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ARTIST SPOTLIGHT YRS ANT November 15th 2024 Describe the sound of your music and why people should listen. i’d describe my sound as a mix between bedroom pop and indie. people should listen because the songs i make are relatable (except for B.B.E.B) How and when did you get into music? i’ve been interested in music since middle school. My friends and i used to freestyle during lunch and i became a soundcloud rapper almost immediately lol. However, i got into indie and bedroom pop during my senior year of highschool. Creative Process? My creative process is spontaneous. I can’t write or record songs unless i’m in the mood too, but a lot of my songs have been written in less than hour. Where do you find inspiration? My life is my inspiration. I didnt have the best life growing up but it was manageable. from time to time i find myself thinking about the mistakes i made in life or how hard i’d try to love someone. that gives me just enough fuel for the songs i make. What song/project should unfamiliar listeners begin with? For new listeners I would recommend “Time” or “From The Start”. Both are good songs and gives perfect amount of sad vibes. Any new projects soon? Anything you'd like to promote I recently released a single called “love me?” but i have a song called “search” coming later this week. What music have you been listening to recently? Recently i’ve been listening to a lot of Summer Salt and Mustard Service. I literally can’t stop listening to these 2 bands. I’ve also been listening to some smaller artists like Chek and Jardin.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT TWELFTH April 18th 2025 Describe your music for unfamiliar listeners Noise pop and shoegaze blended with tints of glitch, rap, and metal Describe your creative process I'll usually be thinking about lyrics or something I could use as a topic in a song and then just flow on whatever beat I choose and just make the song from there. No planning or any complicated steps I just kinda get in the studio and make something, and if I like it enough I'll put the whole thing together or work on it off and on. Your latest album, “I’m not, I’m just” is such a cool and dynamic project. How was that album created? What is your personal favorite track on that album? I'm Not, I'm Just is probably my favorite project I've ever done, I started working on it in May-June of 2024 and was working very hard on it throughout the rest of 2024 and until it was released. I'm honestly not set on an absolute favorite track on the album because I always change my mind or have phases loving a song from my albums- But as of right now it would definitely be zombie, it's my most abrasive, noisy, and experimental song I've ever done and xandrey killed it on the mixing. It was really hard to put it all together when I made it I almost cut it from the album but I'm glad I did finish and put it out and I'm very happy to see the attention it's been getting How’d you first get into making music? I started making music in fifth grade, I was inspired by a lot of popular rap around that time, like Polo G, DaBaby, and Roddy Ricch and I started messing around with Bandlab and eventually started dropping rap songs on Soundcloud under a different name Where do you find the inspiration to create music? My biggest inspirations are definitely my favorite artists and just the music scene as a whole- I really have Quadeca to thank for really introducing me to different genres besides hip-hop after he dropped I Didn't Mean to Haunt You. That album definitely started my love for music as a whole and that's when I started to really get involved with the Album of the Year community, deadAir artists, and other genres that I never thought I would be into. Any new music soon? can't say too much but definitely have been in the mix What music have you been listening to recently? I've been nonstop listening to underground rap, Jane Remover's newest album has been on repeat lately but I also really like che & nettspend. and if you aren't tapped in to Daniel Kashule yet trust me you must get tapped in

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT Isaiah Keaton August 23rd 2025 An in-person interview with Isaiah Keaton!

