Maarquii’s Debut Album is Full of Mantras for Squashing Bullshit

The Video for Lake Oswego Rapper Wynne’s Debut Single Features a Damian Lillard Cameo

“Buzzer” is two minutes of straight bars over a menacing beat supplied by LA’s Aaron Bow and Teddy Walton, a producer on Kendrick Lamar’s “Love.” In the music video, Wynne raps while leaning out of a BMW that’s driving around the industrial Eastside, and in an pink lit room where Lillard just so happens to be hanging out. Lillard also get a reference in one of the song’s final bars: “My city know that lil hommie’s shooting from the three.”

The New Single from Black Belt Eagle Scout Confronts Housing Instability

Black Belt Eagle Scout is the moniker of Portland-based songwriter Katherine Paul. Paul’s last single “Soft Stud”—a yearning anthem that displays Paul’s grunge influences and delicate but bold vocals—got the attention of national outlets like NPR and Pitchfork. On “Just Lie Down,” Paul’s frenzied guitar takes on a meaner growl, and she sings over tense drums. But on the chorus, Paul delivers a gentle respite to the chaos: “Just lie down/Head on the ground/Sky looks blue/Just like you.”

Aminé Just Dropped a Suprise Mixtape

Onepointfive trades the brightness of Good For You for a bassier, more atmospheric production, like an understated Die Lit. The lyricism displays the seamless blend of irreverent humor and candid introspection the 24-year-old MC has become known for. “These intros are meant to be bangers,” he raps on “Dr. Whoever,” the slowly building, contemplative opener. “It’s hard to find some love if the girl is a fan/And after we fuck/She want a picture with me/She got me feeling like Paper Boi/But I cry when she leave.”

Portland MC Karma Rivera’s Debut EP Is Meticulously Aggro

Ever since her first single, Karma Rivera has made it clear she’s a force to be reckoned with. It wasn’t until the end of July that Rivera released her debut EP, Don’t Sleep on This. The EP seems like a benchmark moment for a rising, ambitious artist, but Rivera skipped the customary release show. Instead, she opened for Snow Tha Product the day before Don’t Sleep on This dropped, and this week, she’ll perform a set at Cake, a queer and trans hip-hop dance night.

Amenta Abioto Blends Jazz, R&B and African Music in a Way That Can Only Be Called Magical

Amenta Abioto personifies “#blackgirlmagic.” And she wants to make one thing perfectly clear: She got it from her mama.

Ex-Rio Grands Singer Colin Jenkins Marries Modern Lyrics With Infectious Throwback Sounds on Solo Debut

Somewhat quietly, Rio Grands has pushed along the past few years as one of Portland’s greatest sun-kissed lounge acts. Its leader, Colin Jenkins, has since moved into solo work while keeping a tight grasp on his stagecraft and colorful delivery.

Ezza Rose Plugs In and Cranks the Volume on “No Means No”

Much like the world in which we live, the romance Rose sings about has the potential for great beauty. But you have to be able to wade through the darkness to find it.