Australia’s own Ollie Hunt returns with ‘Ah!’, a genre-blurring banger that refuses to be boxed in—electrified with the kind of self-determination rarely this polished. The Melbourne native channels a fearless new era here: one where the pop star isn’t seeking the spotlight but is the spotlight.
Think melodic high fashion meets emotional catharsis. Hunt’s vocals skate over a production laced with house shimmer, R&B sleekness, and pop punch. But beyond the sonic design lies the ethos—this is a track about owning it, whatever “it” is to you. Anxiety is no longer the monster under the bed; it’s been laced into the lyricism and transmuted into a rhythmic weapon.
Having already clocked over 240K combined streams with previous releases, Hunt levels up on ‘Ah!’ with a track that stares back at the industry and says, “Watch me.” And honestly? We will.
Der Oscar Effekt, the Cameroon-born artist now based in Germany, kicked off his latest chapter with the release of ‘Fool‘ on October 17, 2025, serving as the lead single for his forthcoming album three stone fireside, vol. 1, due out October 24. Drawing from Afrofusion, Makossa, Bikutsi, African folk, and hip-hop, he builds tracks that pulse with introspection and groove, all while holding down a day job as a project manager—embodying his #9to5isnoexcuse ethos that turns constraints into fuel for creation. Over the past couple years, he’s solidified his voice through two standout full-lengths: the unguarded Kryptonite in 2023, which laid bare his inner workings, and 2024’s Neige et Poussière, a bilingual nod to the push-pull of African dust and European chill, exploring renewal and split identities. With this new project, Der Oscar Effekt channels the communal hum of Cameroon’s three-stone fireside setups—those outdoor hearths for cooking, chatting, and handing down stories—into beats crafted by producers back home, threading themes of love, betrayal, grit, and thanks across the record.
On ‘Fool‘, Der Oscar Effekt leans into quiet intensity, weaving English and Pidgin over a steady, contemplative rhythm that lets the lyrics simmer. It’s a track forged in the aftermath of repeatedly being misunderstood and betrayed.
Der Oscar Effekt had this to say: “Before we can shine for the world, we must understand the fire that keeps us warm.” In a scene quick to hype the next big drop, his work cuts deeper, merging daily grind with deep-rooted sounds to build something that resonates long after the beat fades.
Groundbreaking social music platform PLAYY. Music has just launched a game-changing competition for independent artists all over the world.
The recently launched platform is offering a $25,000 record deal that includes full recording costs, studio production, and a comprehensive international PR and marketing campaign for an entire year. This opportunity is open to all artists who sign up and upload music to PLAYY. Music before 20 February 2026.
The winner will receive professional recording and production support, as well as a full-scale global press and radio campaign. This includes blogs, webzines, broadsheets, national and regional radio and press, YouTube channels, and Spotify playlisting across 10 countries: United States, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa as well as Brazil. In addition, the selected artist will have an exclusive feature in YourEDM as well as PLAYY. Mag.
PLAYY. Music is built to empower independent talent by providing tools for artists to engage directly with fans, build sustainable careers and brands, while monetising their music. Artists can raise funds, sell merchandise and tickets on PLAYY. Music, while keeping up to 90% of their earnings. Click HERE for more information on PLAYY. Music.
Sharing more on the vision behind the platform, Director Warren Morris revealed; “Our mission is simple, to give independent artists the same power and global reach that major labels offer—without the red tape. This record deal giveaway isn’t just about a single artist’s success story; it’s about showing what’s possible when artists control their music, data, and destiny.”
D’Angelo, the trailblazing R&B and soul artist whose real name was Michael Eugene Archer, died on October 14, 2025, at age 51 following a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Born in Richmond, Virginia, to a Pentecostal minister father, he picked up piano skills by age three and cut his teeth in local outfits like Three of a Kind and I.D.U. before snagging a publishing deal with EMI after dominating the Apollo Theater’s amateur night. His 1995 debut Brown Sugar put him on the map, with the single ‘Lady’ climbing to No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earning Grammy nods that cemented his rise. Over three albums, he snagged four Grammys, blending R&B roots with hip-hop grooves and jazz flourishes to forge neo-soul’s core sound.
What set D’Angelo apart was his raw command of melody and rhythm, evident from the sultry, unbroken-take video for ‘Untitled (How Does It Feel)’ that sparked endless talk in the late ’90s. Voodoo, his 2000 sophomore effort, hit No. 1 on the US charts and later earned a spot at No. 28 on Rolling Stone’s all-time greats list, just edging out The Beatles’ White Album. Even after personal battles with addiction and a near-fatal 2005 crash, he reemerged in 2014 with Black Messiah, sparked by unrest over cases like Michael Brown and Eric Garner, which took home the best R&B album Grammy in 2016. Early collaborations with Lauryn Hill and The Roots underscored his songwriting chops before he became a commercial powerhouse.
