Global Artists Spotlight: Nasa Nassa, Freddie Elmberg, Ice Grenade and More

Freddie Elmberg – “The Bouncer”

U.K. singer-songwriter Freddie Elmberg serves up pained pop that’s informed by his classical music training on his latest single “The Bouncer.” While the music video shows him traversing through different landscapes with a starkly placed door as a gateway, the vocals evoke a typically British style that balances soft and emphatic tones. He’s singing about the “reality of the unexpectedness of being a bouncer” on the piano-centered song, channeling the “sadness you see in the faces of random people.” He adds about the track in a statement, “The piano and the vocal take the forefront of it all. With subtle, powerful production, the whole song is lifted by the bass synths and production nuances.”

Nasa Nassa – Apollo The Landing

Ghana-born, Canada-based artist Nasa Nassa aka Moubarak Nasser Owusu is all about galactic exploration and astronomy as far as music themes go. His latest album Apollo The Landing delves on hip-hop, trap and pop production and songwriting, while also being appropriately spacey and ambient when it needs to be. Songs like “Apollo Engine Check” and “3am Born” are autobiographical as well as aspirational, while “No Bell Prize” is a more heartfelt bop that stays within Nassa’s thematic world. He charts out his next move by the end of the 16-track album, which closes with “To Mars.”

Ice Grenade – “Storm”

Kuwait-born, Indian-origin rapper Ice Grenade aka Hazil Hanees’ new single “Storm” is as menacing as they come. Over warped, skittering trap beats, the MC’s verses are lethal and resolute, carrying forward a sound he’s championed from 2020, when he released his debut single “Deathwish.” There’s a distorted verse on “Storm” which seems like a nod towards Bangla-American rapper Anik Khan’s “Big Fax,” with the rest of the track running at a seemingly unpredictable pace.

Yonexx, CRÈME, KEVIN LNDN – “War In Your Mind”

South Carolina-based producer Yonexx (who also produces under the moniker 2Strangers) teams up once again with singer CRÈME aka Trixie Reiss and Lagos-based 19-year-old bass music producer KEVIN LNDN aka Noyze Jynx for a seismic new track called “War In Your Mind.” Melding the worlds of rock guitar melodies and quaking bass drops, the track was released via electronic musicLacuna.