DROPPED THIS WEEK: WEEK 14 - APR 5TH

The End of an Era, and the Start of Something Else

The first April edition lands with something that feels bigger than just another strong week of releases, because even though Sydney is still dominating and the UDG momentum hasn’t slowed at all, none of that is really what people are going to remember when they look back on this week.

They’re going to remember indigomerkaba cutting his dreads on camera.

Everything else sits around that.

That moment doesn’t just exist as a visual or a talking point either, it reframes how you look at the track itself, and once you realise that, the rest of the week starts to feel like context rather than competition.

Sydney is still setting the pace, the underground is still building, and producers are becoming more central with every drop, but this week isn’t defined by volume or even consistency. It’s defined by clarity. You can see what artists are trying to do now, and more importantly, you can see how they’re doing it.

Weekly MVP: indigomerkaba
Best Video: Ribby247 — BKD
Breakout Artists: Villyszn + X2Yappy + Retz HBB
Honourable Mention: KARMA + Z6BABY
Best Release: indigomerkaba — The Metamorphosis

VISUAL SPOTLIGHT

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VISUAL SPOTLIGHT 🌐

KARMA & Z6Baby — 5 Star

7/10 — Visual Only | Dir. NBREEZY

The track has been sitting out for a while now, and for most of that time the conversation around it has not really been about whether it works or not, it has been about the fact that it did not have a visual yet. You could tell early that it was the kind of record that needed one, not because it felt incomplete without it, but because the energy always felt like it was meant to exist beyond just audio.

Once the video finally dropped, that gap closed straight away.

NBREEZY leans into the drill aesthetic, but it does not come across like a copy of what has already been done in the space. The night vision camcorder sequences, the layered edits, and the way scenes overlap and bleed into each other all sit within a visual language that the scene first saw popularised through ZacoBro. That reference point is clear, but what NBREEZY does with it feels different in tone and execution. It does not feel like imitation. It feels like a continuation that carries its own identity.

What really helps it land is how grounded everything feels. The city shots are not just there to fill space or create atmosphere, they give the performance something to exist inside, which makes the whole thing feel more real. There is a sense of place running through it that stops it from feeling staged.

The more you sit with it, the more the detail stands out. The framing, the pacing, and the way shots are selected and held all point to a visual that has been thought through properly.

For KARMA, this feels like a clear step forward. Not just in how it looks, but in how the release is being handled overall. The track already worked, but now it actually feels complete.

MUST LISTEN TRACKS OF THE WEEK

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MUST LISTEN TRACKS OF THE WEEK 🌐

X2Yappy — Still Trappin

6/10 | North Melbourne | First Appearance

Six months out of prison, and instead of easing back into things, X2Yappy comes in sounding like someone who’s already figured out what they want to do and is just now starting to execute it publicly.

That’s what makes this feel different from a lot of releases. It doesn’t come across like someone testing the waters or trying to find their sound in real time. It feels like that process has already happened, and this is just the first time we’re hearing the result.

The production sets that tone early. The jazz-influenced sax sits over the top in a way that gives the track warmth, while the guitar and underlying synth work fill out the space without overcrowding it. Then the drums come in and anchor it back into drill, but by that point, it already feels like it’s operating slightly outside of that lane.

What really separates it though is the structure. Instead of rushing into a hook, it lets the track build out properly, and that bridge section in the middle gives it room to reset before it comes back in. That’s where the most important line lands: “I don’t like trap but the trap likes me.” And it does more work than a traditional hook would anyway. It tells you exactly how he sees himself in the space without needing to over-explain it.

The video follows that same approach. Shot in North Melbourne, it establishes location straight away, and from there it just focuses on performance. The camera moves with him instead of trying to add unnecessary layers on top, which keeps everything consistent with the track itself.

For a first release, this feels complete in a way that’s hard to fake. It’s not perfect, but it doesn’t need to be. It already feels like part of something bigger.

Retz HBB — Scared To Love

7/10 | Prod. Fith Studios | Visualizer

Retz has been consistent for a while now, but what’s starting to stand out more clearly is that the consistency isn’t coming from repeating himself, it’s coming from understanding exactly what space he operates in and continuing to refine it.

Scared To Love is shorter than a lot of his recent work, but it doesn’t feel like anything’s been cut back. If anything, the shorter runtime works in its favour because it keeps everything focused. There’s no excess, no sections that feel like they’re stretching the track out unnecessarily.

The production plays into that. Fith Studios keeps it minimal: soft guitar, subtle vocal layers sitting within the beat, and drums that move things forward without taking over. There’s a lot of space left open, and instead of feeling empty, it gives the track room to actually sit with what’s being said.

And that’s where Retz continues to separate himself. He doesn’t try to make things sound more complex than they are. The writing is direct, and because of that, it carries more weight. The themes aren’t new, but the way he delivers them keeps it from feeling recycled. It feels lived in.

The visualizer makes the right call by staying restrained. The purple lighting, the smoke, the empty spaces. It all feels more like fragments than a narrative, which suits the tone of the track better than a full video would have.

At this point, it’s less about whether he can do this and more about how long this run continues before it starts getting picked up more widely, because the level he’s maintaining is getting harder to ignore.

