Our first year has been concluded and we had to go through some serious debates in order to offer you the list below. With that being said, thank you to all artists who’ve trusted us with reviewing your songs, inquiring about your personal and professional life, spreading the word about our reviews. A major thank you goes out to the WordPress bloggers who actively engage with our content and help us push the new music to new listeners. A third thank you goes to the Blue Rhymez Entertainment Staff who’ve consistently kept the website flowing perfectly and kept our security measures in check. And last, but not least, thank you to our editor, Mariana Berdianu, for having done the heavy lifting around here and for having written nearly 300 articles for our platform.
With that being said, Congratulations to ALL Winners, and may these Honorary Awards find you in good spirits and help you take your career to the next level. You, more than anyone, deserve it!
BEST INDEPENDENT ARTIST: SHILPA ANANTH
From having been featured in Rolling Stones India, to being part of the ONA album by Thana Alexa now nominated at the 2021 Grammies for Best Jazz Vocal Album, and to also being the first artist to kick off our very special Chronicles Section, Shilpa Ananth is the one name we’ll bet on any day, any time. Shilpa’s soulful vocals, impressive drive, and commercial image are all working in the singer’s favor in her quest for notoriety.
BEST LYRICIST: OSCAR BIGGS
Oscar Biggs from Longueuil, Quebec, Canada, is one of those rappers who only need to be introduced once, for as soon as he starts spitting bars, you won’t be able to forget him even if you tried. The Canadian artist shocks with his every single record and has gained our utmost respect for investing so heavily in his own brand. With the boom-bap sound and abundant raw delivery, Oscar Biggs is gaining traction by the minute.
BEST RAP ARTIST: CHAD GRAY
There’s not a single Blue Rhymez Ent. staff member that doesn’t have a Chad Gray record on their playlist. Chad Gray can get into beast mode, comedian mode, hustler mode, and poet mode. His smooth flow, high-quality music, addictive hooks distinguish the Maine rap artist from everyone else competing with him. Keep your eyes on him in 2021.
BEST DARK POP ARTIST: TAREKTV
The Illinois-based artist TarekTV took self-support to the next level with his LightMinds Entertainment video production company while also pursuing a music career. TarekTV is a brilliant songwriter and exceptional vocalist. He is doing both music and video production flawlessly and his Love, Lust, Destruction album is our top favorite dark pop collection.
BEST POP ROCK ARTIST: SINIKKA MONTE
While Sinikka is still in her first years of creating a path for herself in the industry, she’s making great strides with her suave voice, natural demeanor, and charming personality. The Austrian singer is pretty much impossible not to like as she is the true definition of being yourself and showing off your music before all else.
BEST SOLO ROCK ARTIST: JADUKOR
All the way from New Zealand, Jadukor set the independent rock sphere on fire! The artist garnered numerous accolades and major press placements throughout the year of 2020 and continues turning new listeners into permanent fans. A self-proclaimed rock magician who’s keen on keeping his identity secret. Trust us, we researched and came up with nothing.
BEST ROCK BAND: OITC
One In The Chamber from Toronto, was the one winner we all unanimously agreed on. Versatility, novelty, quality are the 3 OITC characteristics that set the band in a lane of their own. Digesting their music is like eating from both sides of the mushroom in Alice In Wonderland: some songs will have you feeling larger than life, and some will have you questioning existential matters. Once you listen to their music, you’re impressed. Once you see them, you’re hooked.
BEST INDIE BAND: NON TALKERS
The husband and wife duo based in Portugal and comprised of Marco and Evita Brantner, pair up with the best talent only for the production of their songs. They’re enjoyable to any listener of any age. A most rare quality for today’s musicians. The Non Talkers’ music is of sombre majesty, of lyrical brilliance and versatility, of timeless meaning and profound emotional after-effects. The alternating male and female voices are of heavy impact and memorable to say the least.
BEST R&B ARTIST: DAVID SPARKS
You know a phenomenal singer when you hear one. David Sparks makes you realize R&B is alive and thriving! He’s simply put: too good. We still can’t get over his Dark Side EP. David Sparks has some of the absolute best records we’ve heard the entire 2020. Excellent production, pitch-perfect vocals, astonishing visuals, incredible collaborating artists, David Sparks has all the right elements in the right places.
