Forbidden - Forbidden 443

Peat recommended I check this album out on AllBmoreHipHop.com, and the first time I listened to it, I knew nothing about the artist or the record, and really sometimes it's nice to just hear a record in a vacuum with no prior knowledge or outside influence. Once I listened to it, though, I actually had to ask Peat when this was made, though, because from the way it looks and sounds I thought it had to be at least 5 years old or something. The names in the liner notes that I do recognize (guest spots by Little Clayway and Burnie Dozier, production by Niige) are guys that have been in the scene for years and years, and the artwork and the overall sound are just kind of on a real low budget tip that even most independent artists in Baltimore have kinda moved past in the last couple years. I'm not even knocking the producers, because the beats are by all different guys and are mostly good, but it sounds like maybe they didn't master the album or it was done really badly, like the vocals weren't EQ'd right. And that's a shame, because the raw materials have potential, some good rhymes and songs in here, but the overall package just wasn't taken all the way or polished well. It turns out this Forbidden cat was in the '90s Baltimore rap group LMS, they had a song called "Pure Necessities" that DJ Booman talked about in my summer jams article in the City Paper a few months back, so obviously he's got history in music here. But really the shame is he could probably be making some classic 1996-style hip hop, and instead this turned out like some forgettable 2004 local rap. Maybe he just needs to get with the right label or producer or manager to get him focused on making the best kind of records he could be making.

Forbidden f/ A.J.D., Mr. G. and Rona - "Da Relay" (mp3)
This is probably my favorite beat on the album, crazy flute loop. I have no idea who the other cats are on this song or who does which verse, but they all guest on other tracks on the album and this is a dope posse cut.

Labels: ALLBMOREHIPHOP.COM, Forbidden, Little Clayway, mixtape/album review, mp3

Next week the first Baltimore Independent Music & Arts Festival will be holding showcases all over the city from August 26th to 28th, and there's some good Baltimore club and hip hop artists among BiMA's announced performers: Comp, Ogun, Mullyman, DJ Booman, Soul Cannon, Mickey Free, Scottie B., Little Clayway, April Love, Checkwun, and Prenz Bilal, among others.

Labels: Bourbon St, Comp, DJ Booman, flyer, Little Clayway, Mickey Free, Mullyman, Ogun, Ottobar, Paradox, Red Maple, Scottie B., Soul Cannon

Architects Recording Studio presents Street Radio Vol. 5 (hosted by DJ Radio/blends by DJ 5 Starr)

I reviewed this mixtape recently for the City Paper's Noise blog, probably not the strongest entry in this series but I think better than Vol. 4 from a few months ago. It's got a couple songs I've posted about on here like Bossman's "Off The Record Part 2," Dave Da Barber's "Trapped," and Tonio: From Da Top's "17" featuring Skarr Akbar, Drop and Los, along with tracks by Comp, Ogun, Barnes, Savage Da Beast, Paula Campbell and Al Great, among others. I still don't know what the fuck DJ Radio is thinking when he says shit like "log on, faggot" after plugging a website, which I've heard him do on 2 different mixtapes now, like does he think insulting the listener is gonna get them to do what he says? When I linked the review on here the other day, I got an earful from an anonymous commenter that I like to call The Beacon Of Truth, who was super mad that I liked a Tony Bosco track and didn't mention Barnes, among other things, had an entertaining back and forth there. Anyway, you can download the mixtape over at allbmorehiphop.com/architects and make up your own mind.

Barrs f/ Little Clayway - "The Murderous" (mp3)
Clayway is someone whose music I bump more because of his personality and his stories than straight up rhyming skills, but I gotta say he really kills his verse on this, never heard him sound this mean before. Just saw Clayway recently and got an advance copy of his new double CD, Everybody Rappin', so keep an eye out for that coming soon. I still can't believe there's a rapper named Barrs and a rapper named Barrz on this mixtape. We're running out of fuckin' rapper names.

Labels: ALLBMOREHIPHOP.COM, Architects, Baltimore City Paper, Barnes, Bossman, DJ 5 Starr, DJ Radio, Little Clayway, Los, mixtape/album review, mp3, Noise, Savage Da Beast, Skarr Akbar, Smash, Tonio

Man, I'm loving that most of the mp3s I've been throwing out for this series of posts have been getting like 30 downloads or more, makes me wonder how many people are actually grabbing every single song they don't already have, which I think would be really awesome. Maybe after it's all over next week people can start leaving comments with what their favorite songs are, which I'd like to see a lot:

31. Diablo - "Round My Hood" (mp3) - March 11, 2006
32. Debonair Samir - "Throw It Up" (mp3) - March 28, 2006
33. Little Clayway - "B-More Hip Hop" (mp3) - April 2, 2006
34. E-Nahledge - "F.W.Y.B." (mp3) - January 23, 2007
35. Paula Campbell f/ Rod Lee and Tim Trees - "How Does It Feel" (mp3) - March 31, 2005
36. Mullyman - "Party Walk" (mp3) - April 26, 2008
37. Raphael Saadiq f/ C.J. Hilton and Stevie Wonder - "Never Give You Up" (mp3) - October 7, 2008
38. N.E.K. - "Face Down (Remix)" (mp3) - June 17, 2005
39. Ogun f/ Jitter B.U.G. and EJ - "Bmore (Remix)" (mp3) - December 24, 2005
40. Born King - "Blue Lights" (mp3) - May 19, 2006

Labels: Baltimore club, Born King, CJ Hilton, Debonair Samir, Diablo, lists, Little Clayway, mp3, Mullyman, Ogun, Paula Campbell, Rod Lee, Tim Trees

There's a lot of 2008 in this batch, I guess just coincidentally. There was a lot of good music last year, though!

