DJ AB’s “YNS Cypher 2025” has swaggered into existence. Not a gentle arrival, mind you, but more the auditory equivalent of a conquering legion setting up a very loud, very confident camp. This isn't background hum for a Tuesday afternoon; it’s a full-colour, high-decibel assertion from the Northern Nigerian hip-hop vanguard, a yearly planting of the YNS flag. DJ AB, the central current, is...

Lockdown Co., that dynamic London trio, has dropped "Frontier," an EP that feels like a sonic geology lesson. Leah Bell-Miller’s vocals add a new dimension to the already established foundation constructed by Lloyd Meeks on guitars and production and Doug Rimington battering the drums and bass. But instead of predictable sedimentary layers, we're talking volcanic upheavals and metamorphic shifts. https://open.spotify.com/album/2PkzXrktseJE4dHCLjkXI1?si=3emt8Cf-Q3a78OFWuxwuUw This EP, a cocktail of hard...