BEST VOCALIST: SHALANE
Shalane is a star in becoming. The artist’s creativity is palpable and delightful. Intent and melody are omnipresent in all of the singer’s songs and that makes Shalane our very favorite vocalist of 2020. Shalane speaks of nature, emotional growth, forgiveness, self-love, tranquility, all while granting the audience with Zen mode audio and visuals.
BEST ACOUSTIC ARTIST: HUNTER ROOT
Hunter Root is an artist of infinite skill and delicacy. The songwriter is efortless in both his demeanor and his artistry. Gold locks and an acoustic guitar is all he needs to fill a room with his presence. Hunter Root creates modern classics repeatedly and there’s no stopping this stellar talent.
BEST MUSIC VIDEO: CHOCOLATE BABY BY DOCKKO
Just when you thought you heard it all, some artists come as a complete shocker giving you material to digest for days. One such influential talent is Dockko, a self-taught classical musician that took a huge artistic risk with his latest release, Chocolate Baby, by meshing together existential matters with very playful, hot lyrics. Standing at over 400k views, the music video is everything you could expect from the title and then some.
BEST RAP EP: NOW OR NEVER BY TRACKFAM WUNDABREAD
Ranging from motivational bangers to unapologetic chronicling records, Now or Never is packed with hit after hit flaunting over-the-top mix and mastering quality assembled with lyricism of a stature you haven’t heard in a while… if ever! Each of the 6 records delivers musical substance and grand messages getting you hooked to the artist’s bass voice and astute flow almost instantly.
BEST SOUL RECORD: WHERE’S THE LOVE BY JAY TAYLOR
Jay Taylor, mainly a gospel artist based in North Carolina, belts that voice like there’s no tomorrow and not only reaches your soul, it stays there forever. You won’t be able to look the same at modern singers after you hear Jay Taylor. With organic music, bonafide golden voice, deep lyrics, Jay Taylor deserves this award more than anyone else.
BEST JAZZ COMPOSITION: GEORGE’S DILEMMA BY VELI MERT
George’s Dilemma is a jazz track of epic proportions and a modern take on a 70-year-old song by Clifford Brown. The big shocker is that Veli is neither American nor European. He is a biologist from Turkey who’s also studying to get a Master’s Degree in neuroscience. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have a Turkish scientist who’s doing jazz on a professional level and reviving golden-age American masterpieces. Simply phenomenal.
BEST PRODUCED RECORD: MY WAVE BY KA$INO
My Wave is a song that grants the audience the experience of an excellently-produced instrumental, fun lyricism, dynamic flow, and most impressively of all: an amalgam of vintage groove bass and modern rap. Ka$ino is ahead of the trend and is creating his own lane by not sounding like any other rapper out there. We love this song.
BEST COUNTRY RECORD: SAME OLD 2 STEP BY GASNER THE ARTIST
If you want the best country record you’ve heard yet, this is the one. Same Old 2 Step is a country-pop jam that will uplift your mood, calm your senses, sweep you off your feet with its delightful appeal, and will suddenly become your new go-to song for a romantic evening. Gasner The Artist is here to make history.
BEST PARTY RECORD: CHECK (SHOW ME SUM) BY DON ESCO
Don Esco’s Check (Show Me Sum) bestows absurd amounts of confidence, an incredibly-catchy instrumental, and a top-notch production enough to raise the roof. You can vibe to this record whether it’s a club party, a house party, a duo party, a birthday party, or whatever type of party there is.
BEST DANCEHALL RECORD: DATING THE DJ BY KYNG KAI
We were unsure whether to award Kyng Kai the award for Best Versatile Artist or Best Dancehall Record, but we went with the latter as this is his first music video. Dating The DJ is a feel-good tune illuminated by the artist’s warm vocals, flirtatious lyrics, and smooth delivery. The production is promising and the hook very commercially-appealing. Kyng Kai’s music hits different as the artist bases all of his records on real-life stories from his personal experience.
BEST COVER PERFORMANCE: CHRISTMAS VACATION BY THE WHISTLES
You a fan of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation? Then you a stan of The Whistles. A cover both glorious and novel which grants the audience a most heartwarming performance from the folk husband-wife duo, The Whistles. Terry Brennan and Wendy LaManque have jump-started our holiday spirit and got us in the mood for a snowy vacation.