Bone Intell

I can honestly say that Bone Intell is the last of a dying breed.  He is really one of the very few people that I would say can bring real Hip Hop back.  I don't mean the music only, but the culture in itself.  Through his music, you can feel his passion for the art.  It is refreshing to see someone who stays so true to himself without compromising his beliefs.  

Originally from Buffalo, New York, Bone was born in the place Hip Hop originated from.  He began rapping at the age of 12 and since then, has worked with acts such as Sonny Lewis, T-Pain, Koaz and Freddie Freeman to name a few.  He's been on countless promotional tours, including DJ Kay Slay's Streetsweepers Sirius Satellite Radio Show.  He continues to tour the Northeast region of the United States, as well as several countries worldwide.  He has become a household name in those areas, and hopefully soon, he'll become a household name, period.  Check out the video for his single "Body Language" below.  You can also check him out at Reverbnation, by clicking here. 

Contact info:
jwilliams8151@gmail.com
bone@boneintell.com

SSTP

Struggle Since Turner Prince (SSTP) is a hiphop group from the Princeville and Tarboro areas in North Carolina.  The group's name was derived from a freed slave name Richard Turner Prince who was born into slavery in 1843. As Prince struggled to go from slavery to self-sufficiency, the group too is following in his footsteps.  The struggle continues to this day as the group is looking to get a distribution recording deal at the same time continuing to record music symbolizing everyday struggles and everyday life as they move forward to their vision of one day making a positive impact in the music industry. The group consists of twelve members: Calvin"K.KUTTA"Hagans, Derik"FLO"Downing, Kendrick"STYXX"Downing, Kenneth"YOUNG MILLZ"Frasier, Davius"DOJABOY"Dozier, Kelcey"ALLPRO"Jones, Quizondos"QB"Boddie, Darrius"REDIE"Wiggins, Chis"HI-FI"Nance, Jerome"YOUNG JABB"Joyner, Trevor"KASTRO"Howell, Corwin"CL"Farmer. To date, the group has done shows in NC,VA,and DC. With FLO, DOJABOY, YOUNG MILLZ, and ALLPRO already having solo mixtapes under their belts, the group as a whole has recorded two mixtapes: "WitnessThe Struggle,Watch The Movement" and 7787-vol 2 and is currently working on their third mixtape:Two-Thousand Turner Prince(20TP) with K.KUTTA, STYXX, and QB, working on their solo debut mixtapes as well.The group is now promoting the upcoming release of FLO and DOJABOY "The Handicap Match" and YOUNG MILLZ "Millzbury" mixtapes. The group has worked with such producers as My Brothers Keeper(MBK), T-Guda, Patrick Holloway,Dominique Callahand and JB da Dealer just to name a few. You can find each member on www.myspace.com/sstp1885.

Check out their video below:

Contact info:

iamyoungmillz@gmail.com

DK

Diamond Khalil, or DK as he is better known, is a Rocky Mount, NC native rapper taking his region by storm.  Considered a "veteran" by industry terms, DK has been rapping since the age of eight.  Since that time, he has done performances in places like New York, Washington, DC, and Atlanta, Georgia. 

He has done opening performances for artists including Trina, Freeway, and Petey Pablo.  He also made it to New York to perform in front of Black Rob and Craig Mack for Diddy's "Making The Band" series.

Most recently, DK has hooked up with Hip Hop legend DJ Kool, and released the track "Do It Big".  They decided to collaborate after a meeting in 2008.  This track can definitely become a club anthem.  The track was released through Iron Fist Entertainment and can be downloaded here: http://hulkshare.com/80fjnwecuk8z

Contact info:
Grif
cmrmangement@aol.com

1 Adoff

Harry Golden once said “The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work”, and this couldn’t be truer for Orlando, Florida native 1 Adoff.  Raised in the Griffin Park Housing Projects, he was no stranger to violence and adversity.  Between two jail stints, one lasted from 1990 to 2006, being sold dreams by multiple record labels would have been enough to discourage anyone.  Yet through it all, he was able to release an album entitled “Shit Sho Shady” at the age of 18 and has subsequently created a collection of his music independently that have become street classics.

Now there is nowhere for this man to go but up.  With some heavy hitters in the music industry like Jay Henchman, Bigga Rankin, Tony Neal of the Core DJ’s and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League to name a few backing him up, 1 Adoff’s perseverance and drive are sure to pay off this time.

There is heavy anticipation for his latest album entitled Dopeboyz Motivation is scheduled for a release of March 20, 2011.  If you can’t wait until then though, check out some of his earlier releases such as “Living In The Ghetto”,  and “Housing Authority” available on http://www.reverbnation.com/#!/1adoff.

Click the link below to download a copy of "Living In The Ghetto"

http://limelinx.com/files/7de445519879b67a860c5a4fef1f3c57

Contact Info:

Jay Henchman

904-405-0912

Willie J

This is another one of the few indie artists who gets much respect from me.  To date, his third mixtape, "Before My Heart Stops", has had over 900,000 downloads since his November 6, 2010 release.  That's the epitome of hustle to me. 
The Washington Park/ East Saint Louis, Illinois native came from a churchgoing family, where he developed a penchant for the drums, as well as songwriting and composing.  He wrote his first song at 12, and subsequently caught the eye of two magazines for his percussion talents.  Both 'Modern Drummer' and 'Drum Magazine' have done features on him. 
Since that time, he has opened for artists ranging from Sean Paul of the Youngbloodz to New Edition.  He has also opened for Marques Houston and Hip Hop legend DJ Quik at The House of Blues in Los Angeles.
In addition to his music, Willie J is also a published author.  His book, "The Crying Songbird" has been said to be a positive influence on the inmates of Connecticut's prisons.  He has been asked by these prisons to speak and spread the word of inspiration to inmates.  His book is available in all major bookstores nationwide. 
"Before My Heart Stops" as well as his two prior mixtapes, are available on http://www.coast2coastdjs.com/.  Three of my favorite tracks from the mixtape, "Before My Heart Stops", "Comin' In", and "I'm Ready" are really worth the listen.