71. Jade Fox f/ Eva Castillo - "Got 'Em Like" (mp3) - January 19, 2008
72. K.W. Griff - "Taking Over" (mp3) - January 19, 2008
73. Unstoppable Nuklehidz - "Pass It On" (mp3) - December 1, 2007
74. E Major - "How You Wanna Carry It?" (mp3) - March 29, 2008
75. Ogun, Tim Trees, Little Clayway, Comp, Mullyman and ShellBe RAW - "Bmore Shit" (mp3) - June 6, 2006
76. DJ Rod Lee - "Birthday" (mp3) - July 8, 2005
77. DJ Excel f/ Emmy - "All Nite Long" (mp3) - August 4, 2008
78. Articulate - "Capital Punishment (Homage to Big Pun)" (mp3) - August 21, 2008
79. Wax Musicians - "Here We Go" (mp3) - September 21, 2008
80. Greenspan - "Mt. Rockmore" (mp3) - December 29, 2008

Labels: Articulate, Baltimore club, DJ Excel, E Major, Greenspan, Jade Fox, KW Griff, lists, Little Clayway, mp3, Ogun, The Unstoppable Nuklehidz, Tim Trees

The Baltimore City Paper's annual top ten issue is out this week, and I voted in a few of the lists. In The Year In Local Music, I wrote the blurbs for the albums by the 410 Pharaohs and E Major. I also voted in The Year In Music and The Year In Film, although I didn't blurb anything and just a few things I voted for got into the lists (Erykah Badu in the former, and The Dark Knight, Iron Man and Tropic Thunder in the latter). The album ballots are up on the website, although my 'final' top 10 albums will look different from what I voted for in November. Also over on the CP website we did a top ten of the best concerts of the year, and my 2 picks for the list were Soul Cannon/Grand Buffet/J-Roddy Walston and The Business @ The Ottobar and Teop/Comp/Mullyman/Skarr Akbar/Little Clayway/Huli Shallone/Heavy Gold/1st Family/SL Danga/Al Great @ Sonar, and there were some other good picks there (My Crew Be Unruly @ Paradox, Whartscape @ the Charles, etc.).

(illustration by Paige Shuttleworth)

Labels: 1st Family, Baltimore City Paper, Comp, DJ Booman, E Major, Labtekwon, lists, Little Clayway, magazines/newspapers, Mullyman, Ottobar, Skarr Akbar, Sonar, Soul Cannon, Teop, Unruly Records

Little Clayway f/ Backland, Comp and Tim Trees - "Want To Be A Millionaire" (mp3)
This week in the City Paper I wrote a feature about Little Clayway (and also his sister April Love). He's always been one of the more interesting guys in Baltimore rap as far as I'm concerned and was a good interview, he really said some honest and perceptive things about the city and the scene. This posse cut is a track from the promo version of his upcoming album A New Beginning, which should be dropping officially sometime soon, maybe November.

I also have a couple movie reviews in the paper this week, a longer one of The Express and a shorter one of How To Lose Friends & Alienate People (which is not online).

(photo by Rarah)

Labels: Backland, Baltimore City Paper, Comp, Little Clayway, magazines/newspapers, mp3, Tim Trees

various artists - To The Rescue Mixtape (Young And Fly Records/Milestone Media)

When I was out at I think 5 Seasons recently I saw someone from Milestone Media, who are putting on the Making The Right Moves conference later this week, and they gave me a copy of this mixtape that the company's distributing along with Young And Fly Records. The main artist on the Young And Fly label, who appears on about half the songs here, is Shank Rock, and MC who's been making moves in Baltimore since the late '90s, and had a song back in the day that he was known for called "Baby Momma Hitta." I hadn't heard much from him the last few years, since an appearance on one of Ogun's The Movement mixtapes, and I always thought it was strange that a group with some Baltimore roots, the terrible hipster rap crew Spank Rock, came out with a very similiar name in the past few years, but I dunno, maybe it's a weird coincidence. Anyway, it's cool to hear a bunch of new stuff from Shank Rock now.

The other artists that make multiple appearances on the mixtape that I guess are also on the label are Phreestyle, Big Chief, Pluck, The F.A.Culty, and D Vigor. And there are some guest appearances from folks I'm more familiar with: Little Clayway, Nik Stylz, and Ray Victory. The mixtape is hosted by some radio DJ named Tab D'Blassi, who gets way too into the whole hosting thing; over half the tracks on the CD are these obnoxious skits where he's narrating some goofy story about sheisty record execs trying to keep Young And Fly Records down while Star Wars and James Bond theme music plays in the background. It would be corny if he did it once, but he does it literally 20 times, between every damn song, and it's not really even funny or entertaining, it's just tedious. Dude needs some Ritalin.

Pluck, Ray Victory, Shank Rock and Phreestyle - "My Block" (mp3)
Good posse cut, haven't heard anything from Ray Vic in a minute.

Labels: Little Clayway, mixtape/album review, mp3, Shank Rock

Milestone Media's 2nd annual Making The Right Moves Entertainment Conference will be held at the Baltimore Convention Center next Saturday, August 23rd, and admission is free. I was at the event as a panelist last year and wrote about my experiences there, and I'll be there again this year, to cover the event and to host a panel about independent artists at 2p.m. Here's the full itinerary for the event (UPDATED 8/14/08), including the concert the night before:

Download the original attachment

Making The Right Moves Entertainment Conference

Official Intinery

Friday August 22, 2008

Black Hole Club

216 German Hill Rd

Baltimore, Maryland 21222

410-285-ROCK
This is a professional event be on time which means well before your perform

8:00 – 8:30 DJ Harvey Dent / DJ Franchise & Staff Arrive

8:30 – 9:00 Doors Open

9: 45- 10-00 Q 45

10:05- 10: 20 Slim Mil
10: 25- 10 :35 Brother
10-40- 10:55 Beveready
11:00- 11-15 Battle Music Group
11: 20- 11: 35 Gramz
11:40- 11: 55 EJ

