Music

Shojizero – Not Hiiiii Enough

Bounding in with his first release of the year, the ever-elusive ShojiZero is haunting on the new drop ‘Not Hiiiii Enough’.

Boasting a broody, trap-Esque rhythm lined with heavy bass hits and a hint of metal flair, the New Jersey-based rapper delivers a track that is ominous, exciting, and entirely unique. Produced by frocious, its gritty rhythm and quick flow changes keep you on your feet, a signature element of ShojiZero’s work. The sinister sound samples reflect the lyrical narrative, which is one of rampant illicit activity due to inflated egos, and how being overly confident can often do more bad than good. “If you follow the lyrics, it tells a pretty violent story” ShojiZero explains, “There’s a shooting involved, drug dealing, and some pretty graphic stuff. My overall purpose with this song is to warn younger people of becoming too confident. Don’t get me wrong, confidence is essential for many things in life. But too many people today think that they’re greater than themselves and that they’re above the natural way of things. “Not Hiiiii Enough” is basically a song about people who pretend to be something they’re not, and it gets the best of them. Average high school and college-aged kids love to act like famous rappers, celebrities, and mobsters when they couldn’t be further from that. Some people simply don’t know how to be humble and I feel like that is a major contributor to the many social issues that we face today. As a young, independent artist the last thing I want to do is continue to promote this blindly arrogant mindset.

Always working on his craft, there is nothing more exciting in the world to ShojiZero than music. His aptitude for bold instrumentals and addictive melodies borrow from a wide range of genres, yet his clever approach to structure switches them into something that is entirely his own. After beginning to write at the age of 14, he has performed in countless local bands, including his current band The Last Martyr, and also dropped his debut EP ‘Leo Season’ last year, which features his biggest hit to date ‘Six Six Six’, racking up over 16,000 streams on Spotify. Focusing on the underbelly of society and the struggle of mental health as the inspiration for his bars, his immeasurable talent at the age of just 21 is sure to develop into an artist who will stand the test of time.

A producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, ShojiZero is a triple threat too good to ignore.

Tweet LinkedIn PinShares0

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.

Connect – Website | FB | IG | TikTok | X |

Tweet LinkedIn PinShares0

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

Connect – Website | IG |