Music
Rayoe – Extra
Rayoe is wearing a heavy mink coat in the hot desert of Joshua Tree, California in the opening scene of his new video. The song is called ‘Extra’, and it’s safe to say he’s referring to his over- the-top style and outlandish behavior.
Born in Ghana, the neighboring country to Afrobeats epicenter Nigeria, Rayoe had been recording raps since a young age. Living back and forth between West Africa and New York during his formative years gave him a unique perspective on hip-hop culture during the height of rap icons such as Jay Z, 50 Cent and Dipset. He has since relocated to Los Angeles, where the palm trees make him feel a bit more ‘at home’, though he admits to missing life in Harlem at times.
“‘Extra’ is kind of an ode to my Harlem influence in a low-key way: being African, I’m naturally extra — we love to get fly. But Harlem really takes pride in pushin’ it to another level, being competitive about showing out. The clothes, jewelry, cars. Extra!” he explains. “We had a lot of fun making the video, and the production company had some cool ideas like having the horse. I’m a bit tight ’cause we had a scene [that involved the car] I really wanted in the video, but I got the Benz stuck in the sand and we had moved on without it.”
The song is produced by Rayoe’s longtime collaborator Bug Dinero, who is based in Ghana. It samples Moroccan instrumentation complimented by bouncy drums and a deep, rolling bass line.
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.
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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