The moment the jaunty guitar kicks in on John Smyths’ new single, "Now I'm Wiser", you feel a familiar, comfortable warmth. It’s the sound of a good chair in a bar where the floor is sticky with spilled truths. And then the story starts, a classic yarn of a hard-living past yielding to a peaceful present. Smyths, a Dutch ex-metalhead singing country out of...

The gloves are officially off in the Ga rap community. Fast-rising hip-hop artist Keddi has delivered a direct and uncompromising message to his peers with the release of a bristling teaser for his new track, “Shele,” a potent Ga slang term for “challenge.” The strictly hip-hop record serves as Keddi’s opening gambit, a daring verbal gauntlet thrown at any rapper who claims the top spot....