Villyszn — Laters

7/10 | Prod. Jorda | 6th Release of 2026

Six releases into the year and there’s still no drop-off, which is probably the most telling part of this run so far.

Laters sits comfortably in that high-energy UDG space, but what makes it work is how controlled it feels despite how chaotic that sound can be when it’s not handled properly. Jorda’s production is a big part of that. The synths are loud and fast-moving, the drums bounce, but everything stays locked in.

It never drifts.

Villy’s delivery is what gives it identity though. There’s no sense that he’s trying to fit into something that isn’t natural to him. The humour, the references, the way he moves across the beat. It all feels like it’s coming from a real place rather than something constructed.

The melodic elements tie it together in a way that a lot of tracks in this lane don’t always prioritise, and that’s what gives it replay value beyond just the energy.

At this point, it’s less about what each individual track is doing and more about what the run is building into. You can see the direction becoming clearer with each release, and if that continues, it won’t take long before it fully locks in.

Cult Shotta, Jords, 4orttune & Ooopsy — Summer Love

8/10 | Prod. DON! | Dir. MP4Oscar

This is where the week starts to open outward a bit.

Bringing in a UK feature at this stage could’ve easily felt like a reach, but the way this comes together makes it feel like a natural extension of what Lonely Souljaz have already been building.

DON! shifts the production into a quieter space than usual, pulling from Sunset Lover and reshaping it into something more textured and restrained. It still carries his signature structure, but the tone is different, and that difference works in the track’s favour.

Each artist plays their role the way you’d expect, but oopsy’s verse is where things shift. Not just because he’s coming from the UK, but because of how he approaches it. Referencing “eetswa” isn’t something you throw in casually. That’s awareness, and it changes how the feature lands.

It stops being a crossover and starts feeling like an actual connection between scenes.

The video follows that same restraint. It avoids the fast-cut, effects-heavy style that’s common right now and instead focuses on presence and pacing. The mascot returns, the visual language stays consistent, and nothing feels forced.

With the deluxe on the way, this doesn’t feel like a one-off moment. It feels like a signal of where things are heading.

Ribby247 ft. cult shotta — BKD

9/10 | Feat. Cult Shotta | Prod. DON!

This is the point where the rollout really starts to make sense as a whole.

BKD doesn’t just feel like another strong release, it feels like a step forward in how everything is being put together. The production from DON! moves differently here, leaning into bell-driven melodies and tighter drum work that shifts between sections without losing structure.

It keeps the track moving, but it never feels unstable.

Ribby sounds more settled in what he’s doing. The hook is the most memorable he’s put out so far, and it carries beyond the track itself in a way that matters. The verses bring together his earlier directness with a more developed sense of pacing, and the balance between those two sides feels natural.

cult shotta comes in more aggressive than usual, which gives the track contrast without pulling it off track. It adds to the overall momentum instead of disrupting it.

Then the video pushes things further again. The setting is familiar, but the way it’s handled feels more controlled. It doesn’t rely on the environment alone, it builds around it, and that ties back into the rollout.

Because at this point, that’s what this is.

Not just a series of releases, but a system that’s being built piece by piece.

indigomerkaba — The Metamorphosis

10/10 | Prod. Liam Thomas | Dir. SLIPPN

Everything this week leads back here, whether directly or not.

The moment where he cuts his dreads in the video isn’t separate from the track, it’s central to it, and once you understand that, the rest of the release starts to unfold differently.

The writing isn’t built to be immediately understood in full. It reveals more the more you sit with it, not because it’s trying to be obscure, but because there’s a level of detail that takes time to process. The themes are heavy, but they’re not presented in a way that feels performative. It feels internal, like something being worked through rather than explained.

Liam Thomas keeps the production restrained for that exact reason. The piano, the space, the way elements come in gradually, it all exists to support what’s being said without competing with it.

The video mirrors that approach. Close framing, soft grading, everything focused on intimacy rather than scale. It doesn’t feel like it’s trying to show you something. It feels like you’re watching something happen.

And that’s why the dreads matter.

They weren’t just part of the look, they were part of the identity. Removing them on camera, and building an entire visual narrative around that act, creates a clear line between what came before and what comes next.

The trilogy structure reinforces that again. This isn’t random. It’s planned, and each release plays a role within something larger.

When everything aligns like this: the writing, the production, the visuals, the concept. It stops feeling like a release and starts feeling like a moment.

WHAT WEEK 14 SAYS ABOUT AUSTRALIAN HIP HOP

Sydney is still leading, but that’s not really the takeaway anymore.

What’s becoming clearer is how everything is being built around the music now. The rollouts are tighter, the visuals are more considered, and the producers are playing a bigger role in shaping direction rather than just supplying beats.

You can see it across the board.

Villy’s consistency is building into something. Ribby’s rollout is starting to connect. Lonely Souljaz are expanding outward without losing their identity. Retz is holding his lane without compromise. X2Yappy arrives already sounding defined.

All of it points in the same direction.

And then you’ve got indigomerkaba cutting his dreads and building an entire release around that moment.

That’s the line.

Everything before it, and everything after.