Backland - Block Work: None Better (DJ Jabril/Block Boy Music)

I’ve posted so many songs and videos hyping up this project since it was announced way way back around January, so when Backland’s contribution to DJ Jabril and AllBmoreHipHop’s Block Work series finally dropped last month I wasn’t even in a huge rush to cop it since I felt like I’d already heard so much of it. Like a lot of folks in Baltimore, I will forever check for Backland just off the strength of how classic his 106 & Park Freestyle Friday rhymes were, but I definitely have enjoyed his last couple mixtapes too. Like a lot of successful battle rappers, he’s probably not trying to let that reputation cage him in, so sometimes you get a little less of that humor and cleverness and a little more kind of standard mixtape rapper bravado, but he carries it well and the beats are pretty solid. I do hate the song "Who Da Fuck Are U" where it sounds like Backland is doing an OJ Da Juiceman impression, though. DJ Jabril hosts it, Skarr Akbar did the artwork, and 100 Grandman, Hunit Stackz, Caddy Da Don, Comp and B.O.M.B. drop verses on it.

Backland - “Do You” (mp3)
This was already my favorite song on the mixtape when DJ Jabril came in at the end and shouted out "Al Shipley, Government Names." I love when shit like that happens.

Labels: 100 Grandman, ALLBMOREHIPHOP.COM, Architects, B.O.M.B., Backland, Comp, mixtape/album review, mp3, Skarr Akbar

Here's B.O.M.B.'s new video "Ratz N Roachez."

Labels: B.O.M.B., video

Labels: B.O.M.B., flyer, Shaka Pitts, Shy Lady Heroin, Sonar

Labels: B.O.M.B., battle, flyer, Shaka Pitts, Shy Lady Heroin

Labels: Arsonists Camp, B.O.M.B., flyer, G Major, Lava Lounge, Ms. Stress

Labels: B.O.M.B., Bourbon St, flyer, For The People Entertainment, Steez Promo

Labels: B.O.M.B., flyer, Shy Lady Heroin, Suite

Labels: B.O.M.B., Comp, flyer, For The People Entertainment, Ogun, Tha Profitt, Tim Trees

Shy Lady Heroin - Queen Of The Streets (Money In Da Bank Ent.)

Shy Lady Heroin is a female MC that's in Go Hard Clik and on B.O.M.B.'s Money In Da Banke Ent. label, and she won the first 'Queen Of The Mic' competition at Sonar last year. I've seen her live a couple times lately, and the last time I saw her at the Black Hole she gave me this new mixtape, which is kind of a quick little 35-minute release, and has most of the songs she usually performs. She's definitely got some lyrics, but I dunno, her delivery gets a little bland and monotonous to me, like she's doing all this bragging and talking shit but I don't really hear it in her voice, she almost sounds too nice, y'know? There's a ton of drops on here of various local folks co-signing her, to the point that at the end there's just a bunch left over that play all in a row, from Ogun, Shaka Pitts, Stevie Stay Hi, Huli Shallone, Comp, etc.

Shy Lady Heroin - "The Finer Things" (mp3)
This song knocks, love that beat.

Labels: B.O.M.B., Comp, Huli Shallone, mixtape/album review, mp3, Ogun, Shaka Pitts

Labels: B.O.M.B., Black Hole Rock Club, Brown F.I.S.H., Comp, flyer, Heavy Gold, Hots, Huli Shallone, Ogun, Savage Da Beast, Skarr Akbar, Tha Profitt

I tag posts on Gov't Names to hopefully make it easier to navigate, especially for first time or occasional readers, just to make it easier for them to find just posts about the artist or topic they're interested in. But it's also become kind of an interesting way to measure how frequently I post about a given artist or topic, so I did a review of the most common tags I did this in 2007. I thought about not doing it again this year, partly because some people started getting invested in it as some important list to be on and catch feelings about me not posting about them enough or not tagging every post like I'm trying to sabotage them (what up Excel, lol). But really I'm just a stats nerd and it's something I think is cool to mess with, so fuck it:

