Jungle Gym Mag doesn’t stop. I dig their eye and quality, not to mention Melo X is a really really amazing artist, he’s a Dj for Kid Sister not to mention an ILL emcee and producer/musician in his own right. Get Up On Magic@

TBB TV SEASON 1 / EPISODE 1: I AM CURT@!N$ from The Buther's Block on Vimeo.

I first heard about Compton based emcee H.O.P.E from Dj Val The Vandle over a year ago when he was spinning for him. H.O.P.E been simmering below the surface for a minute and I haven’t heard anything about him in the media much until the homegurl Ashley Outrageous interviewed him while she dipped through Los Angeles. Check it out.

“I sat down with Compton native H.O.P.E. to discuss his future projects, Who were some of his influences for him to start rapping, How he feels about his previous project ‘Follow The Leader’ & more.”

Jungle Gym Mag based out of NY caught up with one of my favorite break out artists and newest owners of a record deal Big K.R.I.T. Check it.

One of the best new artists coming out of the south, Big K.R.I.T possesses the all around skills to be one of the greats in the rap game. This guy has so much potential, he’s putting his hometown of Mississippi back on the map, hit after hit. After his heartfelt mixtape, “K.R.I.T Wuz Here” a lot of people took notice of him. Shortly after, he was signed to Def Jam Records. Big K.R.I.T is a natural born MC; his lyrics and energy are outstanding! Hip Hop is changing, the greats are getting old and can’t stick around forever, they have to open the door for the youngn’s that prove their worth. With artists in the game like K.R.I.T., the future is in good hands. We were able to catch up with the young icon at the Blu Roc festival presented by Adidas and DD172 in Brooklyn,NY, where he discussed with us who he is and his future plans.

Via: Jungle Gym Mag

Words: De3p

“Authenticity” is the tape  by which D.M.V artist Phil Ade measures himself.

His music is the sonic cultural cross-pollination between Washington D.C,  known for its hyped Go-Go sets, and Baltimore, famous for its frenetic dance trends. Thus, when probed on what he thought D.C hip-hop had to offer, Phil Ade obviously had only two words: “live music.” With his latest full length offering under  368 Music Group titled “The Letterman” which drops today, Phil Ade thrusts in our faces his blazing potential to reignite a now smoldering and dilapidated industry, clogged with Auto-Tuned copy cats and fluffy radio hits. No hyperbole intended.

“The Letter” specifically is his flagship piece and video for the album, emblematic of his need to

reconcile the glamour of his name in lights with the reasons he got into rap in the first place. A nostalgic jam with its hook a melodic cacophony of scratches and cribbed vocal clips from legends Nas, AZ, Andre 3000 and Raekwon, its intended underlying message is clear: Phil Ade will claim his place in that legacy.  As the song unravels, he gives voice to his doubts and dilemmas, on one hand avoiding the temptation to become a “bling-n-bitches” rapper and on the other hand, making a name for himself no matter what happens. You won’t hear any references to Beamers, Benzes or Bentley’s on this album, just an unfettered unstoppable laser beam ambition to succeed. He’s ready to do and give whatever it takes; crashing and burning simply is not an option. “My biggest fear right now is ending up in a nine-to-five. As long as I’m doing this, I don’t mind the stress,” he says, echoing the anthem of any and every dream-laden underdog the world over.

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So how are you feeling about The Letterman? And tell me more about The Letter. What was that video and song all about?

Phil Ade: Yeah, I’m pretty excited about this one. It was just about a lot of things going on, and all about being on the road and stuff. First, it was about life on the road and how that changes things. The Letter referred to the friends and family I couldn’t talk to when I was on the road. They’d be like ‘Why you never call?’ and those were the friends I had before I started this. I’m mainly trying to capture how far I’ve gotten, the different things I’ve seen, the different things that have influenced me…

What are your plans for after this project? Did the stress and how overwhelming all of it was really get to you?

Phil Ade: I never really thought about where it was going; I’m just kind of taking it in as it goes. Things just moved way too fast and I didn’t expect them to move that fast, like when I was on MTV and stuff. At the end of the day, you’re just dealing with you and your stress. If you get to do something like this, you have more stress and you just deal with it. My biggest fear right now is ending up in a nine-to-five. As long as I’m doing this, I don’t mind the stress.

“The Letter” – Phil Ade

Were there any real stand-out songs for you on this mixtape?

Phil Ade: Honestly, each song on this is a favorite of mine. I mean, I did 20 to 25 initially and only 15 songs stood out from those for this. If I had to pick, though, I’d say the song ‘Borderline.’ That song’s just all about me living my dream, about doing what I wanna do, and about tomorrow is not promised. That was the one I did for the Sprite commercial.

I notice a lot of styles in your music. I hear a little Roots, a little Wale, a little jazz. What were your musical influences growing up and were you influenced by any non-hip-hop sources?

Phil Ade: Definitely, I listened to a lot of John Legend, Brian McKnight, I listen to Cold Play a lot. To me, there’s a lot of styles of music, but the base of my music is hip-hop though. Really, a lot of stuff from the early 90s, like Tribe Called Quest, I listened to Nas’ Illmatic a lot, Biggie, Pac, a lot of different people. More recently, I listen to Kanye and Lupe’s stuff. Michael Jackson, of course. I also listen to Ray Charles. There are a few people I listen to, but nothing really past the early 80s.