As tributes roll in from peers like Beyoncé, who hailed his genre-shifting impact, and Lauryn Hill, who praised his blend of toughness and nuance in Black expression, D’Angelo’s influence echoes through today’s acts. Nile Rodgers remembered pushing the young talent to release his demos, only to hear them dominate airwaves soon after. From Doja Cat calling him a generational spark to Tyler, the Creator crediting him for wiring his own sound, the outpouring highlights a career that reshaped soul’s boundaries. Working on a fourth album with Raphael Saadiq right up to the end, he leaves behind a catalog that keeps pushing musicians forward.
October 10, 2025, saw the drop of Thunder Child, Q052‘s latest full-length via Musique Nomade, a project that sharpens his blade against inequality with the lead single ‘Look It Up‘ already turning heads. The Gesgapegiag-born, Sherbrooke-based Mi’gmaq artist—Quentin Condo behind the moniker, nodding to his Quentin initials and community tag 052—has forged a path blending activism and beats, spotlighting Indigenous youth issues and protections for women and girls. His track record boasts 140K-plus Spotify plays, the 2023 International Indigenous Hip-Hop Awards’ Best Male win, and key nods such as 2021 ADISQ Gala‘s Indigenous Artist of the Year, dual 2022 Teweikan Gala entries in Expressive Music and Blues/Rock, and a Hip-Hop Album nom at the 2022 GAMIQ. Q052‘s live sets pack a punch, earning props from CLASH Magazine, rotations on Radio Canada, and a recent boost from ‘Loud Sunday‘ on BBC Radio 6 via Don Letts‘ Culture Clash. He’s logged festival slots with Cypress Hill at spots like FEQ, La Noce, OFF Québec, Innu Nikamu, Festival Kwe!, FME, Festival Bleu Bleu, and Festival en chanson de Petite-Vallée.
Across Thunder Child, Q052 delivers dense, truth-loaded rhymes over instrumentals that grind with vintage hip-hop texture, rewarding multiple plays for the full weight of his worldview. The anchor track ‘Look It Up‘ pares back the production to amplify his urgent takedowns of authority, evoking the raw urgency of KRS-One, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Danny Brown in its no-holds-barred stance. Pulling from a broad sonic palette—think Rage Against the Machine, Black Sabbath, Immortal Technique, Ty Segall, Public Enemy, Run DMC, and King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard—he fuses hip-hop’s pulse with grunge edges, alt-rock bite, and spoken-word drive, all underscoring themes of identity, justice, and grit.
Q052 shared: “Hip Hop artists are considered to be street journalists who share stories from their environment. In this album, I’m taking listeners on a tour in my mind and expressing how I view the world right now. It’s gone to hell!! From world leaders to the environment, from television shows to the news, from law enforcement agencies invading homes to assassinations, from social media platform addictions to a cold beer!! I’m reporting on it…is this mic on?”
Thunder Child Album Tracklist 1. Whap Bam-Boo 2. Wickedness 3. Look it Up 4. Thunder Bows 5. Piece of Man 6. Loud Sunday 7. Post Like Addict 8. Space Invaders 9. Restricted Radio 10. Sláinte
Afrobeats superstar Lojay, released his stellar album XOXO on 10 October via Koratari Music. One of the stand-out tracks on the album, features South African icon Tyla on the heartfelt single ‘Memories’.
The track floats between nostalgia and smooth Afrobeat rhythms, as the pair create a soulful duet that feels like flipping through an emotional photo album – warm, wistful and intimately familiar.
From the very first note, the song wraps you in soft synths, mellow percussion and a gentle bassline. Lojay’s melodic finesse meets Tyla’s silky vocals in perfect harmony, capturing the ache of love remembered and the sweetness of moments gone by.
The lyrics echo universal themes of love and loss, making it easy to see your own story in their words.
Jairic, the Detroit-born producer and performer now calling Cannes home, unleashes his latest cut ‘StickFigaro’ today, October 10, 2025, complete with a video rollout through Rich Air Music. Raised in a music-saturated family in Michigan, he perfected his craft by producing beats for underground hip-hop acts before carving out his own lane of gritty, self-reliant tracks. His last drop, ‘Don’t Let Me Put A Track On You’, pulled in props from outlets like NOTION, CLASH Magazine, and EARMILK, plus airtime on NPR Music’s radar. Spanning scenes from France to Italy, Prague, and the U.S., Jairic has racked up close to 2 million streams, all from tunes he writes, produces, and plays himself—often tied to visuals that mash upscale polish against street-edge rawness, positioning him as a key player where beats meet screens and style.
Clocking in as a high-voltage hip-hop banger, ‘Stick Figaro’ grabs listeners with its relentless drive, nodding to the punch of Eminem, Machine Gun Kelly, and Macklemore. Trap rhythms pound hard under jagged production layers, framing Jairic‘s commanding flow that shifts gears into a smoother hook midway, then slams shut on a peak of intensity. His bars dig into the rush of a breakneck, defiant existence, weaving in sharper reflections that cut through the noise—drawing from roots in Nas and Wu-Tang Clan, plus echoes of Detroit‘s raw circuits, old-school funk grooves, ’60s guitar riffs, and score-like swells for a sound that defies easy boxes.