12: 00- 12:15 Greenspan
12:15- 12:30 Skarr
12:45 2 Pistols

Club ends 1 :55

VIP After Hours

Making The Right Moves Entertainment Conference

Official Intinery

Saturday August 23, 2008

Baltimore Convention Center

1 W. Pratt Street

Baltimore, Maryland 21201
Fu Yah Martial Fusion Challenge

Presented by The Bamms
8:00 AM- 1 PM
9:00 AM- 11 AM Load In and Sound Check

10:00 AM Vendor Set Up
11:00 AM Interactive Booths Begin

12:00 PM Main Stage Event Begin
ACT 1: J Butts ACT 2: SURPRISE GUEST ACT 3: OPEN FOR NOW

PANEL SESSION:

Authors/ Publishers and Spoken Word Panel - The Urban Written Word

Featuring:

(Deshawn Taylor, Lamonica Bratcher, Rafphael Gordon, Feleica Pride, Willie BAM )

1:00 PM

ACT 1: Kim Poole ACT 2: DEVANTE

ACT 3:

PANEL SESSION: Marketing and Promotions - I have my space and you tube now what ?

Hosted By: Rita Lewis - Marketing of BET J

Featuring: ( Mottz, Swen, Mathew Brown, Miesha Rice )

INDUSTRY THE REALITY SHOW FILMING BEGINS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2:00 PM
ACT 1: Kyonte ACT 2: DG2 ACT 3: Battle Music Group

PANEL SESSION:

I.N.D.E.P.E.N.D.E.N.T - "DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS"

Hosted By: Al Shipley - Baltimore City Paper & Governmentnames.blogspot.com
Featuring:(Mike Flight, Jim Fetzer, DOMINATION, Shaka Pitts, Mike Sky)
INDUSTRY THE REALITY SHOW FILMING Cont'd
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3:00 PM

ACT 1 L –Jay ACT 2: JONI DEGA

ACT 3: Ikea Turner
PANEL SESSION: Matthew Lesko - "How To Get Free Money"

INTERACTIVE SESSION: !! MASTERS OF THE BEATS !!

Featuring: ( Jay Funk, Say Whut and More...)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4:00 PM
ACT 1: 11’s EDGE

ACT 2: Kanika

ACT 4: Main Girl

IICE INC Modeling and Promotion Company FASHION PREVIEW

MY TIME TO SHINE- SHORT FILMS AND DOCUMENTRIES " WHAT IS A HAK " by Bernard Threatt

PANEL SESSION : INDUSTRY POWER MOVES P1

Mrs. Sterling " INDUSTRY POWER MOVES "

INTERACTIVE SESSION:

I GOT THAT FIRE (tentively w/ SLIP N SLIDE DJ's)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5:00 PM
ACT 1: BEAT BOX ACT 2: M QUEST
ACT 3: COMIC BOOK HEROES

PANEL SESSION: INDUSTRY POWER MOVES II

Hosted by: Terrance J of BET 106 & PARK
Featuring ( Rashod Ollsen, Paul Gardener, Mary Nicols, Shadeed Elezer )

INTERACTIVE DJ SESSION:

( DJ JONNY BLAZE, DJ SPONTANEOUS, and more)

6:00 PM
ACT 1: MS STRESS

ACT 2: KARRON JOHNSON

HIP HOP SAVED MY LIFE w/ RAPHAEL GORDON

PANEL SESSION: Producer VS. Beat makers: What is the difference ?

Hosted By: Kelly Connelly

Featuring: ( Diamond D, Dame Grease, BOOMAN, Shaka Pitts, Ademyi Omisore )

7:00 PM
ACT 1: BREE & Friends

ACT 2: The FA.Culty ft. Lil Clayway, Nik Stylz & Phreestyle, P. Lucky

With Young and Fly Records

ACT 3: T. LYLES - SHOWCASE

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8:00 ROUNDTABLE MUSIC GROUP SHOWCASE

FASHION SHOW

F/ TAINTED INK MODELING GROUP

10:00 PM Event Wrap Up

Labels: Black Hole Rock Club, EJ, flyer, Greenspan, Jay Funk, Little Clayway, Ms. Stress, NSW (Say What), Skarr Akbar

Last week I ran a special edition of The Club Beat, my Baltimore club column on the City Paper music blog Noise: a roundtable discussion with members of Club Queen Entertainment (including DJ Say Wut, Buck Jones, Pork Chop and Darvin, pictured above) about the death of DJ K-Swift, and I'm really proud of how that came out. My other recent posts on http://noise.citypaper.com: live reviews of my weekend at the Virgin Mobile Festival with Nine Inch Nails/Shudder To Think/Paramore/Lil Wayne/Foo Fighters/Stone Temple Pilots/Jack Johnson/Wilco/etc. (I didn't write about what I saw of Kanye's set but his show is overrated as fuck), the Charm City Community Block Fest, the first night of the new Hip Hop 101 @ 5 Seasons (with Vision, Little Clayway, 1st Family and others), Son Of Avery/The Same Damn Thing/La For Another @ the Ottobar, and Smarts/Fiasco/Hawks/Chopper @ the Talking Head.

(photo by Al Shipley)

Labels: 1st Family, 5 Seasons, Baltimore City Paper, Baltimore club, Hip Hop 101, K-Swift, Little Clayway, Noise, NSW (Say What), Vision

Hip Hop 101 may have symbolically died back in February. But after the actual death of the event's founder Mr. Wilson, Star Status Entertainment have decided to bring it back in honor of his memory. The first new Hip Hop 101 will feature Comp, 1st Family, Dirty Earl/Vision and Little Clayway.

