Innholdsfortegnelse for ISSUE 4 - Dec - Feb 2026 i Urban Barz Magazine

Welcome to Issue 4 of Urban Barz Magazine — a space where the underground doesn’t just breathe, it roars. This season, the culture feels charged. Raw. Restless. Evolving. And as always, Urban Barz is here to document the pulse before the mainstream catches the echo. Inside these pages, you’ll find stories carved from real lives, real craft, and real hunger. From Melbourne’s ALPY and JDro reigniting their creative spark, to John Keenan’s unfiltered double-album reckoning, to Karnee pouring quiet vulnerability into Spent, the artists in this issue aren’t chasing algorithms — they’re chiselling truth into sound. We travel through Bangkok’s surrealist dreamscape with Pandemonium’s Dalí, step into Al Sharp’s cross-Atlantic homage to Wu-Tang, and watch Darien Brooks lift the sanctuary with gospel built on faith and fire. You’ll also meet…

UNITED STATES, BUCTOWN From the heart of Buctown, United States, Divineisll emerges with Chaos Loves Faith — a profound, self-produced single released on 29 October 2025. More than a track, it’s a sonic manifesto that delves into the universal dance between destruction and belief, chaos and order, despair and hope. Crafted with lyrical depth and spiritual vision, the song feels less like a release and more like a transmission — a direct communication to those struggling to find meaning in an increasingly dissonant world. Opening with the cryptic proclamation, “Chaos is in love with Faith, and their ability to mingle determines how the planet turns in your favour,” Divineisll sets the tone for a journey that’s equal parts philosophical and visceral. The production balances grit and grace — modern drill…

Hip-hop has always had its ghosts — the quiet pen behind a platinum hook, the songwriter whose fingerprints never make the liner notes, the behind-the-scenes architect shaping an artist’s next chapter. But as we step into 2026, the shadow in the booth isn’t a person at all. It’s an algorithm. AI-generated lyricism has shifted from experimental novelty to an everyday studio tool. It’s appearing in drafts, demos, social content, writing camps, and even in early development stages for emerging artists. And while the technology promises speed and efficiency, it also disrupts the most sacred currency hip-hop has ever held: Authenticity. This is the state of AI ghostwriting going into 2026 — built on real data, real industry practices, and real cultural consequences. AI MODELS HAVE ENTERED THE CIPHER - AND…

For vocalists, podcasters, and content creators seeking studio-grade clarity without the studio price tag, the Behringer SMP2000 offers an elegant solution. Engineered to provide professional-level vibration isolation, precise mic positioning, and adaptable pop filtering, this lightweight shock mount is a compact essential for any recording setup. Now available via Andertons Music Co. for just £31.00, the SMP2000 is an ideal upgrade for large diaphragm microphone users who want cleaner takes and tighter vocal definition. Key Features at a Glance Compatible with Most Large Diaphragm Mics – Secure and universal fit Superior Shock Isolation – Reduces rumble, boom, and handling noise Hinged Vertical Angle Control – Precision mic placement made easy Detachable Pop Filter – Fully adjustable for personalised plosive protection Lightweight & Durable Construction – Ideal for both studio and…

Jerome the Singer Marks a New Chapter with the Release of New Era A soulful, self-built R&B storyteller from Birmingham steps boldly into his next evolution There’s a difference between an artist who wants to sing and an artist who’s called to do so. Jerome the Singer belongs to the latter. With the release of his brand-new project NEW ERA, he steps forward not just with music, but with intention. This is an artist who has shaped his destiny with discipline, education, creativity, and a lifetime of lived experience — and now he stands ready to claim his space in modern R&B and soul. Born and raised in Birmingham, surrounded by seven siblings and three bonus siblings, Jerome grew up in a household humming with personality, rhythm, and cultural richness.…

