Artist Spotlight

Get To Know BBY JOE, A Multi-talented Rapper Who Is On A Steady Rise In Hip-hop

Right out of the suburbs of Chicago, BBY JOE is making statements with his music career. BBY JOE is a multi-talented rapper and songwriter who has been on a steady rise in hip-hop for the past few years. Fun lyrics and hilarious social media antics have made him a fan favorite among all demographics. BBY JOE is known for its unique signature sound pallets that are filled with life. With all of his success and streams, the word of each of his media projects, laced with beautiful introspective music and compiling deep messages, BBY JOE chronicles his current path in life.

Checkout his latest single “What I Need” on Youtube:

Hello there, welcome to HONK! Can you tell our readers about what really inspired you to write music?

BBY JOE – What really inspired me was, Everyone in my town was into rapping and stuff and what inspired me to really start was my first couple of times at a real studio I fell in love with it all! The environment, and the community as a whole. This is what made me start building my brand in the studio and then the wrest is history.

When did you realize you were going to make music professionally?

BBY JOE – I realized I would be doing this professionally when I did my first ever concert. It was a little competition I came in second and the top 5 got studio time so I went and recorded in the studio with a legit setup. After that, I kept laying down tracks and never looked back!

Tell us what is so unique about you and your music?

BBY JOE – What’s unique about my music is I have so many different flows, and I feel like you can vibe with my music and get hype to it as well. I am very picky on what beats I use so I always try to use a beat I can hear myself making a catchy flow on.

Can you tell us about your latest releases and what inspired you to create them?

BBY JOE – My latest release is called “What I Need” and it’s on all streaming platforms. What inspired me to create it was me really just sitting there and thinking about what most people would relate to.

Can you give us a brief insight into your upcoming projects?

BBY JOE – I got a new single coming soon within these next 2 months. Working on what songs I should drop next etc. I got a lot of new songs coming just have to stay in tune with me and enjoy the ride!

What do you wish you were told when you first started making music that you think would help artists just starting out?

BBY JOE – What I wish I was told was too not to be afraid to take chances. What I mean but this is to not be scared to be myself while on camera. People want authenticity and once they see that it’s gold!

What do you do when you don’t do music (creative or otherwise) that you are passionate about?

BBY JOE – I use the rest of my time doing real estate. I want to be able to make money while I sleep at night lol. This is how I invest my money into the music I release. When I blow up off of music I’ll still be doing real estate because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.

Any last piece of advice for those artists who just started making music?

BBY JOE – The advice I would give to an up-and-coming artist it’s to just keep grinding. Don’t worry about what people gotta say. The only person you have to prove is yourself just make everyday count.

How can our readers follow you online?

BBY JOE – You can follow me on Instagram – @bby_joee_

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Artist Spotlight

“Subterranean Homesick Blues” finds a new direction through Ghost of Panama

Rearranging a song that carries six decades of cultural weight is a creative challenge, but Ghost of Panama approaches “Subterranean Homesick Blues” with clear purpose. The rock band radically reworks Bob Dylan’s counter-culture hit, reshaping its identity while keeping its rebellious spirit. It’s a tribute to musical heritage and a statement of artistic independence all in one.

This new interpretation is very much shaped by the production, made at Ghost of Panama’s home studio in West London. The setting allows an intimate approach to reinterpreting a familiar song and lets the group engage directly with the material, taking it in a new artistic direction.

“Subterranean Homesick Blues” centers on the tension between conservation and transformation. Ghost of Panama is true to the song’s rebellious spirit without adding to its legacy, and this approach gives the release an adventurous feel, grounded in countercultural energy but driven by a desire to see what the composition can become in a different musical context.

Their version of this 60-year-old classic shows that respecting a song’s history can also mean breaking the rules and finding new ways to express its spirit. Fundamentally, “Subterranean Homesick Blues” presents Ghost of Panama as artists who want to engage with the past without being tied to it. The release’s strongest identity is a familiar heritage reimagined through a singularly forward-looking creative vision.

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Artist Spotlight

“NO MORE” by Amanda Holley connects healing, awakening, and survival

“NO MORE“ carries that kind of emotional weight, and some songs feel like they come from lived experience but reach for something bigger. Amanda Holley blends R&B and soul, turning a lifetime of survival into a vision of healing, awakening, and the determination to move beyond what caused the pain.

“NO MORE“ is a healing anthem for people who have gone through bad experiences and reached a place of higher awareness, but it’s also an emotionally charged protest. The duality is introspective and outward-looking at the same time, turning personal survival into a broader declaration that some experiences, conditions, or cycles should end.

Holley had a premonition of the song six months before the world went into global shutdown. In the vocal booth, working out melodies with her collaborators, she pictured people in the streets. Those images were hard to imagine at the time, but subsequent events would make them painfully familiar.

“NO MORE“ is given a particularly contemplative underpinning by the context. The identity of R&B and soul leaves room for emotion. The song’s themes link survival, awakening, resistance, and the need for change. Amanda Holley is an artist using music to process personal endurance and a broader sense of social awakening. It’s got a complicated significance, and its release feels like a glimpse of a moment when personal intuition and public reality collided in an unexpected way.

Photo Credit: Yulia Shusharina

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