Follow him on twitter: www.twitter.com/williejpro

Contact info:

williejmd@yahoo.com

King Twins

King Twins are a Charlotte duo that is ready to make a name for themselves in the southern rap game. Dice King and Duce King are very versatile in their rhymes. The track “Fam Love” samples Dionne Farris’ “Hopeless” melody. The music and their rhymes go together well. I can definitely seeing this song becoming an underground classic. Another track that I liked was “Like The Switch”. It sounds like Midwest rapper Huey spitting over a Dirty South beat, and once again, it works.


With two mixtapes (“Cookin’ Up Carols” and “Love Jones”) under their belts, they are gearing up to release “March Madness: Loaded 2 The Brim” soon. Please be on the lookout for these guys. They do not disappoint.

Both mixtapes are available on http://www.datpiff.com/.  Follow them on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kingtwins

TP

TP is a rapper representing Winston Salem, NC.  Under the independent record label It's A Wonderful World, headed by superproducer 9th Wonder, TP gives his listeners positivity and hope in his rhymes.  The track "I Feel The Glow" can be felt by many, but understood by all.  It is the ultimate independent, hard worker theme song.  The drive and motivation is felt all the way through it. 

Check out "I Feel The Glow" and more at www.reverbnation.com/tpismyhero

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any video :( the search continues though

Contact Info:

info@iwwgroup.com

Benny Demus

Producer/writer/DJ/Emcee Benny Demus has been in the music business for a while.  He started out as a DJ in St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands until he moved to New York in 1994 to become a lyricist.
     Since that time, he has become a DJ for Akon, Rock City, and Eve.  He is now finally making a name for himself as a lyricist.  With his self proclaimed "Virgin Islands Hip Hop" style, the uniqueness and talent that is Benny Demus is going to be around for a lot longer than a season.
     Not only is this guy talented, but he has a heart of gold.  According to his website, he personally sponsored the Virgin Islands Men's All Star basketball game, graced the children of St. Croix and St. Thomas schools and juvenile detention centers with the presences of Akon and Rock city as a morale booster.  He has also been recognized by Virgin Islands leadership for these contributions.
     He will be adding actor to his resume soon, as he is slated to make a cameo appearance in the Dwayne Boyd flick entitled "4 Minutes".  His mixtape "Ben In Black" is available for download now.

Check out his website:

http://www.bennydemus.com/

Young Millz

This guy gets so much respect from me because he is truly about his business. This 21 year old resident of Charlotte, North Carolina has given the word "grind" a new meaning. He has several goals, one being to put his new genre of "Struggle Music" on the map.

He has performed with Johntae "Mr. Red Monkey Jeans", opened shows for Tity Boi of Playa's Circle and Diamond, formerly of Crime Mob. He has also released four different mixtapes since 2006, has performed all along the East Coast and has two slated for release this year called "MillzBurry Mixtape Host'd By D Boy Radio" and "The RAW Report Mixtape" as well as his first official underground album called "Struggle Musik 101".

He runs his own company, Young Dreams, LLC, with a goal to create an independent label as he already has six artists he's working with.

His mixtape "Giftedly Cursed" on http://www.datpiff.com/ and www.reverbnation.com/theofficialyoungmillz

For bookings:

iamyoungmillz@gmail.com

Where Have All The Rappers Gone????

It is 2010 and the world of hip hop has changed dramatically. Gone are the times where real talent got you a deal. Now, it's all about the image. Although image has always been important, talent is what gave you staying power. Artists like Method Man and Ice Cube had the thug appeal and skills to match. Now, we are forced to be "entertained" by the genius that is Soulja Boy. Now, to his credit, he is a smart businessman. What other 16 year-old has made the money that he has made by promoting himself, and using the internet to his advantage?
Real hip hop is what I long for though. I would love to go back to the days when Hip hop was rap. Where Kurtis Blow was telling us that "the IRS says they want to chat and you can't explain why you claimed your cat, that those are the breaks" or every girl wanted to be at "the bus stop sucking on a lollipop with bamboo earrings (of course at least two pair)". A time when people could go out and watch a Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick or a Run DMC show with the biggest concern being whether or not someone is going to have the same outfit as yours.
Change is inevitable. Change is constant. Those are well known facts. This article is not to hate on anyone. It is to let the young heads know that there is a lot more to rap about than guns, drugs, bitches, hos, and money. We can't move forward in anyone's eyes until we break the mold. At the end of the day, we are still Niggers. When other races and cultures hear the music that "defines" us and they hear nothing but how much money we have and sipping and spitting champagne (in a recession), they could care less about how educated you are out of the studio.
There is a lot to say about how far we as a community have come. We have a black president! We still have so far to go. Two year-old should not know every word to "Wetter", they should be watching Sesame Street learning the word and number of the day. The message here is this: let's do better. Let's make 2010 a new beginning. It starts with one person: you. Are you ready to accept the challenge??