Jumping into 2020 head-first, Devin Burgess released his 14-track Alone EP last week. The 26-minute project finds an engaging balance between Burgess’ introspective and unfiltered lyrics and his gritty self-produced beats. The tape’s flow can best be described as...
Cincinnati-bred rapper Roberto has delivered his first project of the year: the Many Truths EP. Balancing carefully crafted verses with a casual flow, Roberto’s introspective lyrics are perfectly housed within Matador’s gritty lo-fi production. Vulnerability and easy-listening coexist as...
Aziza Love and her guitar take us on an adventure to find self-love on her debut solo album, Bare Soul. Drawing the listener in with power-punching intro, “Fake Friends,” all the way through the vulnerable “It Girl,” to the...
Ahead of her forthcoming EP, Bershy dropped off her latest single, “Sixty Seconds.” The Cincinnati-based pop singer wrote the song in a heated moment of relationship doubt. “I wrote that song in like 15 minutes after what I can...
Following up her debut solo EP, Views From The Cut, Aziza Love will release her debut solo album, Bare Soul, later this month. “Over these years I’ve watched myself choose everything and everyone else first… from people I’ve worked with,...
Cincinnati’s CityBeat hosted the 22nd annual Cincinnati Entertainment Awards at Memorial Hall this Sunday in Over-The-Rhine. The awards ceremony honored the city’s grinding music makers, legends, and up-and-comers. To kick off the night, the returning Cincinnati Music Ambassador Award...
This August, Planned Parenthood withdrew from the federal funding program, known as Title X, to avoid a new policy that forbids referrals to doctors who can perform abortions. This year alone, nine states have passed some of the country’s...
Earlier this week, SIOUX flexed his introspective side on his new EP, Whiskey House Bar Music. Over danceable lo-fi beats produced by Rocco., the Cincinnati MC expresses extreme relatability when it comes to all sides of love—the good, the...
Last month, Jay Madera arrived on the Cincinnati indie-rock scene, releasing his debut single, “Curb Appeal.” Taking influence from Cincinnati mainstay band The National, Madera blends an indie-rock feel with pop and folk nods over a diverse instrumental display....
Ronin Halloway, JayBee Lamahj, and Patterns of Chaos alum Jay Hill teamed up on a high-energy single and video called “Babs Forever.” The three Cincinnati emcees spit bars at a fiery pace while maintaining their lyricism over the cascading...
Queens-bred singer-songwriter Alex Weksler knows a thing or two about the constant process of evolution that occurs as a person goes through their twenties. Though her folksy 2017 EP Air was released under her full name, her latest...
Zell’s World released a fun video for his new single, “That’s What It Is.” The turn-up track marks the first offering from Zell’s forthcoming sophomore effort, Welcome 2 Zell’s World. The Chicago-bred and Cincinnati-based rapper last dropped his 5-track...
Cincinnati singer-songwriter Elsa Kennedy released the beautifully forlorn “Redwoods” as the first in a series of singles that will lead up to her EP, Cadmium. “‘Redwoods’ is an expression of acute longing,” she told AudioFemme. “I find longing endlessly...
Island Hopper Songwriters Festival, a Florida-based fest that celebrates the songwriters behind country’s biggest songs, hit the scenic beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel last week for its 6th annual 10-day stretch. Over 80 artists performed, including Kristian Bush,...
Last month, Sara-Danielle released her sophomore album, Healing. The 6-track project finds the Canadian artist excelling in her personally-carved out genre – a niche that she’s coined “Ginger-ale-pop” – atop smooth instrumentals. The project seeks to personify duality, as Sara-Danielle’s...
Last month, pop-tinged R&B artist Maryze released her first-ever music video – a dreamy visual for her tender single, “Soft.” The Montreal-bred singer teamed up with Paris-based director Amanda Louise Macchia for the beach-set clip. “’Soft’ is about abandoning...
Earlier this year, Cincinnati rapper Khari released his debut project, Sinsinnati. Now, he’s enlisted some of the Queen City’s best talent to hop on a remix of the standout track, “Da Art of Ignorance.” Maintaining his hard-hitting chorus, Khari...
Fresh off the heels of his F*ck A Job album release, Oski Isaiah drops a new clip for smoothly-served project cut, “Company.” Oski released the 10-track Autumn Jivenchy-produced album this summer, which celebrated the Cincinnati rapper focusing full-time on...
Late last month, Strobobean released two new hauntingly beautiful singles, “Ghost” and “Walking Alone,” ahead of their fall tour. The Cincinnati shoegaze post-rock trio is fronted by Pop Empire‘s Katrina Eresman and Jake Langknech and Soften‘s Brianna Kelly. Their...
After being friends for decades, former members of The Muffs, The Pandoras, and The Friggs, Kim Shattuck, Melanie Vammen, and Palmyra Delran, finally decided it was time to start their own band together. Kim and Melanie first played together...
Cincinnati trio Pop Empire recently dropped their nine-track album, Novena. The indie-rock outfit will head out on a supporting tour this month. Novena marks the 10-year-old group’s first full-length album since 2014’s Future Blues and the first album with the...
For this week’s Playing Cincinnati, we traveled 20 miles north to Dave Chappelle’s Gem City Shine Benefit Concert in Dayton, Ohio. Chappelle, who lives in the neighboring Ohio town of Yellow Springs, threw the enormous block party to commemorate...
Ihlana Niayla is a force to be reckoned with. Since developing a love for all things audio during college and in an audio/visual role working at the Cincinnati Zoo, the producer-engineer-songwriter followed her passion behind the board and recently...
The end of July brought the first official release from The Leanover, comprised of Ali Overing and Lou Seltz. Written over the course of several years, the 7-tracks on Portico were inspired by the idea of liminal spaces – whether...
