Each week, dozens of singles and a handful of projects are released in the Christian Hip-Hop (CHH) and Urban Soul spaces. Below, we listen to a few highlights and list the rest for your own discovery. As always, follow our New Christian Rap & Hip Hop playlist on Spotify and Apple Music to listen to all the latest.
Jay Sanon - "GOOD + GREAT" North Miami's independent rapper, Jay Sanon, released his fourth single of 2023. Sanon asked a question, "What do you do when life seems difficult? Well, you give thanks." Regardless of the situation or the magnitude of a particular struggle, God is good. God is great. As long as we have breath in our lungs and our heart is beating, it's a great day. A powerful message was conveyed during Sanon's latest single. Besides the dope meaning behind the content, the track displays some of Sanon's hardest bars and delivery to date. The "cherry on the top" is the ear candy found within the overall production, especially the inclusion of woodwinds and keys. Overall, definitely been one of my favorites from Sanon since his debut in 2017. Stream "Good + GREAT" on Spotify and Apple Music.
Childlike CiCi feat. Toyalove and Mike Teezy - "DUHHH" North Carolina resident and rookie female emcee has exploded onto the CHH scene over the course of the last year. In the past seven months of 2023 alone, she's released 13 singles, dropped an EP, and was recently featured on the Reach Records Summer '23 Playlist ("Stay Low" featuring Reece Lache' and Toyalove). As most of the artists are rooted in CHH, her goal is to reach as many souls as feasible with a "Kingdom over Kulture" mentality. CiCi has teamed up with both Toyalove and Teezy on a handful of separate occasions over the course of the past year, as their chemistry works brilliantly.
The beat remains consistent and similar to the current CHH space, however, the individual contributions of each artist stand out with good reason. The wordplay drenched in similes, metaphors, and pop culture fire off like rounds from an automatic. Spitfire delivery, dense, yet refreshing. Even with the constant flow of releases from CiCi, this track stands out as a favorite to me. Stream "DUHHH" on Spotify and Apple Music.
JusJames feat. Mission, R-Swift, and DJ Navin Johnson - "Whirlwind" Sacramento (CA) rapper JusJames joins two heavyweights in the CHH space, AOYNOM's Mission and GLDN ERA's R-Swift. The single's content is based on scripture, Philippians 3:12-14. The emcees speak to not allowing one's self to get caught up in the whirlwind of pressure related to remaining relevant, consistent, and present in the lives of those we love the most.
The track contains quality, gritty lyricism, a witty sample, hard-smacking kicks aside 808's, and classic west coast-driven synthesizer sounds. Also, DJ Navin Johnson adds timely record scratches handcrafting a classic hip-hop record. A "Chopped and Screwed" version is available too. Stream "Whirlwind" on Spotify and Apple Music.
Maverick City Music x Chandler Moore x Forrest Frank – “No Longer Bound” (I Am Free Remix)”
Lecrae – “Extra” (RR Summer ’23)
dkg.kie x Lecrae – “Back Home” (RR Summer ’23)
Jaye Newton x RENZO x Jay Boskie Beatz – “Blessings” (RR Summer ’23)
S.O. - "It's Alright"
Jaylon Ashaun – “Better As Friends (Acoustic)”
L. Dejuan feat. Mission – “PENNY”
THRE feat. Jeremiah Bligen - "Like It or Love It"
MvkeyyJ feat. Carolena– “Last Summer”
Sarah Juers - "Vacancy"
Arik Nelson – “Grow”
GH Pancho x WHATUPRG - "Big Holy"
Tylynn - "Just Be Us"
Jekasole – “Redirection”
GB x Bill B. x Mic Wise – “Let’s Be Honest”
Aaron Dews x Glenn Ray – “ESCAPE GAME”
Cortes – “Mean Something”
Solachi Voz feat. King Dame - "Fire"
Corey Wise feat. Genuine - "RIOT"
Chris Elijah - "Brutally Honest"
Spoken Worth – “Blood”
Sam Purpose – “Good”
Byron Rhodes - "My Turn"
Alano Adan - "Victory Lap"
Fellowship Creative x DOE – “HELP!!!”
HYLEM – “Wind on the Bay”
John Michael Howell – “GBA”
Taylor Armstrong – “Call Me Home”
SiahThyLegend x JUDO SAMMY x Dante Raddd x simplyollie. – “Righteous”
Destiny Marko x Angie Rose x Ada Betsabe - "LA LA LA"
24LDZ feat. LilMizzy – “Defender”
Reblah feat. Rehmahz – “Fire on the Mountain”
Spillz Ochai x Shirlvin Desir x Renzo Ba – “Your Name”
Danon Rowe - "No Matter What"
O2solus – “image”
G.E.S. – “Run”
gio. – serotonin”
Paul the Messenger – “Good Times”
Shadre feat. DEON - "Dreamer"
Lessardo feat. SiahThyLegend - "Gassed Up"
Dave Hall – “My King”
A-Easy – “All Prayers, No Worries”
Joshua Galla is an audiophile hyped about all forms of art in music, but his passion rests behind CHH and soulful vibes. He's a devout husband, father, and child of God. Concerts are his happy place.
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