What about collaborations? If you could make one track with absolutely anyone you could think of, who would you want to make a track with?

Phil Ade: Ha! Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson, he’s just the greatest artist of all time in my book because his voice is just unique. His singing voice and the songs he’s done, and the thing he’s built. And Quincy Jones because he’s one of the greatest producers of all time. And if you want to bring it back to real hip-hop, the way he puts stuff together is just amazing.

“Borderline” – Phil Ade

What’s your process like when you come up with tracks and lyrics? Like a lot of artists today, you incorporate so many different influences like TV, cartoons, ads, whatever you see around you, it sounds like that.

Phil Ade: Yeah, with me it’s just we each have to do what we have to do. Just go out, man. You gotta do your thing, just go out and experience life. The more experience you have, the more you have to talk about, the more you can make music that people can relate to. As far as the process of making a song, I usually just let the beat dictate. Whatever emotion I feel with a beat, I try to write and keep my subject matter along those lines that fit in with that emotion.

Because I hear so many references from TV in your lyrics, and because you always talk about making it big and doing something amazing with your music, I want to ask you, if it wasn’t music, if you could have any super power in the world, what would you want?

Phil Ade: Wow… that’s hard to choose man. I think I’d actually want to go in peoples’ minds to see what they thinking. Yeah, reading people’s minds.

Aight, another random question: what if you could pick your last meal? What would you want to put together on a plate for your last meal ever?

Phil Ade: Oh man, um, wow. I’d have some macaroni, some egg and cheese croissants. It’d be all over the place. It’d be breakfast foods, lunch foods, dinner foods, but definitely egg and cheese croissants. I’d have some pizza…ah… my mom makes some bomb meatloaf. I’d have a slice of that. Probably a glass of orange soda. No vegetables, I know that. It’d be all junk food. Maybe some chicken wings or tenders. I can’t even say, man, it’d probably just be a whole lot of stuff.

This isn’t as crazy, but what are five TV shows or cartoons that either influenced you the most or you loved growing up?

Phil Ade: The old Looney Toons, Batman, the animated series on Fox, Dragon Ball Z, during middle school, this show Gundam Wing, and Family Guy, but I still watch that.

Ha! Right on. Finally, how would you sum up your overall goals and aspirations for your music?

Phil Ade: My whole goal with doing music is to just be able to do what I love and to live off of doing what I love. I don’t think I could ever do…I think I have ADHD, cause I can’t just hang in just one place for more than an hour without going crazy. My goal is just to be able to do what I love and live comfortably. I ain’t gotta be on TV or have 2 billion dollars. I just want to be able to pay my bills and live comfortably.

Hopefully most of you are familiar with the hip hop artist Donnis. If you aren’t, he’s a dope emcee out of ATL (Atlanta) who’s “Diary of an Atlanta Brave” sponsored by 10Deep saw him thrust into the National spotlight and landed him a record deal with Atlantic (home of Lupe Fiasco among others). Ashley Outrageous is a women who is as passionate about hip hop music as any true lover of Outkast and the Hot Boys can be. From interviews to events she’s almost single handedly holding down shit in South Florida, and it’s just the beginning for her I feel. So take a seat for a spell and soak up something unique you can’t hear anywhere else.

The Hip Hop Chronicle sat down with Elliott Wilson founder of Rap Radar for a spell to let him expel a few thoughts on the impact of Rap Radar on the online hip hop blog/journalism hustle, crediting sources and plans for the future of the brand. Their rise from non-existent to one of the top sites in less than a year can def be sounded as a successful start. If you hate, love or are indifferent to their style there is one thing you certainly can’t deny, they are doing something right. Check it out.

Via: The Hip Hop Chronicle

Seeing Fashawn rock the other night in S.F I really felt like I was watching the second coming of Ice Cube. Maybe it was because of his Sharks fitted cap, black and white checkered short sleeve button up, and slightly sagging black jeans making him look like he was casted in Boyz N The Hood that the allusion popped up. Stylistically his raps are different, but in terms of presence and handles. Fash’s voice never once cracks, never once falters from almost exactly how he sounds on wax only liver. It’s amazing, and when he finally does loosen up and truly fall into the zone he shuffles, bounces and falls back from his raps like a man participating in an American Indian ritual. Trilly he’s a new master of ceremonies for a new generation.
via: Distortion 2 Static

No fancy title needed on this post. The fact that this interview is with the live wire hip hop artist known as Roach Gigz should be enough. Shot in some very Frisco locations, we met with Roach Gigz at Fatlace in S.F not far from his Fillmore district stomping grounds and got more than a few jems off the dude. With the release of Roach Gigz’s mixtape “Roachy Balboa” you could easily define Roach as one of the top emcee to watch in California. He’s as perfect a representative of the Bay Area as you can look for in his style of music. In this interview Roach easily passes the equivalent of a secret hand shake by breaking down which High School he attended letting you know when he claims S.F he’s really raised in the heart of the city. Live in person as he is in videos, his persona and raps are as authentic as it gets. He’s a product of the Bay’s musical past but his musical product is a signal of the Bay’s future locally and nationally. GET UP ON MAGIC!