1. flyer (306/361/1010)
2. mp3 (120/103/346)
3. Baltimore Club (114/76/259)
4. mixtape/album review (79/80/241)
5. 5 Seasons (65/102/267)
6. DJ Booman (45/38/95)
7. Sonar (44/39/108)
8. magazines/newspapers (41/29/119)
9. Ogun (39/40/120)
10. K-Swift (36/18/79)
11. Baltimore City Paper (34/36/120)
12. Turntable Club (33/53/96)
13. Unruly Records (30/11/53)
14. Bossman (29/42/139)
15. Blaq Starr (28/21/68)
16. battle (27/2/29)
17. Skarr Akbar (26/35/107)
18./19. (tie) Mullyman (25/36/117) / B.O.M.B. (25/24/52)
20. Sonny Brown (23/60/138)
21. Rod Lee (22/19/88)
22. Team Fifty (21/34/97)
23./24./25. (tie) Labtekwon (20/17/57) / E Major (20/14/41) / The Wire (20/10/41)

So that's 8 rappers, 4 Baltimore club DJs, 3 venues, 2 labels, and a lot of other types of topics. The first number in parentheses is posts in 2008, second number is posts in 2007, third number is total posts up through the end of '08. As I noted last year, although I try to document the whole Baltimore scene faithfully on this site, ultimately it does reflect my taste, and I make no apologies for covering some artists more consistently than others. And I think this list is still a pretty useful metric of who really worked hard in '08 and played a lot of shows, put out music and guested on releases throughout the year. You can't deny the grind of guys like DJ Booman and Ogun. It's kind of a bummer to even see K-Swift mentioned here since so much of that number (nearly 2/3rds) is accounted for by my coverage following her death. There are definitely some folks that did a lot in '08 that I was slower to pick up on, like Wordsmith, and probably plenty more that just weren't on my radar and should feel free to e-mail me every time they play a show or drop new music so I don't miss it in the future. And there were some up-and-coming folks that I like but tried not to post too much that you'd get sick of them or think I was trying to force them on you. But with all those caveats in mind, you can kinda draw your own conclusions. Hopefully '09 will be just as busy for all those folks.

Labels: B.O.M.B., Blaq Starr, Bossman, DJ Booman, E Major, K-Swift, Labtekwon, lists, Mullyman, Ogun, Rod Lee, Skarr Akbar, Sonny Brown, Unruly Records

Y'know, it's funny. I've been running this site for over 4 years now, and hearing more and more Baltimore rap every year that I do it, and yet every year I feel less and less qualified to let my opinion be the end-all-be-all that some people treat it as. There's simply too much music, too much variety coming out of this scene for any one person to really fairly judge, but if I'm gonna be the only person that attempts to hear all or most of it, I might as well throw in my two cents, even as I encourage any and all other critics and bloggers to cover this stuff from a different perspective. So I make no claims to objective truth with this list; this is totally my taste, my opinion. I tried to do a poll a couple years ago, but that didn't really pan out and I'm kind of soured on the idea now, but if anyone wants to post their top 10, top 5, whatever in the comments, or e-mail them to me, I'd love to post those if I get enough of a response.

The last two years I did top 50 lists, but this year I decided to scale down to 20, even though I heard more stuff, just because I really wanted to emphasize the cream of the crop, and also because a lot of cats put out boring garbage this year. That's not to insult everyone that isn't on this list, because there were definitely some good releases that didn't quite make the cut, and also some great singles and tracks that didn't really fit into the list anywhere, but I felt the need to be more selective this time. Government Names will return to daily posting sometime in January, probably not for another week or two.



1. 410 Pharaohs - 410 Funk (Strictly Rhythm/Ill Friction)
This list is not really about club music, but the Labtekwon/DJ Booman/Jimmy Jones club/rap masterpiece really deserves to be at the top of this list, as well as the City Paper top 10, anyway, because it is a historic moment for Baltimore hip hop in general.
410 Pharaohs - “Big Girls” (mp3)



2. Brown F.I.S.H. - Bootleg III: F.I.S.H. & Friends... The Mixtape
This isn't really an album or a mixtape, just an odds & sods collection of remixes and collaborations that the F.I.S.H. recorded in the past few years, but it's so full of great music that it's the equal of any album, in my opinion.
Brown F.I.S.H. f/ Jeneba Suma & Jahli of Golden Seal - “Cheatin' (It Ain't Cheatin' Unless U Caught)” (mp3)



