Hometown Highlights: Contrast, Phantom Head, Jacoby Bron + more

To make up for the fact that this edition of Hometown Highlights is a week late, it has 11 songs. Twinkly emo from Overland Park, pensive hip-hop from a Good Colors emcee, ripping Kansas City hardcore, and plenty more are all included. Scroll through and find your new favorite songs.

Dettsa - "Uber Thru The Hills" (ft. Rory Fresco)
Celebrating features in the Kansas City Star last week, Dettsa and Rory Fresco decided to drop their long Twitter-hyped single "Uber Thru The Hills." On his first appearance since his "Mad World" mixtape in September, Fresco lays down a massive hook and trades verses with Dettsa. Fresco's pop genius and Dettsa's tactical bars prove to be a deadly combination on this vivid tale of riches and easy living. Hopefully this is not the last time we hear these two together.

Zarin Micheal - "Fckin Up"
After submitting a remarkable, autobiographical freestyle to the aforementioned Star feature, Zarin Micheal also let a new song loose last Friday. Most of Micheal's songs hover around the three to four minute mark -- the young rapper has a lot to say -- but "Fckin Up" comes in at a short, sweet two minutes. In just two fiery verses and two times through the chorus, Micheal effectively warns his peers not to underestimate him.

Contrast - "W.O.S."
In a complete and total power move, Antonio Marquez is now fronting two of Kansas City's hardest hardcore bands at the same time. Marquez and some of the Spine Crew's finest just released the debut EP from their new band Contrast. A lethal blend of early Cleveland and New York hardcore, the "World Of Sand" EP is filled with lyrics about the ignorance Marquez witnesses in the world. Coincidentally, the EP's riffs are equally as ignorant.

Gene - "Running Out Of Gas"
With a title inspired by zooming around town as a Pizza Hut driver, Bennett Weaver has released one of his most off-the-rails Gene tracks yet in "Running Out Of Gas." The song sits somewhere between Void's "Time To Die" and Die Kreuzen's "Think For Me," two of the 80's most immaculately desperate hardcore jams. Also worth checking out is Weaver's strident tribute to Jay Reatard on the EP's cover of the "Blood Visions" banger "It's So Easy."

Phantom Head - "LSM"
Although they moved silently through most of 2016, Phantom Head have broken their silence with the debut of their first LP. The self-titled record consists mainly of songs from their first two EP's, but includes two new tracks -- "LSM" and "Hope/Dope." Despite the fact that "LSM" is a muddy, plodding garage rock track, its guitar soloing does anything but drag. Sleigh bells that appear near the track's end call to mind classic tracks by The Stooges.

Donnell - "I Know"
Over bubbly production from Bijan Amir, one of Kansas City's favorite teenage emcees, Donnell, gives fans a life update on his new single "I Know." The reflective track features verses about his relationship with his mom, his work with Good Colors, and the future that he envisions for himself. "I Know" is a song that oozes pure ambition.

Sahvannes - "Sometime Soon"
On his first single in several months, Kansas City rapper Sahvannes reveals an amount of aggression often reserved for punk songs. Perhaps that's why "Sometime Soon" sounds acutely similar to the early output of Odd Future. Sahvannes has cunningly distilled his frustration into a rap song with impressive rhymes and combined it with a chorus that can quickly be picked up by a crowd. His performance opening up for RetcH at The Granada next month is one to look forward to.

It's Okay To Feel Alone - "Pim and Jam"
Johnson County emo kids now have something to smile about: Overland Park quartet It's Okay To Feel Alone just released their new EP "Sometimes." The six song release is throughly fun and perfectly twinkly. If the band's songwriting continues to progress, we may be looking at the first metro-area group to record an album with Evan Weiss.

Dead Dads Club - "Everyone's B"
Alice Ryan is quickly becoming one of the city's most productive young singer-songwriters. "Everyone's B" is a standout cut off her new Dead Dads Club EP "Tboye." Her sorrowful storytelling and acoustic strumming creates a simple, thoughtful feeling that only a teenage girl can truly communicate. The song ends abruptly, but that just means you get to hear another great song directly afterward.

Jacoby Bron - "For Now"
Lawrence DJ Jon Marzette pointed out on a recent episode of The A.D.D. Podcast that R&B is a massively underserved genre in the area. One young talent hoping to fix this problem is Jacboy Bron. Bron's first single "For Now" is smooth as can be and an immediately infectious track capable of satisfying any fan of Top 40 R&B. The song already drew a huge response at a recent show at The Loop; hopefully the rest of the city catches on soon.

Rage Gang, Beam Team -  "Go Ghost!"
Consider this a Hometown Highlights bonus track. Consisting of references to Nickelodeon show "Danny Phantom" and verses about sex and drugs that are just as cartoonish, Olathe Northwest rap duo Rage Gang, Beam Team's latest song is their most successful yet. "Go Ghost!" is now undoubtedly the song of choice for Olathe's high school kids to speed off to as they skip class for the day.


Check out past Hometown Highlights updates here.