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...

Listening to Highroad No. 28 navigate the emotional geometry of "Likethelast" feels a bit like watching a bruised prizefighter suddenly break into a joyful, intricate tap dance. It is disarming, slightly confusing, and entirely magnetic. Andrew JC, the sole architect behind this sonic landscape, has constructed something that defies the dusty expectations one might hold for an outfit born in the late 90s alternative...