Labels: 1st Family, 5 Seasons, Comp, flyer, Hip Hop 101, Little Clayway, Vision

In the past month I've finally started occasionally taking photos to accompany some of my posts on the City Paper's Noise blog at http://noise.citypaper.com (with asterisks next to posts that include pictures by me). My latest posts included: The Club Beat with Dirty Nation Entertainment, Teop with Mullyman (pictured above), Comp, Skarr Akbar, Little Clayway, Huli Shallone, Heavy Gold, Al Great, SL Danga and 1st Family @ Sonar*, 2 Time Quitters, Raspberry Campaign and Engine @ the Ottobar*, Pearl Jam and Ted Leo @ the Verizon Center, and "Weird Al" Yankovic @ Pier Six Pavilion. I also spent last weekend doing a lot of festival coverage: night 1 of Whartscape with Matmos, Nautical Almanac, Ultimate Reality, Mark Hosler of Negativland, Leprechaun Catering, Blue Leader, Ben Heresey and Missoula Oblongata @ the Charles Theatre and Artscape with Dru Hill, Mario, Joan Jett, Mike Doughty, the Oranges Band, Blaq Starr, and what would end being the last time I'd get to see DJ K-Swift (R.I.P.) spin.

(photo by Al Shipley)

Labels: Baltimore City Paper, Baltimore club, Blaq Starr, Comp, Dru Hill, Heavy Gold, Huli Shallone, K-Swift, Little Clayway, magazines/newspapers, Mullyman, Noise, Ottobar, Skarr Akbar, Sonar, Teop

Labels: Comp, flyer, Little Clayway, Mullyman, Skarr Akbar, Sonar, Teop

I wasn't planning on posting anything new on this site for another week or two to bring it out of hiatus, but after I heard the news a couple days ago, about the passing of Mr. Wilson, I knew I had to acknowledge that. As a member of the group JI-900 and the label Star Status Entertainment, and founder of events like Hip Hop 101 and the Baltimore Fresh Fest, he's had an important impact on Baltimore hip hop over the past several years, and although I only met him once or twice and heard a relatively small amount of his music, I always had a lot of respect for him and I wish I'd been better acquainted with him when he was alive. I'm getting together a little something to acknowledge his passing for the City Paper soon, so anyone that wants to contribute to that with pictures, stories, memories and details of his life, please contact me. Details about funeral arrangments are here and I believe there will be a Hip Hop 101 event dedicated to him in the near future as well. Below are a few of my favorite Mr. Wilson and JI-900 tracks, and after that, some very poignant words about Mr. Wilson by his good friend Sonny Brown:

Mr. Wilson and Mullyman - "Gutter" (mp3)

JI-900 and Mack of the Annexx Click - "4 Da Love" (mp3)

Sonny Brown, Mr. Wilson and Mo Gant - "You Ain't Shit" (mp3)

JI-900 and Little Clayway - "Play Tough" (mp3)

Backland and JI-900 - "U Better Move" (mp3)

Sonny Brown, Snoop Dogg and Mr. Wilson - "Gangsta Ish Remix" (mp3)

From Sonny Brown:

I was really sitting here and contemplating on if i should type something about my dude or if i should just chill the fuck out and just reminese over him by myself. But I feel like to all of the friends I have, i feel like maybe i should share a piece of who i considered one of my most dearest and best frie.. NAAAA... I will consider him someone closer then a friend.. i will just say my brother. I met Mr. Wilson in 2002 when i got out of jail. My homeboy and another brother of mine Will introduced us. Will kept telling me that i needed to get my album done and he knew where to record it. He kept telling me the dude that ran the studio was a real G (lol) and the nigga can rhyme his ass off so i'm like ok Will take me to the studio. Now mind you i am fresh outta jail, still in some sort of way smelling like jail, cqarrying my bag full of court papers and books and shit and i am getting ready to record my first song in a real live studio. Well, when we got there I told my man Will "Yo, this studio CLOUD 9 studio (to my folks that dont know, Cloud 9 was a real nice studio for local artist here in Baltimore) He told me "Yeah, but its MR. WILSONS NOW. I say "Mr. Wilson? what in the fuck? I heard of him. I got in the studio and the first thing i remember was the graff on the wall that read STAR STATUS ENT.. I walked down the hall and made a right and there was everybody... smoking fogs, weed, drinking, and B-ILL behind the boards banging out CRACK! B-ILL was and still is one of the best producers in bmore city 4real. The first person i met was MALIBU.. he was a cool mother fucker and to this day the same as i met him COOL! Then i met KC.. Kenny..lol.. Now kenny? he was my MAN.. He knew every episode of my favorite Show SANFORD AND SON..lol so we immediatly went back and forth on the show.. then i met Mr. Wilson..

Now When i met him, he shook my hand and he asked me if i had something to record. Mind you all I'm JUST GETTING HOME maybe 2 hrs ago and he already asking me if i was ready to record. I told him i did'nt have any money and he said "Man, i knew you just got home yo.. you part of a family now".. I went in and recorded '"COME ON" As soon as i recorded that we recorded a string of records.. But he ones we banged out and got the most love for was "UMMM HMM", "Ride with me" and "YOU AINT SHIT" I went from just being a nobody nigga that just got out of jail to being a dude recording with MR.WILSON and JI900.. From all the recording we just developed a unbreakable bond.. the recording actually got us into just MAKING MONEY AND HISTORY TOGETHER. Such as the Fresh fest, recording the infamous SNOOP DOGG record DOE CHEESE, Blammy awards, Beat battles, HipHop 101, Madame of Murdaland battles, constructing his first video to do 2 years on BET UNCUT and so on and so forth.. IF IT WASNT FOR MR. WILSON I WOULDNT OF NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT HOSTING EVENTS. Pfunk gave me the oppurtunity.. If it wasnt for Wilson and my dude Excel i wouldve retired from the rap game and jumped back to selling drugs again.. But he always told me.. "yo god gave you a gift that alot of people dont have.. so use your gift and show the world who you are". I use to think that was corny. But it in some sort of way made sense. I learned alot from him.. I learned what true friendship meant. I learned what loyalty meant. I learned how to love my family better and Most of all My business mind sharpened all because of him. Sometimes you meet people in life and you never know why you let them in.. Then you just sort of get used to them.. then its like you gel with them.. i talked to this dude like 6 times a day EVERYDAY.. then one day.. i just didnt call him because of my situation then 1 week went by in he's in the hospital in a induced coma.. I know people say that one day your here and the next day your gone thing.. it really makes since but you know what? In a few months i may heal.. and i may take for granted life like we all do from time to time.. I refuse to do it again. I know i came back and i promised to do more with myself.. But now? I have absolutley no choice right now.. Its always something, first my leg now this.. I am REALLY on a mission to do well and feed my friends and family. I watched this dude say he wanted a 2004 S500 benz and frommoney at hiphop 101 and our many legal hustles he got one..... In 2 weeks. I watched him do EVERYTHING he wanted to do and then some, He's gone so now i have to live for him and myself. Damn this shit hurts man.