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT THREETHIRTYTWO March 7th 2025 Describe your music for unfamiliar listeners As of what’s released more psychedelic rap a bit experimental. We love rapping and good beats Describe your creative process When making past music we used to hang out at internetsuicidecults garage and just create. Things are busy right now so our process is way different now a bit more personal within everyone. How was the group formed? (maysee) i wanted a group so i was making music with 30chomr. i found INTERNETSUICIDECULT i thought it was the sound i wanted and then hondo blue was added through ISC cause they knew each other Your debut album, “THE SPIDERS IN OUR GARAGE DON’T KNOW THEY ARE WITNESSING HISTORY” is beautifully arranged and shows great potential in the group. How was that album created? it was done in a span of a year and a half almost 2 years. we went through a lot of changes. A lot of heat in the garage , late nights , it was our first project as a group as of making it we just made what came to us. If it turned out good as a demo we just keep working on it. We put so much time in the album experience we are thinkers lol How’d you first get into making music? (maysee)well for me I was writing since I was 7 but what got me into writing was being at church. I remember hearing this song with a guy rapping and it completely blew my mind I studied him until I got the verse down. From there I just kept going Where do you find the inspiration to create music? We all have very different but very personal points of inspiration but at the end of the day we all enjoy the same circles of experimental and abstract hip hop, we also just have a mutual passion for the music we make and see it as an outlet for expressing our selves and sharing our individual experiences so that inspires us a lot as well. Any new music soon? we just released an ep but we are working on 2 albums Right now 2 different sounds it’s more mature and honestly our best work dont know when they will be finished we care a lot about the final product What music have y’all been listening to recently? Maysee: ghais guevera, king geedorah lil Wayne 30chomr: Earl Sweatshirt, Bladee, and Shaboozey ISC: Cindy Lee, Les rallizes denudes, Kendrick Lamar Hondo blue : Mannequin pussy, armandhammer, lil ugly mane

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT AKACHI February 14th 2024 <3 Describe the sound of your music for unfamiliar listeners My music is sometimes fun, sometimes sad, but it all seems to invoke a sense of nostalgia! It’s stuff you can play around anyone and by yourself and have a good time with. Supernova is a really original song that has really captivated me recently, describe your creative process for that song. Supernova is a really original song that has really captivated me recently, describe your creative process for that song. For Supernova, I had just finished listening to some Santigold. You may know her from her song “Go!” And from some of Tyler’s albums. She has an album called Spirituals and there’s a lot of slick and atmospheric songs on there and I- like I always do when making a song went- “There should be more of this.”. I was in a huge indie sleaze kick and combed through MGMT, LCD soundsystem etc. type beats until I found Micheal Harrison’s channel! I knew my buddies would add a deepness and grandness to the song I couldn’t exactly nail so that’s where Pluto Xantana and Caleb came in. How’d you first get into making music? I was so bored with the stuff on the radio. I would listen to what I was hearing and went “Wow these guys really made something simple and catchy and they’re famous.” I liked most of it fine but I thought to myself I could do that too! So I listened to guys like Shotgun Willy and X, and Skimask and Joey Trap. I liked the comedic aspect and the DIY aspect. And then I heard “Makeba” by Jain and loved that distorted danceable drum sound! I found a beat called “DRUM”, put it into iMovie and made Chicken No Biscuit! The plan was for it to be one and done but everyone liked it so I just kept making stuff! It even got played at my schools graduation. Where do you find inspiration? Just sitting around playing guitar usually. I find a little riff or chord progression that catches my imagination, like transports me somewhere in my head. And then it’s just exploring what that sound wants to grow into. Usually when it’s working the song leads you where it needs to go. Where do you find the inspiration to create music? I really just try to make stuff I think should exist. Music really encapsulates and consumes me. I need more music, stuff that grabs a certain feeling and sticks with you so I decide to just make it myself! All sorts of experiences I’ve had drive my lyrics. I’ve taken a different direction in genres. I’m making stuff more inline with people and bands I listen to and that all comes from my mom where she kinda sat me down one day played all of this alternative music for me. So yeah, experience, desire and songs from all the greats! Oh and Scott Pilgrim too. That changed music for me really What song / project would you suggest for unfamiliar listeners Wait! And Supernova for newer listeners! Ones my most popular song and the others one I just really really like, man. You could listen to my EP “24” but it’s kinda rough! Fair warning! What’s next for Akachi? What are some goals for 2025? Well Clattermouth. It looks like I’ll be performing at the 2025 Stoopfest in May! I’m super excited for that. I have a deep feeling inside of me that any day these songs are gonna take off and touch a lot of people. So my goal is to make way more songs, perform my heart out and maybe even get my song in a TV show or movie! What music have you been listening to lately? I’m always listening to Remi Wolf! But lately it’s been IDLES, Denzel Curry, Dum Dum Girls and Smashing Pumpkins!