UNITED STATES, DETROIT Emerging from Detroit’s rich soul lineage, Karnee brings heartfelt storytelling and polished production together on her original single Spent. Released on 21 October 2022, the song captures the quiet ache of unspoken love — a psychological portrait of passion, longing, and emotional vulnerability. Smooth and soulful, it’s a song that bridges old-school R&B sincerity with modern production finesse. Produced by Rob Stovall and mastered by Cutta Classic, Spent stands as both a creative milestone and a deeply personal triumph. “Every detail mattered,” Karnee explains. “Rob and I spent two days building the beat from scratch. Cutta pushed me in the studio to deliver clean and clear vocals — it was about finding the balance between emotion and precision.” The result is a record that glows with warmth…

UNITED STATES, NEW YORK New York-based singer, songwriter, and producer Elion Melody returns with his most ambitious body of work yet. Released on 24 October 2025, Engraved Onto Infinity is a concept-driven album exploring the highs and lows of love stretched across time zones, tested by absence, and strengthened through faith. Fusing R&B, hip-hop, pop, and afrobeats influences, the project proves Elion’s gift for weaving personal truth into universal emotion. At its core, Engraved Onto Infinity is an album about intimacy that refuses to fade. Across twelve tracks, Elion maps the delicate push and pull of romantic endurance — from the yearning opener In My Feels to the celebratory warmth of Marry You featuring DILAN SKIES, and the sultry confidence of Gyal Dem Hips. Each song feels lived-in, the product…

With its distinctive warmth, ultra-clean tone, and iconic studio presence, the NT1 has long been the benchmark for large-diaphragm condenser microphones. The new RØDE NT1 Signature Series keeps that DNA alive, now in a sleek black finish — and bundled with a studio-grade shockmount, pop filter, and XLR cable straight out of the box. Available now at Andertons Music Co. for £133.00, this is an all-in-one vocal and instrument recording solution made in RØDE’s state-of-the-art Sydney facility. Whether you're a vocalist, podcaster, streamer, or instrumentalist, the NT1 Signature Series delivers legendary tone and reliability. Key Features at a Glance HF6 1” True Condenser Capsule – Smooth lows, detailed mids, sparkling top-end Ultra-Low Noise Floor – 4dBA – One of the quietest mics in its class SPL Handling up to 142dB…

UNITED STATES, SCOTTSDALE Sometimes an artist reaches a point where the past is too heavy to drag any further. It demands examination. It demands honesty. It demands closure. Wreckage of the Past — John Keenan’s newest full-length release — is exactly that moment captured in real time: the point where a man turns around, looks his history dead in the eye, and chooses to write through it instead of bleed from it. Across eighteen tracks, Keenan strips away the performative armour that so often defines modern rap and replaces it with something far braver: candour. There’s no persona shielding him here. This is a man picking through the emotional rubble of the life he’s lived — the mistakes, the losses, the relationships that soured, the systems that failed him, and…

THAILAND, BANGKOK When Pandemonium say they make art for art’s sake, they mean it. The Bangkok-based collective — Maffmatix, Claire Ray, and Charlton Banks — arrive not chasing algorithms or playlist virality but pursuing an idea: to build an entire sonic dimension where surrealism meets rhythm. Their debut single and video, Dalí, released 17 October 2025, marks that beginning — a doorway into the “Dalíverse,” where boom-bap drums collide with dreamscapes, and hip-hop becomes philosophy in motion. The trio describe themselves as pan-dimensional pirates, a fitting moniker for artists who plunder from the subconscious as freely as they sample from sound. Within Dalí, words twist and fold like molten clocks, verses bloom into trip-hop ambience, and the beat lurches forward with hypnotic intent. “This isn’t an attention-seeking popularity grab,” they…

Mixtape culture didn’t just define an era — it defined who we became. For a generation of artists, DJs, and fans, the mixtape wasn’t a “format.” It was a heartbeat. It was the underground newsletter, the community bulletin board, the rawest form of artistic expression you could find without stepping onto a stage. Mixtapes were a declaration: Here’s who I am before the world tells me who to be. But somewhere between 2015 and today, something shifted. The mixtape didn’t die — it got folded, flattened, compressed into something unrecognisable. It became a playlist, a “deluxe edition,” a DSP drop engineered around algorithms instead of instinct. It lost its chaos, its teeth, its unfiltered hunger. Now, standing at the edge of 2026, we’re asking a question the culture should have…