I will make sure that his name is'nt in vain. I am bringing back HipHop 101 because i know if he never got sick then he wouldve kept it going. i am going to keep STAR STATUS going because he actually managed me before my personal manager Mika and i am the President of that label. I am going to do a fresh fest this year.. Why? because he started them and i will continue to make that happen.. And last but not least I am bringing the 2nd annual WILSON BLAMMY AWARDS because again if he was here he wouldve done it. And the funny thing is I was told i wasnt going to be able to pull it off in the 2 weeks it took me to put it all together and regardless on how sloppy it went.. It was a success... So just imagine whats gonna happen now that i know what to do..lol.. I hate fucking haters..lol.. i feel like i need to be doing ALOT of things on my own and or with the help of my family such as VISION, MALIBU, KD, BACKLAND, WILL, MANNY, BMORE BRIAN, LOKEY, BRIAN, KENNY, JFUNK, RASHAWN, JABRIL, B-ILL WIDOW,PFUNK, DJ EXCEL, MISSY, SONJA, MIKA,TYREIKA, and OMAR LITTLE. We will not let your name go in vain Wilson. For you guys that didnt know him.. you felt him because his hand was in EVERYTHING. I wish i couldve went to that HELL RELL joint LAST NIGHT because HELL RELL was his favorite emcee.. but it aint official until i speak on him They might of said something about him but shit dont matter unless I SONNY BROWN speak on what he did so fuck it .. I love you Mr. Wilson.. you are and will always be my best friend/brother and you truly will be missed.. Man i cant stop crying yo but i know your plight here was completed and you are now in your rightful place with god! I love you yo!

Either myself or Rashawn from Welding ent will be letting everyone know where the arrangments will be held so just keep the family in prayer and in spirit. If anyone would like to make monetary donations to Mr Wilson or send flowers of condolences or anything please call this number 443-803-3885 and ask for CHRIS. Once again, if you want to make MONETARY DONATIONS AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEND CARDS AND OR FLOWERS OF CONDOLENCES PLEASE CALL 443-803-3885. Mr. Wilson was more then just a person in this community but he helped out alot within the community and paved the way for alot of you young emcess trying to get up in the game.. So I know 4sure if some of you cats cant at least send a card or something for a real legend man dont even bother to holler at me.. If you just want to talk and let at your feelings about him you know how to reach me..

Love is Love and always remember him!

Sonny Brown

Labels: Annexx Click, announcements, Backland, JI-900, Little Clayway, mp3, Mr. Wilson, Mullyman, Sonny Brown

Ogun - Bmore Hero: The Mixtape Of The Year (Real On Purpose Ent./Architects Recording Studio)

If you read the site, you should already know who Ogun is. He supports Baltimore hip hop more than almost anybody else, so if you care about it you should support him. Matter of fact, you should probably own this mixtape already, since he's been selling it since March. But you can get it off his MySpace page or at a number of local stores, or you can wait until the official release party at Sonar on July 19th, which he just announced this week. This CD has a lot of tracks that I've posted on here before, including the posse cuts "Just Us" (with Bossman, Backland, Skarr, Clayway and Comp) and "Bmore Shit" (with Tim Trees, Clayway, Mully and ShellBe R.A.W.), and a lot of other guest appearances. Check out my Noise interview with Ogun for more info on this release.

Ogun f/ XO - "Cyber Thuggin'" (mp3)
This song is hilarious and something really all of us can reate to these days. XO's probably my favorite local MC who I've never heard a solo project by, just has an ill voice and kills every guest appearance I hear, his verse on this is real on point.

Labels: Architects, Backland, Baltimore City Paper, Bossman, Comp, Little Clayway, mixtape/album review, mp3, Mullyman, Noise, Ogun, ShellBe RAW, Skarr Akbar, Tim Trees, XO

Comp - The Man With The Hand: Bang-A-Rang Mixtape Vol. 4 (DNA/Round Table Music Group/Bang-A-Rang Gang)

I thought it was interesting when I found out a few months ago that Comp's latest mixtape, which he released in January, was titled The Man With The Hand, because that's kind of like his first public acknowledgement of his left hand, which is kind of small and abnormal-looking. I don't know if he was born like that, honestly I didn't even notice it until a while back at a show, more than a year after I met and interviewed the guy. Not really a big deal (DJ Paul from Three Six Mafia has something similiar and that dude is all over MTV), but I like that Comp is finally being up front about and making it part of his image now instead of kinda hiding or downplaying it, which I guess he was doing before. This has some of the same songs as another mixtape that Comp released last year that wasn't with DNA or in the Bang-A-Rang Mixtape series. But it's also worth copping for a lot of other stuff, including the "Bmore Shit" remix (Comp's verse on that might be my favorite thing he's ever written), and a hot track with Verb from Dirty Hartz and Mullyman. Comp has always been big on gun talk in his rhymes but I kinda feel like he goes into overkill with it on here, so that's kind of disappointing, because I know he can talk about other stuff. You can get it from Comp's MySpace or DNA's site.

Comp, Che'Ray, Backland, Little Clayway, Skarr Akbar, Ogun and Bossman - "Just Us" (mp3)
This is also on Ogun's new mixtape, and when I interviewed Ogun recently, I asked him about this song, and he said it was originally done for his project, but he let Comp use it on his mixtape too. Either way, great posse cut, and I'm always happy to see this many of the best Baltimore MC's getting together on a track together. Usually I like Che'Ray but on this he sounds too much like Bilal (who's always gotten on my nerves).