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT Will Cherry June 6th 2025 Describe your music for unfamiliar listeners It’s a lot of different things genre wise, but I’d say the core of what I always do is hard drums, pretty chords and honest lyrics. My songs tend to end differently from how I started, so the best one word answer is “unpredictable”. Describe your creative process The ideas come from all over the place, but once I’m in front of a computer, I start cooking with samples or chord ideas. I try to build a basic loop, then record the entire song on it, then mix and produce the song all at once, almost always alone. I try to do different parts of the process at once to make sure it’s all coming from the same creative place, and so every element can feed into each other. In 2024, Somewhere in Ohio, you released “Somewhere in Ohio”. Describe how you made that album. Do you have a favorite song from the album? I made the album over the course of a year and half, it's the second part of a trilogy I’m working on. My EP ANYWHERE was the first part. I really started this album before that EP, and the goal was to always make an album and film that really connect to people personally storytelling wise, with really pretty visuals and sonics. My favorite song is somewhere between “Genesis” and “Fallfree*”. I feel like “Genesis” is the most impressive song I’ve ever made. That was the first time I wrote from a woman’s perspective, it’s truly a storytelling record. How’d you first get into making music? My parents met at a radio station. My dad was a singer and my mom hosted her own show. I’ve been surrounded and a part of music since I was a child, I started writing songs at 11 and making beats at 12. Where do you find the inspiration to create music? I’m always searching for brand new music or older music that missed me so far, to hear something fresh and different to my ear. Going to the movie theater or concerts or even trips and stuff can be intentional moments to search for inspiration, but it also just comes randomly all the time from different things people say, or a feeling you can get from something totally unrelated to art. What have you been working on lately? Any new music soon? I’m doing part three of the trilogy, but I also have more bonus tracks and videos for Somewhere in Ohio…, I’m really enjoying building out that world and showing my creativity in different ways. Doing a short film and making it into festivals was huge for me, I’ll definitely have more (better!) films coming up the pike. Who are some of your favorite artists from Ohio? Tae Miles (check his soundcloud), Bootsy Collins, The Isley Brothers, Roger Troutman, Gerald Levert, Kid Cudi and Anita Baker. Other than music, what else have you been up to? My team and I put on shows throughout Cleveland called Club Ultraviolet, we have a mini-doc on our youtube showing the process. It’s really important to us to create positive platforms to share with others, on the stage and in the crowd. I’m a filmmaker like I mentioned before as well, I direct all of my music videos and stuff for others as well. And I still work a 9-5 so that takes up a ton of my time (unfortunately!) What music have you been listening to lately? Right now, I’ve been listening to SwaVay, Kipp Stone, Horace Gaither, Jimmy Poindexter, Blake Parker and Daniel Hex. With modern music I really like to hear artists that are project-focused because I approach my work the same way. With the OGs it’s been some SOS Band, Jodeci and Gap Band like always. I can’t lie though, what I listen to the most is podcasts and my own music. I'm tryna get deeper into audiobooks.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT Brianna Knight May 23rd 2025 Describe your music for unfamiliar listeners 90’s R&B with a twang of Neo-Soul. It’s music for the folks who love hard and fall hard but try not to cry in public lol How’d you get into making music? My mom! She always sang around the house and then in high school I did musicals, plus a course with Berkeley online just to try songwriting. My freshman year of college, I joined a poetry collective that really transformed the way I looked at songwriting. I got invited to play at the Apollo and then I was like okay maybe we can start taking this seriously. I saw my name on the door and it clicked like okay how many more blessings do you need to truly try for this? Your latest single “Everything or Nothing” is a track that slaps on every listen. How was that song made? Last year I challenged myself to write a song everyday and a thing I focused on was using phrases. 