Having grown up in Jersey City, Juan Marcos Nieves – known to the scene as ROCKY – notes an eclectic background, immersed in music since just twelve years old. His passions for dancing and rapping alike led him towards an artistic identity that’s unquestionable, and as such, his original music reaches tens of thousands of listeners every month.

AI-AssistedHip HopHip Hop FusionPopRapRnB

Self-described as ‘another unstable depressed artist’, the songwriting and voice of Afro Dope in topic and tone rings loudly as authentic and impassioned. The performance style is playful but also grounded by its own emotional integrity, and this stand tall throughout his colourful, unpredictable, and fast-growing indie catalogue.

Alt PopHip HopRapTrap

Next we get a raspy and snappy vocal lead, short lines of poetic images, further encapsulating the story and location of our Dry River experience. Then the melody rises, the energy shifts, things are catchier, more satisfying in their resolve, and the lyrics pierce through with inescapable suffering and pain; most notably, ‘a trail of genocide’ rings out and lingers in the space.

Blues RockRock

Fallout is ideal as a starting point, a trap rhythm and dreamy keys and synths laying down a haunting, thoughtful aura, as the beat follows a mellow stop-and-start arrangement that naturally gets the mind wandering. The style is cinematic, finely built, with central melodies that feel fresh, and a kind of impending intensity that always lingers amidst these panned, sweeping sounds and effects.

Hip HopInstrumentalProducerRapTrap

Back to basics in a way, but a much needed return if so. Santa Fe captures a moment that’s comforting and awakening all at once, with the raw materials, original melodies, and brilliantly intriguing writing, of Undercut.

Indie PopJazz PopProducer