Labels: Backland, Bossman, Comp, Dirty Hartz, DNA, Little Clayway, mixtape/album review, mp3, Mullyman, Ogun, Skarr Akbar

The March/April issue of Mic Life Magazine is out, and I've got a review in it. I did a bunch of reviews for them a few months ago for the October/November issue, but instead of running them all at once they've just been using one per issue, which I think is kinda silly, because now the review in the new issue is for an album that's now a year old, Little Clayway's Still Movin' Independently. But hey, that was my #1 favorite Baltimore hip hop album of 2006, and it's nice to see the review finally get published.

Labels: Little Clayway, magazines/newspapers, Mic Life Magazine

Labels: 5 Seasons, DJ Booman, flyer, Huli Shallone, Little Clayway, Mullyman, Ray Lugar, Skarr Akbar, Team Fifty

First of all, let me say that this is not The Government Names 2006 Baltimore Hip Hop Poll Results, which I posted the other day, and also that I kind of apologize for my attitude in that post. I knew going into it how it might turn out, and I still got a little bitter about it, and inadvertantly disrespected some of my favorite artists. But it seems like people understand now that I wasn't trying to diss anybody, and it's water under the bridge. Now, onto my official year-end wrap up, which is completely my opinion and noone else's. I won't say much about what my opinion means, because I'm just one person and I have my own biases, but the fact that I've heard this much local music, and that I know too many of the artists to feel any obligation to any one of them beyond saying how I really feel about their music, should speak for itself. But still, take it with a big grain of salt and understand I'm rooting for everybody. Enjoy the feast of mp3's, discover some artists you might like, click the links and get to know them. I'll be posting less often for the next 3 weeks or so, so you'll have plenty of time to digest this.


1. Little Clayway - Still Movin' Independently: The Takeover (Clayway Records)
Government Names review
Clayway Records website
Little Clayway on MySpace
Little Clayway - "Clay Family Story" (mp3)

This is kind of an offbeat choice for #1, I don't think a lot of people heard this one, but in my opinion it was just the best, most complete album I heard out of the scene this year. Clayway doesn't rap real fancy but he has a laid back, conversational flow you can relate to, and by combining new material with some older career highlights, he put together a good, balanced album. But what I really loved about it was the personal storytelling perspective of songs like "B-More Hip Hop" and "Clay Family Story," squeezing years of history into brief songs and letting you inside his head.


2. Dirty Hartz - It Is What It Is Vol. 2 (Dirty Hartz Ent.)
Government Names review
Dirty Hartz on MySpace
Dirty Hartz - "The Hartz Is Here" (mp3)

Verb and everyone else in DH can just rhyme their asses off, and with a really hot selection of industry beats and original tracks by Debonair Samir, they did the mixtape thing more consistently than just about anybody this year.


3. Tyree Colion - Tyree Colion presents Hustle Hard Blvd (Rare Ent./Hustle Hard Blvd)
Government Names review
Rare Ent. on MySpace
Tyree Colion - "Help Me" (mp3)

I was pleasantly surprised by how highly this placed in the poll, considering that Tyree got locked up before it was officially released and as a result it was never really promoted or heard by many people. But I think everyone that heard it has to respect the accomplishment of a triple CD where every disc is as consistent as most other dudes' whole mixtapes.


4. UnReal - Dat Boyz A Problem (UnReality Ent.)
Government Names review
UnReal on MySpace
UnReal - "Breath" (mp3)

UnReal has been a favorite of mine going back to his track from Hamsterdam, and he really pulled together almost all of his best joints for this one.

5. Mullyman - Still H.I.M . (Major League Unlimited/DJ Gemini)
Government Names review
Mullyman on MySpace
Mullyman - "Old School Tribute" (mp3)

Mullymania never totally lived up to my expectations, but he really came hard on the follow-up mixtape and let people know he wasn't going anywhere.


6. DK - King Me (730 Commission/DJ Kay Slay)
Government Names review
DK on MySpace
DK - "You Ain't Fooling Me" (mp3)

I don't think people in the city really realize yet who DK is, let alone how talented he is and that he's signed to a mid-sized national indie label. Maybe when he drops the album they'll start noticing.


7. Tha Annexx Click - Banga Bill Presents Chapter 16: Tha Return Of Da
Blue (Knokville Ent./Street Official Ent.)
Government Names review
Banga
Bill on MySpace
Tha Annexx Click - "Funky Fresh" (mp3)

Tha Annexx Click is one of those crews whose history goes back way further than my knowledge of the scene, back in the 90's, so I don't know how this measures up to the old stuff, but it made me a fan.


8. Skarr Akbar - The Cerebellum: General Part Four (Akbar Enterprize/DJ Radio)
Government Names review
Skarr Akbar on MySpace
Skarr Akbar - "Picture Me Rolling" (mp3)

Skarr released so much music this year that it's hard to say what his best release was -- he just put out a DVD/CD at all Downtown Locker Rooms this week that I haven't heard yet -- but this one is my favorite of the ones I've heard.


9. Barnes - The Last Shall Be First (Street Official/Sugar Water)
Government Names review
Barnes on MySpace
Barnes f/ Goddi - "Real Nigga" (mp3)

Barnes did it big with radio hits and national distribution this year, but I think the fact that he got locked up right for a while right after his album dropped kinda hurt his momentum. He really put out a quality album, though.


10. Bossman - BulletProof B (One Up Ent.)
Government Names review
Bossman on MySpace
Bossman - "You're Wrong (live)" (mp3)

Bossman hadn't really released too much new music since getting signed last year, but then recently he unleashed a whole 2 CD mixtape to make up for it, and I hope it really gets people ready for the Virgin album in the next few months.