1 day I heard the beat online and was like if I could make a song around this what would it be. Words started flowing, I could see the movie in my mind, black & white, raining, crying, genuinely one of the easier songs I’ve written and then I brought the demo to my producer but I told him let’s make this lean more 90s and switch up the chords. I had so much fun recording, finished the second verse in our final recording session and truly had to focus on telling the story. As a vocalist, you get caught up in making everything acrobatic but I genuinely wanted folks to hear my words. Where do you find the inspiration to create music? My imagination haha. I’ll hear a phrase and be like why hasn’t anybody used that or I’ll hear a melody or a poem and be like why isnt this a full song? It’s very much so a routine for me. If I don’t write at least once to twice a week I lose my mind. I need to explore out of reality sometimes or find a way to consolidate everything I’m hearing or seeing around me. Describe your creative process Depending on the mood I may just dive right in and just write what’s coming to mind. No phrases or literary elements just write down my feelings or recall the day. Other times I’ll set a timer for 5 to 10mins to expand on a phrase I heard or an item around me. Then I’ll find a beat or play around with my guitar and try to fit in as many words from that list or journal entry as possible. It’s like organizing chaos. Sometimes I’ll freestyle it and then once I have the story I’ll chop which melodies I want to use. There are times it’s a free flow and other times I feel like I’m performing surgery. I’ll sit back and ask myself okay do I need to write this better? Do I need to sang this? Do I need to tell the story better, more emotion or less? Do I need to connect emotionally or detach? My favorite thing to ask my producer is should I pull back or eat the mic haha. What song/project would you recommend for unfamiliar listeners? For a story? Bad Decisions. To vibe? So Deep. To shake some booty? Link Up. To cry? Everything or Nothing. What’s next for Brianna Knight? Any new projects soon? An EP in the fall titled Movies in my Mind. It’s coming together so follow and join my newsletter to stay updated! Besides music, what else have you been up to recently? I’ve been focused on strength training. Hit a PR on the leg press of 300lbs. It’s fun having thick thighs made of muscle. If only my core strength could match What music have you been listening to lately? Jae Stephen’s for sure and Flo but I was in a 2010’s pop mood for sure. I had Madonna Caught Up and Britney Spears Piece of Me on repeat for days!!

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT Malik English May 9th 2025 Describe your music for unfamiliar listeners My music is like a collection of colors. I take a lot of inspiration from different genres whether R&B, Afrobeats, Rap, Dancehall or Rock I grew up on a lot of different sounds. My music pulls from my own experiences and stories I hear from my friends or just people in the ether. I try to recreate those experiences, feelings and emotions in my music to share and connect more people. Describe your creative process It varies, I usually get ideas from hearing songs, or a melody will just come to me once I lock in. I'll add ideas on top that and delete them just as quickly. It's just a whirlwind of ideas until we get to the final product. Your debut album, “Love, M.E” never has a dull moment. How was that album created? What is your personal favorite track on that album? Thank you! Love, M.E was processsssss. It was fun to make though, with that project I wanted to show all the different types of love we encounter rather platonic, heartbreak, fast love etc. It was really fun to dive into all those different mindsets. My favorite song is probably Closer. It's a really fun RNB record that I think slides between RNB, Rap & Pop. I really like it How’d you first get into making music? I was skipping school and would tell my mom I had band practice and eventually she was so like "I've never seen you play" so I had to learn an instrument really quickly to keep it going. But ended up actually really liking making music and went on to study music in university Where do you find the inspiration to create music? Life, whether my own or the people around me, even stuff I see on TV. I can see certain relationships or scenarios play out and see in an interesting story in that. Any new music soon? Anything you'd like to promote. Just released the video for my latest single Tek Time and anniversary version of Closer is coming up too! also working on some new music I'm planning to release super soon! What music have you been listening to lately? Been listening to a lot of older stuff recently Bobby Womack, Outkast, and listening to a lot of soundtracks. I stay up to date with everything that comes out too really been liking Pinkpantheress and Rema's last drops.