TestMe - TestMe Talk Vol. 2 (DJ Kay Slay/Power Hitter Records)

I'd been familiar with this kid named TestMe for a while now, from his track on the first Hamsterdam mixtape, and his group U.A. Mobb (who did some dope songs with Tyree Colion), but all the sudden lately it seems like he's everywhere. Amotion recently sent me a bunch of CDs, including both of his mixtapes (this one, which was released in January, and Vol. 1 from last year), and he was featured along with Deep Flow on the Fox 45 news story about Baltimore rap the other night. And in the past couple weeks 92Q's been playing the hell out of his new single, "What It Is," which isn't on his mixtape but you can hear it on his MySpace page, shit is pretty catchy. The really crazy thing is, TestMe is only 17 or 18 years old, and has been rapping since he was 10. His voice sounds a lot like Lil Wayne, but he's actually lyrical enough to really back up that comparison, although to keep it real sometimes it does sound a little too much like an imitation and it gets distracting. He's with the same management as Bossman, who makes a guest appearance on here, as does Tony Manson from N.E.K.

TestMe - "Jump Off" (mp3)
A freestyle over the beat from Bossman's "A-Yo," good use of the track, make me wonder if the talk I heard of an "A-Yo" remix will ever amount to anything.

Labels: Bossman, Deep Flow, mixtape/album review, mp3