Jairic shared: “‘Stick Figaro’ is built on reversal. At first it feels like I’m the one running, but when the hook comes back you realize I’m the one chasing. That’s the heartbeat of the track—chaos turning into control, the hunted becoming the hunter. It’s raw energy, heavy and unfiltered, but underneath it’s also a mirror—every bar a spark, every line a fire.”
Olivia Dean‘s sophomore effort The Art of Loving dropped on September 26, marking a sharp step forward for the East London-raised singer who’s been climbing the UK’s live circuit with her blend of neo-soul and classic pop. A BRIT School alum who cut her teeth as a backing singer for Rudimental, Dean has racked up over 10 million monthly Spotify streams, sold-out European tours, and nods like Amazon Music’s Breakthrough Artist in 2021 and BBC Music Introducing’s Artist of the Year in 2023. She’s shared stages at Glastonbury and Later… with Jools Holland, drawing from influences like Amy Winehouse and Carole King while flipping covers of The Supremes and Nat King Cole. Shortlisted for the Mercury Prize and up for BRIT Awards, Dean channels that groundwork into an album that feels both lived-in and forward-leaning, all while unpacking love’s everyday mechanics.
What stands out on The Art of Loving is its stripped-back setups—think subtle bongos pulled from a Laurel Canyon jam session, a smooth Rhodes organ nodding to Brill Building grooves, and those crisp bah-bah-bahs echoing Motown’s tight harmonies. Drawing from bell hooks‘ All About Love and visual artist Mickalene Thomas‘s glittering take on the same ideas, Dean and co-producer Zach Nahome keep things lean, letting small touches pop: a glassy five-note piano line threading through ‘Nice to Each Other’, or horns doubling up post-chorus on ‘Let Alone the One You Love’. It’s economy in motion, turning potential filler into hooks that stick without overreaching.
Dean’s delivery seals the deal, her voice hitting that mid-ground—not the powerhouse belt of RAYE or Jorja Smith‘s edge, but a steady glow that could coax shade from a streetlight. Tracks like ‘So Easy (To Fall in Love)’ lean into bossa nova swings that match the easy rhythm of a solid first hang, while ‘Man I Need’‘s 12/8 sway turns routine into ritual. Sure, spots like ‘Close Up’ and ‘Baby Steps’ flirt with retro overload, and some lines tangle in familiar turns of phrase, but the whole set works as low-key soundtrack material—ideal for chopping veggies or folding laundry, where its warmth turns the mundane sharp. Dean knows the stagecraft here, staging clips for ‘Nice to Each Other’ and ‘Man I Need’ on obvious sets that wink at old Hollywood illusions, proving she’s got the chops to keep evolving beyond the blueprint.
PLAYY. Music has officially launched! It’s the world’s first social music platform, which was first conceptualized by Director, Warren Morris, more than 10 years ago. PLAYY. Music was crafted specifically for independent artists, record labels and organisations. It offers a sustainable alternative to other platforms which more often than not are highly exploitative.
PLAYY. Music is not another streaming platform, instead it’s a practical, ethical and forward thinking solution that puts the power in the hands of those who create the music. In one unified hub, artists can manage all aspects of their career, from bookings, to live gigs, engaging with fans, streaming, sample sharing, sales, fundraising as well as licensing. It’s never been this simple and convenient for artists to take control of their career and their finances.
For decades, the music industry has been controlled and monopolised by corporations, gatekeepers and systems which do not serve artists. PLAYY. Music offers a revolutionary system that allows artists to own their brand, voice and business in a transparent and truly authentic manner.
Detroit-born and now Cannes-based artist Jairic dropped his latest single ‘Don’t Let Me Put A Track On You’ on September 5th, 2025, through Rich Air Music. Raised in a musical family in Michigan, he started out producing beats for local hip-hop acts before carving out his own style that’s raw, independent, and pulls from diverse influences like Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, Detroit’s underground scene, classic funk, 60s rock, and film scores. With nearly 2 million streams across platforms, Jairic has built a global footprint spanning the U.S., France, Italy, and Prague.
Recent highlights include standout performances at Château Les Alouettes in Cannes and Villa Balbiano on Lake Como, plus a live spot at the Paris premiere of the short film Azur. Every release from him is self-written, self-produced, and self-performed, often tied to visuals that mix luxury vibes with gritty edges, positioning him as a key player where music meets film and fashion.
The video, helmed by Vansh Luthra—an Indian director based in Prague with credits on films like Two Words as the Key and the award-winning Destination Paradise—brings the song’s intensity to life. Shot in moody urban nights with sharp lighting contrasts and a recurring rose symbol, it features Jairic in a sharp suit alongside assistant director Julie Weber as a shadowy presence, building tension through seductive menace and strong on-screen chemistry.
Jairic shared: “The video is built around the symbol of a rose. It moves through a dark, seductive world, exploring power, obsession, and how the hunter can quickly become the hunted. The song itself carries that same energy — a warning, a dare, a promise: don’t let me put a track on you.“