3. various artists - Beyond Hamsterdam: Baltimore Tracks from The Wire (Nonesuch Records)
There's a couple club tracks on this, and a couple non-hip hop tracks, but this is still more than half local hip hop, and considering how much mileage Baltimore rappers have gotten from associating themselves with The Wire over the past few years, I thought it was pretty amazing that an official soundtrack of the show came out with songs by Ogun, Bossman, Mullyman, Tyree Colion and others. It was really one of the highlights of my year that I got thanked in the liner notes for this album, and had even a small role in it coming together.
The Get ‘em Mamis feat. L. Cash - “When You See Us” (mp3)



4. The Pornstars - Dirty Work (Pornstar Productions/Bird City Entertainment)
A couple MC/producers that are nicer on the tracks than on the mic, but got enough personality and humor that you aren’t sitting around wishing they just sold the beats to someone else. These dudes could be, like, Baltimore’s answer to the Beatnuts. I can bump this album all fucking day, front to back.
The Pornstars f/ Ckrisis & Mell - “Bird City” (mp3)



5. Bear - All We Got Is Us 2008 edition (For The People Entertainment)
For The People Entertainment has really been a unique and fertile label in the past couple years, and in my opinion this is their most complete and enjoyable release to date, although this year's Cutthroat album comes in a close 2nd.
Bear - “Live Through Time” (mp3)



6. E Major - Majority Rules (Under Sound Music)
Another one that I helped get into the City Paper top 10, so I won't say much more about than I already said there, but I feel like he really did everything right with this project, from the great release party show to the videos to making the whole thing available for free online, he really was smart about how he worked this project and got his buzz up.
E Major - “Don’t Worry” (mp3)



7. PenDragon - I Got Hits 4 Cheap: Draggy Baby Edition (Team Arson)
It's funny, Drag is one of these guys that gets on my nerves for calling himself the "king" of the city and this and that, but he also gets my respect for totally watching everyone's moves and sizing up the competition (he's always sending me links to other people's videos and music before know about them). And really between his production skills, and the heart and intelligence and humor that come across in his music, he has as much of a chance at making a run at the title as anyone these days, in my opinion. Not that I think there is a title, or that there should be.
PenDragon - “How Does It Feel” (mp3)



8. Ab Rock - The Mid Midlife Crisis (Rockmics Entertainment)
Maybe it's just because they did the release party together, and guested on each other's albums, but I really mentally group this along with the E Major record, and they're both really good examples of mature 'conscious' rap albums that are actually fun and laid back.
Ab Rock - “The Incredible” (mp3)



9. Tha Profitt - Concept Art (Profitt Productions)
Bmore's #1 white boy really went in on this one, coming up with creative concepts for every song and showing improvement as an MC.
Tha Profitt - “Fast & Furious” (mp3)



10. 80'z Boys - The 80'z Made Me
Most of the time when rappers boast about being born in the ‘80s, I feel almost like they’re making excuses for their music being inferior to the generations before them. But these guys pretty much just make dope music that doesn’t feel too tied to any particular age or era. I got this early in the year and I’m pretty sure it was released before 2008, but it’s still by far one of the best things I heard in Baltimore this year.
80’z Boys - “The 80'z Made Me” (mp3)



11. Skarr Akbar - The Epidemic (DNA/Akbar Enterprize/U-Turn Ent./Round Table Music Group)
Another year, another ton of new music from Skarr, but even as he was churning out radio singles and collaborations, he put out a 'street album' that ranked up there as one of his most consistent efforts to date.
Skarr Akbar - “If I Should Die” (mp3)



12. Profound - Carpe Diem (Real On Purpose Entertainment)
After years of dwelling in Ogun's shadow, Profound came out swinging this year and established himself as one of Baltimore's punchline masters.
Profound - “What You Gonna Do!?” (mp3)



13. Greenspan - Got Green? (Federal Reserve Music Group)
I knew this guy was a serious talent from the first couple times I saw him live, and I was not disappointed by his debut full-length release.
Greenspan - “Mt. Rockmore” (mp3)



