Newcomer Lost Girl has us doing up gun fingers and two-stepping in the rave with her debut single “I Won’t Give Up”. The uplifting blend of UK garage and pop creates a fresh and addictive sound, takes us back to the glory days of UK garage with the likes of Craig David and Artful Dodger. Lost Girl propelled into the spotlight after a clip of her covering Yxng Bane’s hit “Rihanna” went viral and attracted the likes of celebrated emcee Tinie Tempah who invited her to work with him in the studio. And the rest is history.

It may be -2 degrees outside but Megan Thee Stallion has brought a hot girl summer to March. While there might be controversy surrounding the release of this surprise album we are grateful nonetheless. The nine-track album has features from singer-songwriter Kehlani and Atlanta rapper Gunna, and it’s rare to find a body of work that you can sit and listen to every song without skipping, and this album is one of those. The Stallion delivered bar after bar in this album and didn’t skip a beat. From sexy and explicit adlibs, to throwback old school samples that tie the album together to create the perfect playlist that we are going to be having on repeat all year.

Her new album has dropped today so don’t be surprised if you don’t hear from us in a while. “Happiness Over Everything” or also stylised as “H.O.E” is the sultry follow up from her sex-positive and explicit hit “P*$$Y FAIRY”. Aiko listed help for this song from the “Come Through and Chill” singer Miguel and the “Life is Good” rapper, Future. The song might sound familiar as the song features lyrics from Jhene Aiko’s 2011 track titled “Hoe”. And only Aiko can sample her own song. The song was accompanied by visuals of Aiko and co. celebrating good times at a lūʻau-themed party with her family and her closest friends. The singer’s new album Chilombo is sure to have us in mixed emotions this weekend with 20 tracks – are we sad and in our feelings? Only Jhene Aiko can deliver a body of work that delivers so many emotions.

The self-proclaimed Queen of the South is doing it for the girls this year as she released her latest single “Anger”. In a male-dominated industry, Shaybo is here to shake up the music scene with her quick and aggressive flow hitting out on every beat. The south-east Londoner is no newcomer to the rap scene after coming on the scene in 2011 with her hard-hitting freestyle. Her passion for rap and truth-telling is evident in her fervent and catchy lyrics. Shaybo’s accolades include “Bonjour Cava” with 0121-area Birmingham rapper La Famila and her “HB Freestyle” which had the entire internet trembling with what she could bring next to the table.

The Grammy-winning song has now got a baseline remix with one of the original drum and bass OGs Clipz. It’s been 10 years since his last release, and we’ve been highly anticipating this return. Clipz’s super-charged remix is sure to be a hit in the drum and bass circuit with his ballistic and energy-boosting baseline. We all thought the original was perfect but this remix added a heavy dose energy and party to this reggae tune.

Soothing vocals, elegant pianos and raw beats? It can only be duo AQUILO. The two Silverdale natives are back after a two-year hiatus with their new single “Sober”. The melodic single introduced us to a short tale of a break-up, to be explored more in their forthcoming EP. Their warm and organic sound is something that we’ve missed over the past two years, with the duo explaining that they wanted to focus on creating a project that stayed true to themselves. “There certainly was no intention of taking 2 years but you just can’t force these things or the process. It’s been a big learning curve for the two of us and we feel it’s the best music we’ve had the pleasure of making.” AQUILO is set to embark on a European tour this year with their first London headline show since they sold out the Oval Space in 2018.