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT Leo Soloway June 13th 2025 Describe your music for unfamiliar listeners To sum it up, I’d say alternative rock/metal. I love ambient synthesizers and reverb-soaked guitars, but I’m also a sucker for huge distorted tones, epic orchestral elements, and wordy guitar solos. Describe your creative process For me, because I’m primarily a guitarist, it always starts with a riff or chord progression. From there, I add drums and bass as a guide to other places I can bring the song. If I continue to like the idea after a few days, I’ll begin to develop other sections that follow or precede the original idea. Vocals usually come last. Not everyone’s style, but it works for me. I’ve come up with riffs that were sat on for so long, and eventually just became the ending of a song. Your latest song, “Taboo” is super cool! What went into making it? That song is very special to me. It’s the only one of my songs that I recorded every part for. I always fully compose with lyrics and all, but this is the first time my own voice was on a track. The song features a groove that’s based around drums and bass, guitar playing a very little part in its initial phases. There’s a section where I (attempt to) rap. Rap is a stretch… How about… sing faster? As the song builds, a three part string ensemble takes the spotlight. Then, a melodic and soaring solo section, followed by a technical and uplifting “djent” style riff, which concludes the song. How’d you first get into making music? I was creating riffs and songs from a very young age. As soon as I acquired an electric guitar, I was playing stuff modeled after The White Stripes and The Black Keys. From there, I started to experiment with garageband. When my parents and music teachers saw my potential, I was given Logic Pro X, and an audio interface. It all escalated from there…(I have 7 guitars and no money) Where do you find the inspiration to create music? Being raised by my mom (a singer-songwriter) and my dad, (not a musician, but loves music) I was surrounded and immersed in music all the time. I think it was only natural that I had a desire to create it. What have you been working on lately? Any new music soon? I have quite a few unfinished songs in reserve at the moment. They’re all in different places. Will they be out soon? Maybe? Who knows? Other than music, what else have you been up to? Eh, the usual stuff… wine tasting, watch shopping, driving my Pagani. That reminds me actually, the McLaren F1 needs maintenance. What music have you been listening to lately? My favorite band at the moment is Thank You Scientist. They’re a seven-piece jazz/metal fusion band from New Jersey. Absolutely astonishing music. The guitarist, Tom Monda, cracked out of his mind. Aside from that, bands like Periphery, Haken, Protest The Hero, Dance Gavin Dance, and Knocked Loose have been in the rotation lately.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT YNFRM19TH July 27th 2025 Describe your music for unfamiliar listeners My shi like gettin lyrical inna club — da beat, da females dancin, n da rappin got da nigs makin stank face. Describe your creative process Well one way u can tell is scraiGht from my fav prod 11azriel mouth — when I wus talkin to him one time in VC wit our li ones, I wus like damn gng Ian been able ta make shi, Ian feelin it. N da li ones wus like ahh dang yn, but azzy he wus like, it ainun u, gone get mad one day n come kill da beat. Your album, “Y19” has a really cool sound. What went into making it? Do you have a favorite song on it? Well one thing I can say about that is that was my vault at the time, so that wus just hella songs I never dropped. And 2 goes with it — everyday since around the new year of 2025, I joined the music reviews my guys at @theunitedunderground host. Everytime da main guy Mal would give input, I’d b like “bet, I gotchu next week, ima do wut u said inna next song.” Eventually he jus started fw da songs I dropped cus I polished it, and he wus like “Wea da links at bru, I can’t listen to u yn, ima need u to drop.” Yk, I would listen to da guy Mal input every week, so I wus like nig wut betden. Da week UnitedMasters took to drop it, I dropped all da songs inna vault and called it “Y19.” How’d you first get into making music? I got into music multiple ways tbh, but u can say the main first way wus bc my dad always loved his speakers and he would drive me around hoods bumpin hella music. I must have absorbed it — shoot, das prolly y I b yellin and got da loud 808s lmao. Where do you find the inspiration to create music? I don’t really get inspired — or u can say I fully get inspired by everything, howeva