Hard beats, hard lyrics, hard flow; Noochie’s raw, minimalist sound reflects the rapper’s street tough charisma. With songs focusing on his DC heritage, Noochie hopes to be the next DC rap sensation. After grabbing some national exposure with the music video for the song “Gutta”, Noochie is optimistic, telling an interviewer in XXL, “I’m going to be the next one. When he walk into the room that’s him right there, he got it. Like Neo in The Matrix, un-$#%&-witable.”

Here’s the music video for Noochie’s “Gutta”.

-Written by Michael Dranove

Our Best of Nashville 2017 poll began last week with the Hip Hop/Electronic category and after you-the-people cast your vote, we have the results to share with you!

Overall Poll winner (Jurors vote + Readers’ vote): Soft Bodies

Readers’ Poll Winner (Readers’ Vote only): Truitt

Both Soft Bodies and Truitt craft music that bores right down into the soul. Soft Bodies’ dancy, psychedelic sonicsphere nestles right down into the subconscious. Mostly synth-based, their tunes set a mind and body to motion. Rhythm and melody meet in blissful arpeggiating crescendoes, weaved together with deep melanchology vocals that drive the songs forward. Soft Bodies claims the entire atmosphere of a space, setting a tone and collective motion. 

Truitt carries a more structured, pop orientation, influenced by electronic based pop production (take the newest Justin Bieber record, for example). The songs are symmetrical with traditional pop structuring and offer irresistable vocal hooks that seep into your head. Don’t expect a uniform catalog of contemporary radio pop tunes with Truitt, however. Their songs offer a variety of production techniques and sampled instrumentation that shatter expectations and leave you waiting for the next one.

Honorable mentions go to Biyo and Jensen Sportag (tied for second in the overall chart) and PHANGS (second in the Readers’ poll). The full list of nominees can be found under the streaming tracks. 

Here is the list of all the finalists in the Nashville Hip Hop/Electronic category and their readers’ poll results:

	Biyo		0%	7 votes
	Chill Witch		4%	31 votes
	Facemajik		0%	2 votes
	Foreign Fields		0%	2 votes
	Jensen Sportag		0%	0 votes
	Mike Floss		0%	1 vote
	Nightblonde		0%	2 votes
	PHANGS		27%	199 votes
	Stealing Oceans		0%	0 votes
	Soft Bodies		0%	7 votes
	The Trinity Schill Kill		0%	1 vote
	Truitt		65%	476 votes

Is it absolutely necessary to spend Valentine’s Day listening to "romantic" and mellow music? Brooklyn rockers NoPop answer "no’ to that question, by premiering their sophomore 7 track EP “Demons” exclusively here on The Deli. Describing their music as "pink punk, zoo-music, moxy-rock," the band combines driving rhythms and softer pop together in a hyper-crazed mix embracing unhinged wildness.  “Wear The Feeling” taps into Surfer Rosa era Pixies with similar distorted screaming vocals. The under two minutes “Holly” – one of our favorites – chugs along with perky energy as female vocals find the sweet spot between Kim Deal’s charmingly intoxicated sounding lines and bigger girl group background harmonies. “Huffers” is supported by a heavy fuzz bass, alternating chant vocals and shifting snare shot punctuation.  “Number One” pairs syncopated drumming and metal guitar phrasings with alternating hyper-angst vocals and softer passages. First single “Rules” builds off a steady bass guitar pulse before launching into a full cinematic explosion. The near 7 minute “Frederick Fleet” serves as an epic final track. Demons was mixed, engineered, and co-produced by Julian Cubillos of 77 Linden, and mastered by NY legend Kramer, whose work includes the Pulp Fiction’s soundtrack, Half-Japanese and Butthole Surfers. – Dave Cromwell

The Best of NYC Indie Pop Readers’ Poll ended last Friday and we have some results for ya’ll!

The band Zuli, brainchild of the New York native Ryan Camenzuli, got the upper hand in that category’s readers poll. The group plays well behaved pop in the tradition of the Beach Boys and Elvis Costello. Their debut EP "Supernatural Voodoo," filled with intoxicating melodies and witty lyrics, has been growing on us (and many other music fans) since its 2015 release. The band is playing Les Poisson Rouge on February 16th in a very "psych," all NYC bill including Monogold, Shana Falana and Dead Leaf Echo – that’s actually a show sponsored by The Deli, do not miss! Check out the recent video for "Better All the Time," streaming below.

In the crowded Brooklyn garage rock scene, Las Rosas stands out for catchiness, character. and authenticity. The band’s profile has been rising quite a bit in 2016, so much so that they are currently on a European tour that take them through the Check Republic, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, the UK and the Netherlands. They’ll be in Austin for SXSW with a show at Hotel Vegas on March 18th, and then back to NYC for a home performance at Baby’s All Right on April 8th. Check out their recent video for single ‘Boys,’ streaming below.