11. PX (Parts Unknown) - Hood Therapy (Street Legal Entertainment/BRM Music/MDL Music)
Government Names review
PX (Parts Unknown) on MySpace
PX (Parts Unknown) - "Hood Therapy" (mp3)

I still feel really bad about disrespecting PX the other day, because they've been in this scene a long time and really didn't fuck around with this album, got good distribution and made sure people came out in droves to cop it, and not a lot of people around here have really accomplished that. And they've got a real unique sound that's all them, too.


12. B. Rich - Born Rich (Sure Shot Recordings)
Government Names review
B. Rich on MySpace
B. Rich - "Angels" (mp3)

For a lot of people around here, B. Rich's story is a cautional tale about how not to get treated by the industry. But it's really to his credit that he came back on an independent level all these years later and actually made an album that was better than his first.


13. Midas - Pay-Per-View (Team Green/Beat Game)
Government Names review
Midas on MySpace
Midas - "Movies" (mp3)

I think Midas is one of the most promising MCs in the city right now, and this feels like a really good appetizer for the album he's dropping in '07.


14. PenDragon - Revenge Of The Harm City King (Team Arson Music/DragonMoon Records)
Government Names review
PenDragon on MySpace
PenDragon - "Sweet Dreams" (mp3)

Probably the best pleasant surprise I heard this year, as far as getting sent a CD by an artist I hadn't previously heard of.


15. Ray Lugar - Exclusive Respect II (Stay Hi Ent./Team Fifty)
Government Names review
Team Fifty website
Ray Lugar - "I Know" (mp3)

I just did a big City Paper feature on Ray Lugar and the Low Key God that's coming real soon, so I won't say too much other than that these dudes are legends and you need to be familiar with them.


16. Labtekwon - The Ghetto Dai Lai Lama V. 777 (Ankh Ba Records/Morphius Urban)
Government Names review
Labtekwon on MySpace
Labtekwon - "The Gift" (mp3)

I don't know why Lab went back to a 2005 album and re-released it with some minor adjustments, but every change he made (compare the old version of "The Gift" to this one if you have both) made it better.


17. Comp - Independence Day: Bang-A-Rang Mixtape Vol. 3 (DNA)
Government Names reviewa>
Comp on MySpace
Comp - "B-More Anthem" (mp3)

Like B. Rich, Comp is someone else I respect for getting fucked over by the major label system but still coming back independent.


18. Backland - Back In Business (Charm City Records)
Government Names review
Backland on MySpace
Backland - "What Would You Do?" (mp3)

I think I would have liked this mixtape more if I hadn't gotten his previous one, The One, which is really great, right around the same time, but it's good to have Backland back on the scene.


19. Finacy - Napoleon Complex (Infinite Legacy)
Government Names review
Finacy on MySpace
Finacy - "Round 1" (mp3)

I only got around to really listening to this album a lot lately but it's been growing on me fast.


20. ShellBe RAW - Do You Like It Raw? (A.R.S. Entertainment/DJ Radio)
Government Names review
ShellBe RAW on MySpace
ShellBe RAW f/ Che Ray - "Do It For You Freestyle" (mp3)

ShellBe really earned her hype with this one, although I kinda wish there were more original beats, since the ones that are on here are good.

21. Cutthroat - Words Can't Explain It Chapter 2.5 (For The People Entertainment)
Government Names review
Cutthroat on MySpace
Cutthroat - "Painter" (mp3)

The production on this album is really beautiful and subtle, Cutthroat succeeded at making a really different album from most of the stuff on this list.


22. C Love - Respect, Vol. 1 (ItsBaltimoreBaby.com/DNA)
Government Names review
C Love on MySpace
Brown F.I.S.H. - "45" (mp3)

What up, C Love! It's harder for me to rate various artist mixtapes but there's some great tracks on here.


23. Mike Malachi - Malachi's Way
Government Names review
Mike Malachi on MySpace
Mike Malachi - "What Y'all Really Want To Do" (mp3)

This record sounded really promising but inconsistent to me, I hope Malachi lives up to his potential on the next project.


24. Gritty Gang - Street Certified Goods (Real On Purpose Entertainment)
Government Names review
Real On Purpose on MySpace
Ammo - "(Say) Gritty Gang" (mp3)

Nobody brings people together in Baltimore quite like Ogun and ROP, this was a real interesting project and I wonder if it's gonna keep going, good assemblage of people.

25. Real2Real - Playground Legends (Street Official Records/Headnod Entertainment)
Government Names review
Real2Real on MySpace
Real2Real - "Like It Or Not" (mp3)

I think I need to listen to this some more, it might be better than I realized.



26. The Yung Huslas - Strickly Business Volume One (Rare Ent.)
Government Names review
The Yung Huslas on MySpace
The Yung Huslas - "Pop!" (mp3)

Along with Ammo, these kids are making being a teen rapper from Baltimore more respectable than the stuff getting played on the radio, they gotta be good to get co-signed by Skarr Akbar and Tyree Colion.


27. Hots - The Introduction (One Up Ent./Lil Skrilla)
Government Names review
Hots on MySpace
Hots - "Criminal Individuals" (mp3)

This is another one that's kinda grown on me with time, might end up belonging higher on this list in retrospect, but I'm not sure yet. Anything with One Up beats is worth copping, though.


28. Billo "The Hood Rockstar" - Daily Grind Vol. 2 "We Got Another
One" (For The People Entertainment)
Government Names review
Billo on MySpace
Billo f/ Yuk and Cut - "I'm Ballin'" (mp3)

This one's a little inconsistent to me but when it's good it's pretty damn good.


29. M.O.L. - Money On Da Low (Top Of Da Hill Records)
Government Names review
M.O.L. on MySpace
M.O.L. - "You Don't Know" (mp3)

There's kinda too many MCs that I can't tell apart in this crew, I think if any of them dropped a solo joint I'd like it, though.

30. Ray Victory - Ready 2 Go! (Strong Arm Entertainment/Nite Life Entertainment/DJ Nelly Nell)
Government Names review
Ray Victory on MySpace
Ray Victory - "Same Shit" (mp3)

Another mixtape bogged down with too many freestyles, but the original material is on point.


