and more to further this Southern psychedelic world that she is excitedly at the helm of.

The album follows a period of loss and growth. and it’s as much a celebration of life as it is her declaration of independence. On 

, Kari Faux reminds listeners of an undeniable truth: the South got something to say.

ME FIRST

TURNIN' HEADS (feat. Big K.R.I.T)

MAKE A WISH

REAL B*TCHES DON'T DIE! 

KARI FAUX

Kayla Steen looking directly into the camera 

"PUSSY"  from Kayla Steen is inspired by self-fulfillment, indulgence, sexual freedom, bad dates, whack hookups, and the beauty and joy of uncomplicated masturbation. Kayla muses with confidence, tease, charm, and just a touch of laughter as she paints a picture of being most content on her own or with friends over the company of a man.


After years of underwhelming dates and dealings, Kayla and her co-writer Oliver Opus concluded that self-love is the best kind in some instances, hence the song's hook, "I do it better than you."

PUSSY

Kayla Steen

Seafood Sam in a white tank and blue jeans with his hands across his chest looking directly at camera

With his effortless cool and timeless style, the north Long Beach native Seafood Sam defies convention and exact comparison. A blaxploitation icon for the Instagram age, Seafood Sam is a true hero of modernity.


After releasing a steady stream of projects to feed the fans over the years, Seafood Sam introduced listeners to the next steps in his evolution as an artist and man with his Afro’s In The Wind EP. 


“Afros in the Wind is coming after I had my son," Sam explains. “So I'm a little more conscious of what I'm talking about, trying to leave easter egg clues in there for him to catch when he’s older.” Alongside his usual bravado, Sam imparts gems of wisdom and invokes ancestors in song titles on the EP. 

Afros In The Wind

Seafood Sam

Gareth smiles at camera in a black shirt with pink flowers and a slight light flare to the left

“They say home is where the heart is,” explains Gareth Donkin, “and this album is where my heart has been for the last four years. I’ve lived in six different places in two different countries during that time, but through it all, I always kept coming back to these songs.”

It should come as little surprise, then, that Donkin has named his extraordinary debut Welcome Home. Written and recorded in a series of bedroom studios in England and France, the album showcases the London-based 23-year-old’s stunning mix of instrumental virtuosity and emotional intuition, blending highly sophisticated melodic and harmonic craftsmanship with deeply moving lyrical explorations of longing, desire, and determination. The songs here draw on soul, funk, pop, yacht rock, hip-hop, jazz, and even bossa nova, hinting at times to everything from Michael Jackson and Bill Evans to George Benson and Jamiroquai, and Donkin’s performances are nothing short of mesmerizing, layering up instrument after instrument in the best one-man-band tradition of Prince or Stevie Wonder. The result is a moving work that’s equal parts brain and brawn, a masterful coming-of-age self-portrait from a young artist discovering himself—and his sound—one song at a time.


GEEK OUT!

Whenever

Something Different

Welcome Home

Gareth Donkin

Ocean in Sommaroy

drink sum wtr

drink sum wtr is the vision of Nigil Mack, who in his young career at Unruly Records in Baltimore, then moved to NYC and worked in A&R at Motown Records, and Republic Records. Nigil has carved out a lane finding art-forward commercial acts. Always existing in the Hip-Hop alternative space, Nigil’s first major signing was Kid Cudi, and worked on his multi-platinum albums, 

. As a manager, Nigil partnered with Tunde Balogun from LVRN on management with Shelley FKA DRAM and helped lead DRAM to success with single “Broccoli” 8x platinum and the gold album 

drink sum wtr is a true culture label, focusing on championing distinctive, art-forward voices. drink sum wtr aims to bring forth unique voices in Hip-Hop, R&B, and adjacent sounds, focusing on artist development, and swimming against the current in an algorithm-saturated music landscape.