14. D.O.G. - G Pack Music (7 Entertainment/Invisible Set Entertainment)
On the same tip as the 410 Pharaohs record, a really inspired union of rapping and Baltimore club, stretched out to album length. If he put this out right after "Ryda Gyrl" it could've been huge.
D.O.G. - “Louder” (mp3)



15. Soul Cannon - Kaboom (Soul Cannon/Morphius Records)
Soul Cannon might be kinda slept on in the hip hop scene, just because they're a band and mainly play rock clubs, but they really made one of the best conscious rap albums in the city this year.
Soul Cannon - “Get Serious” (mp3)



16. various artists - The Mania Music Group Sampler (Mania Music Group)
Mania Music Group put out a pretty ridiculous amount of free music this year, including solo EPs by each of its 3 solo artsts, and while they were all pretty good, this first sampler mixtape still really stands out to me as the best demonstration of the label's range and diversity of sounds.
Ron G. - “What Ya See” (mp3)



17. Wordsmith - The Revolution Begins With a Takeover Vol.1 (DJ Furious Styles/HipHopDX.com)
Wordsmith is another guy that's been so prolific this year that it's been really hard for me to keep up with his output so far, but this mixtape was the first time I really started to get a handle on how talented he is.
Wordsmith f/ Kontact - “Hard To Forget” (mp3)



18. B.O.M.B. - Testers EP (Money In Da Bank Entertainment)
B.O.M.B. had one of the best ideas this year: make a release as long as possible (9 songs) while still being able to call it an EP, so that he could sell basically an album-length release at half price. And really, there's something to be said for making a short release where every song counts, instead of just filling the CD to its maximum running time just because you can.
B.O.M.B. - “Over Here” (mp3)



19. EJ - The Westside Hustle (Carnigie Records/DJ Radio)
I'd been waiting to hear a mixtape from EJ since I first heard him like 3 years ago, and while I thought it could've been better overall, this still had some jams on it.
EJ - “Bitch Niggaz Pt. 1” (mp3)



20. Caddy Da Don - Fixed Fight 2.5: Exclusive Edition (Harup Entertainment)
Caddy definitely gets props for being one of the most notable newcomers of the past year or two.
Caddy Da Don - “What’s Funny” (mp3)

Labels: Ab Rock, B.O.M.B., Baltimore club, Bear, Brown F.I.S.H., D.O.G., DJ Booman, E Major, Labtekwon, lists, Mania Music Group, mp3, PenDragon, Skarr Akbar, The Wire

This month on the City Paper's Noise blog, I interviewed DJ Frie (pictured above) for my Club Beat column, and reviewed the following shows: McCracken/Scholarman/Soulstice/Wordsmith @ Bedrock, Sonny Brown/UnReal/Kane/Midas/Labtekwon/Skarr Akbar/B.O.M.B. (and many others) @ The Baltimore Crown awards, the "Music & The Brain Salon (with Shodekeh) @ the American Visionary Art Museum, The Oranges Band/Gary B. & The Notions/Deleted Scenes @ The Ottobar, the Cameron Blake Band @ the 13th Floor and Mike Pursley/Neil Cotterill @ Frazier's.

Labels: 5 Seasons, B.O.M.B., Baltimore City Paper, Baltimore club, Bedrock, Kane, Labtekwon, Midas, Minlus McCracken, Noise, Ottobar, Shodekeh, Skarr Akbar, Sonny Brown, UnReal, Wordsmith

Tha Profitt - Concept Art (Profitt Productions)

Concept Art is an apt title for this album, because Tha Profitt understands better than most MCs that one of the keys to making dope rap music is to have strong concepts and themes for songs, a topic to stick to for three verses and a clever title to tie it all together. He can spit a song strand of unrelated punchlines if he wants to, and sometimes he does, but for the most part Tha Profitt has actual themes and ideas, and I can look at the tracklist of a CD like this, and see song titles like "Dollar Meal Anthem" and "One Take Heartbreak" and "Piece Of Shit Whip" and kinda see where he's going with it and want to hear those tracks. And this kid has a crazy work ethic, I still have a couple other CDs by him here that I haven't written about yet. I can see why he'd get the kind of respect that Skarr Akbar would wanna host this CD and co-sign him, or why he's get guest appearances by Bossman, Huli Shallone, B.O.M.B., Ogun, McCracken, TestMe and Hots, among others. Most of the beats are from outside producers like DJ Durti, Adam Shaikh and Drez, I think Profitt self-produced more of his previous mixtapes.

