ALL NEWS

In a new YouKnowIGotSoul interview, Cedric Brazle connects family memories, artist development and independent ambition to the world of Cologne, Vol. 1.

Bertell’s new SHEEN interview explores creative control, live musicianship and the long-term work of building an independent R&B career.

The D.C. MC discusses instrumental instincts, underground stages and renewed attention for a record from her early catalog.

Karabo Mogane discusses how family life and an independent career have shaped his writing, with “Only 4 U” offering a current listening point.

Blu and producer Sndtrak are preparing a new collaborative album rooted in Los Angeles. The pair released “LA” Tuesday as the title track from an album scheduled for September 4. HotNewHipHop included the record among its highlighted new songs for July 28. For Blu, Los Angeles has never functioned only as a location. The city appears throughout his work as memory, neighborhood, artistic community and source of contradiction. Its sunshine and creative opportunity exist beside

SoundCloud has acquired the remaining assets of Nina Protocol, bringing the independent music platform’s archive and artist community into a much larger creator ecosystem. Nina Protocol was built as an alternative to conventional streaming. The blockchain-based platform allowed independent artists to distribute and sell music directly to listeners while retaining ownership and revenue from their work. It announced plans to close earlier this year before SoundCloud stepped in.