Artist OutLook

🎤  Artist Spotlight: CDTQuan :Turning Pain Into Purpose By Artist Outlook From the heart of New Orleans, Louisiana, rising artist CDTQuan (real name JeQuan Robinson) is carving out a space for himself in today’s music landscape with versatility, passion, and authenticity. As the latest winner of Song Wars, he’s proving that persistence, growth, and staying true to your message pay off. 💿  A Legacy in the Making For CDTQuan, music isn’t just something he stumbled into it’s been in his blood. Inspired early on by his father, who also made music, JeQuan felt an instinctive pull toward the craft. “I would say my biggest influence is my father because he used to make music,” he says. What started as inherited talent has grown into a voice for the unheard, delivering lyrics for those who feel overlooked. 🎙️  Genre? Try Every Flow While CDTQuan aligns himself with hip hop and rap, boxing his sound in wouldn’t be fair. With a range of flows and delivery styles, he doesn’t beli...

🔦  Artist Spotlight: Zvy (Isaiah) Richmond, VA | Artist Outlook Feature Stepping into the underground scene with emotion, edge, and unstoppable versatility is Richmond’s own Zvy, pronounced “Zay.” Born Isaiah, this rising artist blends sonic emotion with raw talent, making it clear he’s not here to fit a mold—he’s here to break them all. 🎧  What Sparked the Music? Zvy’s passion for music wasn’t a phase—it was always there. “Music I’ve always loved for my entire life,” he says, citing a wide range of influences from Kanye West, Juice WRLD, Chief Keef, Teezo Touchdown to bands like Weezer, Green Day, and Linkin Park. Add to that the constant evolution of today’s underground scene, and Zvy’s inspiration becomes not just deep, but diverse. 🌀  Genre-Defying Sound When asked what genre his music falls under, Zvy keeps it real: “I don’t know—I’ve done R&B, drill, rock… I swear I can do it all. I’ll never place myself in one genre.” This genre-blending confidence is exactl...

Artist Spotlight: GlokkRequired Hailing from Jersey and now calling Jacksonville home, 17-year-old GlokkRequired — born Jariel Garcia — is part of the new wave of raw, underground talent reshaping the sound of today. With five years in Florida behind him, he’s channeling his upbringing and influences into a style that’s hard to define but impossible to ignore. A New Voice in the Underground GlokkRequired doesn’t try to fit into any box. While some might call it rage or underground trap, his music lives in the now — the kind you catch blasting at kickbacks or soundtracking late-night drives. Inspired heavily by artists like Che and Osamason, Jariel draws from their relentless energy and unconventional flows to shape his own art. “Their type of flow on songs inspires me to do what I do.” Turnt Energy, Real Emotion For GlokkRequired, it’s all about giving people the energy he feels when he hits play on his own music. Every track is made to get people hyped — not just at shows or in cars, ...

Artist Spotlight: Nazarene & Aladdin — Brothers in Bars, Bound by Blood and Bars In this edition of Artist Outlook, we spotlight the duo Nazarene and Aladdin, two voices reshaping what it means to be underground, independent, and culturally grounded. As Palestinian immigrants with a globe-spanning upbringing, their music blends raw honesty, street survival, and lyrical craftsmanship into an experience that resonates far beyond the beat. A Journey Rooted in Culture and Struggle Aladdin’s story begins in Nazareth, born Palestinian in a world that constantly made him feel like an outsider. His journey through the U.S. — from gritty corners of Miami to the suburbs of Grand Rapids — laid the foundation for a unique voice. “Rap was one way I could reach people without leaving the comfort of my room,” he says. “It offers emotional release unlike any other pursuit.” For Nazarene, the love for rhyme and rhythm is generational. “My culture has deep roots in freestyle poetry and music,” he ex...

Meet Redwater: The Genre-Bending Artist from Mahomet Making Waves with Emotion and Energy Hailing from the small town of Mahomet, Illinois—just two hours south of Chicago—Redwater is turning heads with a sound that’s as emotionally raw as it is electrifying. Blending the glossy textures of hyperpop, the pulse of EDM, and the catchiness of dance pop, his music is carving out a space that’s both deeply personal and sonically forward-thinking. Raised on a mix of underground rap and the experimental edge of hyperpop, Redwater draws inspiration from a wide spectrum of artists including 2hollis, Porter Robinson, Brakence, Crystal Castles, Lucki, and even early 2010s pop. “I take from what moves me,” he says. “I think that’s what makes it real. I don’t want to fit in a box.” While his discography branches into rap territory at times, the core of Redwater’s sound sits at the intersection of glitchy synths, dreamy vocals, and relatable, heartfelt lyricism. “I want my music to feel relatable and...