Tha Profitt f/ Huli Shallone - "Neva That" (mp3)
I like this song, it's just about doing your own thing and having your own sound.

Labels: B.O.M.B., Bossman, Hots, Minlus McCracken, mixtape/album review, mp3, Ogun, Skarr Akbar, TestMe, Tha Profitt

Labels: B.O.M.B., flyer, Minlus McCracken, PX, Shaka Pitts, Turntable Club

A message from The Baltimore Scene regarding this Friday's Baltimore Crown awards:

233 (or so ) Bmore​ peopl​e/​place​s and thing​s you shoul​d know

Congr​atula​tions​ to ALL Balti​more Crown​ Nomin​ees!​
After​ perso​nally​ sendi​ng out thous​ands of priva​te messa​ges,​ email​ blast​s,​ comme​nts,​ etc. We now have our Balti​more Crown​ Nomin​ee List.​ Thank​ you all for your suppo​rt.​
Thank​ you all that Voted​!​

This is one of the rare award​s where​ it's great​ to win but it's also great​ just to be nomin​ated.​ Out of all the choic​es of artis​ts,​ venue​s,​ etc in Balti​more,​ the public chose​ you as their​ very best choic​e and wante​d to see you honor​ed and appre​ciate​d.​ So we will be promo​ting EVERY​ONE who was nomin​ated with artic​les,​ poste​rs,​ and Balti​more Scene​ Campa​igns highl​ighti​ng the top nomin​ees in every​ categ​ory.​ The winne​rs of each categ​ory will be annou​nced at the Balti​more Crown​ 2008.​

Pleas​e Suppo​rt Our Missi​on In Honor​ing The Scene​.​.​

1. If you are on this list,​ pleas​e send all of your conta​ct info for our Balti​more Scene Direc​tory (​even if you think​ we alrea​dy have it)
Full name
Conta​ct Info:​ (​phone​ , myspa​ce addre​ss,​ and email​ addre​ss)​
2-3 line descr​iptio​n of what you descr​iptio​n of what you do (​optio​nal.​.​but ideal​)​

2. If you know someo​ne who is on this list or if you have been to a venue​ on this list and have somet​hing nice to say about​ what they do in the scene​ or how great​ their​ spot is and why, pleas​e send testi​monia​ls/​quote​s with the name of the artis​t,​ promo​ter,​ photo​graph​er,​ venue​ etc.
(for artic​les)​

3. If you know someo​ne on this list,​ try to messa​ge them/​myspa​ce them and let them know that you saw them and congr​atula​te them

4. Come to the Balti​more Crown​ 2008,​ Novem​ber 7th, 2008 and show your suppo​rt for the entir​e under​groun​d movem​ent.​
Thank​s Peace​!​
Pleas​e send infor​matio​n (1 and 2) to com/​balti​mores​cene or balti​morec​rown @gmail​.​ com Also there​'​s a few tiebr​eaker​s.​ Pleas​e Check​ Blog

Note:​ This list is total​ly from the publi​c vote.​ If you are not on this list and would​ like to be added​ to our Balti​more Scene​ Under​groun​d Direc​tory onlin​e,​ pleas​e send messa​ge with info:​ for futur​e netwo​rking​,​ promo​tions​,​ and to stay updat​ed with votin​g and futur​e event​s etc.