u see it. But me, dis jus my real life n I jus talk onna beat. Or u can ask people det kno me — deyll tell u my mind wanders hella. N coworkers a tell u how I use to write raps on receipts about us workin, howeva u see it. Also, a lot folks I fw passed away, n I hate they can’t see dis new shi I put out cus Dey fwm wen Dey wus alive. Ik das prolly a lil deep myf. What have you been working on lately? Any new music soon? Shoot, yk me man — I’m at work rn, wen I get off I might record. N weneva I do record gettin off work, I b up till 5–6 inna mornin, shi crazy. Ask ma dukes. Otha den det, I’m really workin on dese videos now doe. Da music kinda evolve on its own, but I been savin bread, gettin ready ta push dese videos. Dey finna go up — watch out, soon u gon see. Other than music, what else have you been up to? Shiii not shi — workin. Whoeva readin dese n u my age, iku feel dsshii. Answerin dese questions rn, finna have ta clock back in, break almost over. What music have you been listening to lately? Shi, if it’s not mine, den old lyrical music. It helps me widen my mind, n da beats remind me of my prod 11azriel. Like da only hard shi I can find det give Azzy competition is da old shi — like Bone Thugs, Pac, Eazy-E. But it makes sense cus Azzy da newest, newest futuristic even version of da old West Coast — tellin u, stop playin wit det boy Azzy.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT Patrick Hyacinth January 24th 2025 Describe the sound of your music for unfamiliar listeners Soundscape of the music I’m making is ever changing, depending on my current interest. For what’s out, it’s mostly electronic music with guitar over pretty chords, but I want to explore every avenue in some way. Describe your creative process. I make all kinds of instrumentals every day, then write to them, most of the time nothing really happens, but sometimes it just clicks and the song writes its self. Then it gets more chaotic as I try to define the initial idea and build around the vocals, sometimes I might not know what to do with a certain part of the song for two weeks, then it clicks and I get done with it in 30 minutes. It’s most definitely not a linear process. How’d you first get into making music? I used to make YouTube videos when I was like twelve, I used adobe audition to record audio for them, me and my friend, we discovered the built-in autotune and started to mess with it, somehow that turned into making some silly songs, later I started making beats because I couldn’t find the ones for me, but also because buying them was too expensive for a fifteen year old. Where do you find the inspiration to create music? Images. Either it’s something that I’ve shot or something I found or saved, more often than not it’s more than one photo, then I try to score it. What song / project would you suggest for unfamiliar listeners For now there’s only two songs, so I’d say to check them both out. What’s next for Patrick Hyacinth? What are some goals for 2025? More music, some beautiful visuals, and I really want to produce for other artists. What music have you been listening to recently? I recently discovered the band Prefab Sprout, I think the song “Bonny” is one of the most beautiful songs ever created. But I’ve been listening to Nala Sinephro, Toro Y Moi, Fleetwood Mac, Mount Kimbie and the first Mac Demarco album.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT Rob Apollo December 20th 2024 Describe the sound of your music for unfamiliar listeners I describe my music as contemporary debauchery. It’s chaotic, it’s fun, it’s hard, it’s inclusive. Like a zesty terrorist organization. How and when did you get into music? I started off by doing written rap battles when I was 14 in a kik messenger group chat with my friends lol. As a kid I was always a creative type, music just ended up being my specific calling I suppose. Describe your creative process. I smoke a cig on the porch then I go in the booth and make it happen. I punch in, I write, I source bars from friends. Whatever feels right. Where do you find inspiration? Real life experiences, especially from 2018-2022 when my life was more chaotic. The absurdity of every day life is enough to inspire. What song/project should unfamiliar listeners start with? Song I’d probably say ‘OBAMA.’ That’s pretty quintessential Rob Apollo. Project, l would be NSFW 2, it’s like a chaotic funhouse Any new projects soon? Anything you want to promote? I’m working on the final album in the trilogy, it’s titled NSFW 3: REDHEAD JACKASS. I’m promoting a Free Palestine to donate to some families What music have you been listening to lately? Christ Dillinger, the new Kendrick, Earl, MIKE, the new El Cousteau. And unreleased Rob Apollo of course.