Welcome to the February review! We are well into 2025 now and the underground scene is really starting to ramp up. As we leave the winter months, lets take a look back at all the great projects released, get to know a new dope rapper hailing from Puerto Rico, and take a look into how Reddit may be the next best place to share your music!

Thank you and we hope you enjoy!

2025 is starting off strong for the underground scene! As we are truly starting to transition away from the residual effects of COVID, and the dust is settling from the major events of the previous year such as the Presidential election, A.I. mayhem, and K.Dot v. Drake, it is time to pave way for the new landscape that will shape new music this year!

The projects above range from comic book inspired boom-bap from New Villain & Circa 97 on Mysterioso, to the latin influenced project Greatness Takes Time coming from Broken Twinz, to the rage aesthetic scene coming out of Australia with Piambs newest release, Up.

Let us know which project here is your favorite and if there is anyone we should look out for in March!

My name is Jose M Batista, I'm a husband and a father to a two year old. My brother and I make up the rap duo, Broken Twinz. I was born in Puerto Rico and was raised in Perth Amboy, NJ. I came from a big family of five kids all together so I appreciate everything my mom and dad has done for us.

I started making music when my brother and I received a toy piano for our birthday. It was memorable because our birthday is in december so all of our gifts were from christmas. We learned simple chords from the piano but the guitar is where I really started to love music. This time it was my dad that bought it for us and he said “here play me some beatles”. From the Beatles I moved onto rock where I started listening to Marylin Manson. From Manson I moved onto Eminem, 50 cent, and Dr. Dre. Eminem influenced the penmanship, 50 influenced the hooks, and Dr.Dre influenced the music production.

What makes me stand apart from other artists is that over the years I have learned the ins and outs of music all together. I learned how to produce music, record, mix and master. I admire the artist Russ because he really did do it on his own. Because of his drive it influenced me to educate myself on music engineering. I'm always open to expanding my knowledge on a variety of genres.

It has to be “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace) by Eminem. I love the album because I'm all about an album that has a story and a great concept. If you've been following em's career he has put in so many easter eggs into that album. The album makes you think and I don't think there's many artists doing that now.

Right now I'm working on getting my YouTube channel up and running because I want to teach others about music. I'd also like to mention that I do offer mixing and mastering services for any artist that is interested. I'll also be working on another album showcasing my music production and music writing. I'm always down to collab with other artists so you will see many features coming out this year. Also look out for some merch for the album.

Since I just released my album “Greatness Takes Time”, right now I am focusing on networking and building my mixing and mastering clientele. Also, this summer I'm looking at releasing more music with Assembly Sounds.

As you may now know my album “Greatness Takes Time” is out now everywhere. Thank you for all the support I have been receiving to keep making music. I want to thank my wife who's been my supporter since day one. And to any artist who's sleeping on their own music, please don't. Release it! People need to hear your creativity, if not do it for yourself and prove that you're worthy of creating something beautiful! Thank you!

According to the Queen of building successful rap careers, Wendy Day recently shared “60% of monthly Reddit users listen to two or more hours of streaming music per day. 24% of non-Reddit users listen to 2+ hours of streaming music per day in comparison.”

As of January 2025, there are an estimated 1.1 billion unique monthly visitors to Reddit. Billion with a B. (For reference, there are about 1.9 billion active users on TikTok.)

In a world where artists are navigating how best to connect with those that not only will enjoy the music they create, but will even give their song or album a chance by clicking a link to listen for the first time, Reddit may be the avenue to tackle!

In my experience working with and talking to aspiring artists, playing the “content creator game” for exposure is one of the largest pain points. Not many people want to become the next TikTok start in order to make a living from their music career. While switching to Reddit will still require a game to be played, it is very different than needing to record short form videos, learning how to edit, and grinding that every day.

By creating your own subreddit to share your personality and music there, while reaching out to other Redditors on music subreddits to build connections, you may lay the foundation for a strong community that can be your day one fans as your music career continues to grow!

Thank you for checking out our latest edition of Mic Check Monthly! If you have any questions or would like to be featured in the next edition, feel free to reply to this email and I will personally respond as soon as it comes through! Thank you!

— JTA