Thank​s again​.​
Peace​

Balti​more Nomin​ees from A-Z

Ahk of 88.9, Abroc​k,​ A-​Class​,​ Al Shipl​ey,​ Amoti​on of Deep Flow Studi​os,​ Anomo​ly,​ A & O film,​ Aquil​ Mizan​,​ Archi​tect Studi​ous,​ Arson​ists Camp,​ The Art Of Conve​rsati​on,​ The Artis​t Cafe,​ Ashle​y Haile​y,​ Axiom​,​ Azya,​

Baltim​ore Music​ Confe​rence​,​ The Balti​more Scene​,​ B-​Amazi​ng,​ B Fam, Bedro​ck,​ B-​EZ,​ B-​Fly,​ Be Free Frida​ys,​ Big Statu​s,​ Black​ Hole,​ Black​ Root,​ Bomb,​ Boss Man, B.​I.​G.​ Statu​s,​ Black​ Root,​ Brake​ Fast Recor​ds,​ BROWN​ F.​I.​S.​H,

Cash Land,​ C-​Love,​ Carol​yn Malac​hi,​ Chin-​Yer,​ Chuck​ The Mad Ox, COMP,​ Crutb​all

Dark Room Produ​ction​s,​ Daria​n Robbi​ns,​ Dave the Barbe​r,​ Da Truth​,​ Darao​ Johns​on,​ D Banks​,​ D Chase​,​ Deep Space​,​ DJ Jabri​l,​ DJ Newpo​rt,​ Doc Dolla​z,​ Diamo​nd Digit​al,​ DOG, Dot Spot,​ Drag

Eden'​s Loung​e,​ www.​Eleme​ntspa​rty.​ com, E Major​,​ Emanu​el Johns​on,​ E the Poet MC, 8x10,​
Faraj​ii Muham​mad (​NLLC)​, Ferti​le Groun​d,​ F-​Gutta​,​ 5th L, 15 minut​es of fame @ The Turnt​able Club,​ 1st Fam, F.​L.​E.​X.​,​ The 5 Seaso​ns,​ Fletc​hers,​ Frank​ Lewis​ (​E.​C.​
), Fred Locks​,​

Get Em Mamis​,​ Golde​n Infam​ous,​ Graph​ic Girl (​Karen​)​,​ G Major​,​ Gover​nment​ Names​,​ Grass​ Hoppe​r,​ Green​ Span,​ G Wizdo​m,​

Handl​er Brand​,​ Haven​,​ Headp​hone Music​,​ Helin​a Metaf​eria,​ Hilto​n Carte​r,​ Hip Hop 101, a 100 Gram Man, Huli Shall​one

Indel​lible​,​ Indus​try Thurs​days at the Suite​,​

Jade Fox, J5, Jah Hipst​er,​ J Who, Jamma​ Wun, J.​A.​M.​E.​S.​,​ Jesse​ Winst​on,​ J Funk,​ Joel Mills​,​ J Law, J Pope,​ J S.​O.​U.​L.​, JS AKA the Best,​

K. Barne​s,​ Kalad​a Produ​ction​s,​ Kane Mayfi​eld,​ Kariz​,​ Kelly​ Conne​lly,​ KG, Kia Colla​way,​ Kid Conne​ct,​ Kompl​ex,​ K Swift​

Labte​kwon,​ Lamar​ Hill,​ Latte​ Da'​s,​ Lisa A.​K.​A.​ Lieze​l,​ Live Beats​,​ Lois Life Blog Spot,​ Longe​vity,​ Love Peace​ Proje​ct,​ LOVE the Poet,​

Major​ Graff​ix,​ Mania​ Music​ Group​,​ Mark Henry​,​ Maste​rmind​s Photo​graph​y,​ Mauri​ce (of Raw Tech Studi​os)​,​ Mauri​ce (​Stick​y Face)​,​ Maysa​,​ McCra​cken,​ Midas​,​ Money​ in the Bank Enter​tainm​ent,​ Ms. Stres​s,​ www. myspa​ce.​ com/​balti​morep​oetry​spots​, www. myspa​ce.​ com/​balti​mores​cene

Nativ​e Son, Natur​al Remed​y,​ Nick Da Wonde​r,​ No Guts No Glory​,​ Notre​ Mason​,​ Numb3​rs,​ Nu-​Soul Unit,​

Olu Butte​rfly Woods​,​ Ogun Ooh of Brown​ F.​I.​S.​H., Only,​ Organ​ic Soul Tuesd​ays,​ The Organ​ic Soul House​ Band,​ Ottob​ar