31. Third Kind - Disaster Relief (Sweatbox Recordings)
Government Names review
Third Kind on MySpace
Third Kind - "The Movement" (mp3)

Some of the production on here is really crazy, crate digging shit.


32. Profound and Ogun - Oil And Water 2 (Real On Purpose Entertainment/DJ Radio)
Government Names review

Real On Purpose on MySpace
Profound - "Cash Crop" (mp3)

This mixtape kinda has me hyped for Profound to do a full-on solo joint.

33. Alevan - Came Here 4 (Alevan, Inc.)
Government Names review
Alevan on MySpace
Alevan - "Ride Wit' Me" (mp3)

Maybe a little too mellow but a real consistent mood and a pleasant surprise from a crew I wasn't familiar with before.


34. Bigg Patch - Goldenboy Volume 2 (Diamond Life Records/Unruly Records)
Government Names review
Bigg Patch website
Bigg Patch - "Move" (mp3)

A few great tracks but some real repetitive lyrics and weak hooks.


35. Golden Seal - The Official Brown Sugar Mixtape (DJ Booman)
Government Names review
Golden Seal on MySpace
Jahli of Golden Seal f/ Ogun - "Cicadas" (mp3)

I was a little disappointed there wasn't more Golden Seal on here, way too much of a mix without much focus.


36. Under Sound Music presents Breaking Ground, Vol. 1 (Under Sound Music/DJ Impulse)
Government Names review
Under Sound Music website
Tislam The Great - "That Feelin'" (mp3)

This is one I kinda panned in the paper but some of the tracks have really grown on me.


37. B.O.M.B. - King Of Da Streets Vol. 1 (Jimmy Beamz)
Government Names review
B.O.M.B. on MySpace
B.O.M.B. - "The Best Of You" (mp3)

B.O.M.B.'s loose, spoken-word-type flow is an acquired taste, but I think I'm starting to acquire it.

38. Jon Boe - Before The Storm
Government Names review
Jon Boe - "Sunshine" (mp3)

This might be the nastiest, messiest, most aggressive mixtape I heard all year, but sometimes that's the kinda thing you really wanna hear.

39. Architects Recording Studio presents Street Radio Volume 2.5 (A.R.S. Entertainment/DJ Radio)
Government Names review
Ogun f/ Che Rae - "My Life" (mp3)

This one was chock full of joints, even though it's like a 'half' edition, I think this might be my favorite in the series so far.


40. The Black Family - The City is Ours
Government Names review
The Black Family on MySpace
J-Nina and Ill Will - "For Baltimore" (mp3)

Another crew where I think having a lot of unfamiliar MCs made it hard for me to tell them apart or get to know their voices, but I think some of them, especially J-Nina, I'd check for.

41. Labtekwon - DJ Jazzy Jerk presents Ghettoclectic Volume WON (King of the Slow
Burn) (Ankh Ba Records)
Government Names review
Labtekwon on MySpace
Labtekwon - "One In A Million" (mp3)

Lab does everything different from the norm, so even his freestyle mixtape is gonna go a bit off the beaten path, but the whole theme of R&B slow jams works really well.

42. Bosslady presents Baltimore State Of Grind: 21 Different Ways Pt. 1 (House of Platinum Records)
Government Names review
Bosslady on MySpace
Amadaye - "Late At Night" (mp3)

A solid compilation based on a novel theme.

43. Imperial Records presents... Operation: Shutdown (Imperial Records/DJ Spontaneous)
Government Names review
Young Dip on MySpace
Bless - "Who Is He?" (mp3)

Not bad, but I'm looking forward to hearing the new Young Dip mixtape, to get a feel for his solo material.


44. Comp - Bangarang City (DJ B-Roc/DJ DMA)
Government Names review
Comp on MySpace
Comp - "Yea" (mp3)

The Comp tracks are good but there's really not enough Comp on here.

45. E Major - The Major General Mixtape (Under Sound Music/DJ Impulse)
Government Names review
Under Sound Music website
E Major - "Bless One" (mp3)

Eyekon really showed versatility with the beat selection on here.


46. Skarr Akbar - The Bidding War Stars Now! (Akbar Enterprize/DJ Radio)
Government Names review
Skarr Akbar on MySpace
Skarr Akbar - "What I Want" (mp3)

It seems like this mixtape was a little more popular than The Cerebellum, but too much of this material is old to me for me to like it as much. It does have some of his best joints, though.

47. Huli Shallone - Huli Shallone (Hit 'Em Hard Records)
Government Names review
Huli Shallone - "For My Shorty" (mp3)

Huli just didn't come as hard on this as his first album, it felt like a few singles with a lot of filler. And then the best single he dropped this year, "Work It Good," wasn't even on it.


48. Team Green - The Hostage Vol 1 (Team Green/Beat Game/DNA)
Government Names review
Team Green on MySpace
Midas - "Team Green Commandments" (mp3)

The first mixtape I heard with Midas on it, after already being a fan of his from Style Warz, but a little too much of other dudes and not enough of him.

49. D.O.G. - Walk On Air: The Mix Tape (Invisible Set Entertainment)
Government Names review
D.O.G. on MySpace
D.O.G. - "Icy Yo D.O.G." (mp3)

Champagne Dreams probably would've been near the top of this list if it had dropped this year, but since D.O.G. got signed to Universal and pushed the album back once again, all we got this year was a mixtape that was way too short.


50. Yung Gist - The Baltimore Son
Government Names review
Yung Gist - "Holla @ Me" (mp3)

This had its moments but definitely did not live up to the "best rapper baltimore has ever seen" hype. He could stand to mumble a little less, it makes it hard to hear what he's saying.

Labels: Annexx Click, Banga Bill, Barnes, Bosslady, Bossman, Debonair Samir, Dirty Hartz, DK, lists, Little Clayway, mp3, Mullyman, Skarr Akbar, Street Official, Tyree Colion, UnReal