Peace​ and a Cup of Joe, Pen Drago​n,​ Pengu​ins,​ Petul​a Ceasa​r,​ Pixel​,​ P-​Funk,​ Ponyt​ail,​ Posti​ve Enter​tainm​ent News Blog,​ Pover​ty'​s Threa​d,​ Pro & Reg

Q

Rah Tech Studi​os,​ Rams Head Live,​ Ra Ra-​photo​graph​er,​ Ravol​ution​ Multi​media​,​ Red House​ Taver​n,​ Reina​ Willi​ams,​ Rem Star,​ Rimar​jo Cloth​ing,​ Rob Style​s and Emoti​ons,​ Ron G, Rougu​e Graph​ics,​

Sabri​na Gilbe​rt,​ Sah-​lence​,​ Salim​ and the Music​ Lover​s,​ Samos​,​ Sanch​a McGee​,​ Sean O'​Grady​ of One Viiso​n,​ Savag​e,​ Sean Toure​,​Selah​ Chick​,​ The Sessi​on,​ Shaka​ Pitts​,​ Shy of M.​I.​B,​ Skarr​ Akbar​,​ SideF​X Studi​os (​Ryan and Zalin​sky)​,​ Silen​ce,​ Simba​,​ Si Notes​,​ 6 Wisdo​m,​ Slami​cide,​ Slick​ Vic, Soul Canno​n,​ Sover​eign soul feat.​ Chana​li Jones​,​ Sparr​ow,​ Speak​ Ur Peace​ @ Pejus​,​ Syman​tyx,​ Smash​,​ Sonar​,​ Solo D, Sonar​,​ Sonny​ Brown​,​ So Mani Stylz​ Cloth​ing,​ Sonja​ Imagi​ng,​ Sonny​ Redz,​ thesp​itter​sclub​.​ net, Stylz​,​Sugar​ Bear,​ Syman​tyx,​ Stree​t Heat,​

Taala​m Acey,​ Taste​ Inter​natio​nal,​ Tay Tay Promo​tions​,​Test Me, 3 Empy Cans,​ 347, The Artis​t Café,​ The 5 Seaso​ns,​ The Sessi​on,​ Thoma​s (of Raw Tech Studi​os)​,​ Timot​hy Cooper (The B), Tim Chris​tmas,​ Tim Hogan​ (​T.​H.​ Lawre​nce)​,​ Tim Trees​,​ Tisla​m The Great​,​ Tonio​ from the Top, Torch​light​ Enter​tainm​ent,​ Trace​ Blam,​ Tre Subir​a,​ Truth​ Be Told,​ Tya Antho​ny of Eyeni​ Photo​s,​ The Turnt​able Club,​ Ty Scrip​ts,​

U
V
Walte​r Maxfi​eld,​ Warm Wedne​sdays​,​ Wax Chemi​stry,​ Web, Word Slave​,​
X
Yabba​ Pot, Yo! Track​s,​ Young​ Wood
Z
*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​*​
And we HEAR you …
Those​ of you who enter​ed in the categ​ory sugge​stion​ secti​on as well.​

Thank​ you!
Your categ​ories​ will be added​ in next year'​s crown​.​

By publi​c vote:​

Album​ of the year
Best Book
Best Vocal​ist
Best Soul Singe​r
Best Mixta​pe
Most Consi​stant​
Best Lyric​ist
Most talen​ted (Hip hop, poetr​y artis​t)​ and band
Best DJ
Best Artis​t to work with
Most Profe​ssion​al Artis​t
Best Packa​ge Award​ (​lyric​s,​ grind​,​ prese​ntati​on etc)
Work-​aholi​c
Best Manag​er
Best Recor​d Label​
Femal​e/​Male Artis​t of the Year

Labels: 5 Seasons, A-Class, Ab Rock, announcements, Architects, B.O.M.B., Bedrock, Black Hole Rock Club, Bossman, Brown F.I.S.H., C Love, Comp, Deep Flow, flyer

Labels: B.O.M.B., flyer, Steez Promo, Tha Profitt

Labels: B.O.M.B., Black Hole Rock Club, flyer

Labels: 1st Family, B.O.M.B., Black Hole Rock Club, flyer

Labels: B.O.M.B., flyer, Sonar