RAP – Page 2 – Street Line Video

The BXtraordinary One: The Introduction of Alex Villafaña

Refreshing, ambitious, someone with actual talent, not the usual thing that you hear everywhere else and definitely an extraordinary one with a voice that represents hunger, wanting to succeed, but also being thankful and showing love to those he appreciates. Not forgetting where he comes from and where he is going. Alex Villafaña is a dope upcoming artist from the Highbridge section of The Bronx whose also a current Hostos Community College graduate. I personally had the honor of meeting this dude over a year ago when we were in the same Linguistics class. Of course, his image makes him noticeable and hard to ignore but with a voice over a fresh and polished hip hop/trap beat, Villafaña keeps your attention. The homie who you can definitely sit down and actually have a discussion with about hip hop, a Jay-Z or a Nas album two, he’s definitely what I would call, according to one of his songs, the “BXtraordinary” one. His mixtape “Looking For The Title” explains it all. It’s a body of work that’s about a young man whose trying to find his way and who is on his way to the top at the same time. Taking and learning from what life is giving to him, not forgetting where he comes from, using that to make him both a better person and artist. His latest single, which is a freestyle joint called “Nas Album Done”, is something just a little more dope though. So short, so simple but straight to the point. Love to witness dope talent from my hometown. More reminders that not all rap is wack, especially ones who can actually rap. To check out his music, his SoundCloud is Alex Villafana, add him on Facebook at Alex Villafaña and follow him on Instagram @villianhustle.

I GOT BARS. I GOT BARS. I GOT BARS.

This is a common phrase when it comes to rap. The terminology is a consice way of telling people I rap and I’m good at it. However the three words take on a life of their own when affiliated to Brute Camp. Brute Camp is a two member Hip Hop group comprised of NYC rappers Profit and King Sleeps.
Prophit met King Sleeps in the Winter of 2005 at the Brooklyn Woods Workshop, at that point Brute Camp was formed. I GOT BARS became the mantra.

Profit is from Venezuela, raised as a kid in Colombia and moved to the United States in the summer of 1991 at the age of seven. King Sleeps, Born in Brooklyn, NY into a musical household, Sleeps began developing his craft at the tender age of seven.

In the hip hop culture it is imperative to stand out and be noticed. This is true when it comes to Brute Camp. Their music weighs on the side of brash and in your face, with songs like Overrated and Shake and Twerk. The two members who are very much different on the surface combine to make a perfect match in music and business. Profit who is affectionately known as Proph takes standing out very personal. The start of the I GOT BARS apparel line with everything from Neck ties to T-shirts has been pushed by Proph and Sleeps. There’s not a place Proph or Sleeps has been seen without thitm repping their brand. When asked How did the idea of I Got Bars come about? Proph answered ” The idea I Got Bars came about to make a point that listeners were not too interested in the lyrics or the message that a song had so we incorporated I got bars into clothing were audience could see what we were really are about.

Proph also states coming to the USA in 1991was imperative for his families survival. During them years, it was heavy poverty and a high crime rate percentage, Pablo Escobar era.

Both crew members agree it was a great idea to bring out I GOT BARS to the public eye. The rationalization is since people don’t want to hear it or know about it they will have to see it. They go further and believe it brings a lot musicians together in different genres. I Got Bars apparal can be seen on the likes of celebrities such as Wyclef, swizz beats, Remy Ma, 50cent, Benzino, Joell Ortiz, Keith Murray, KRS One, Mc Lyte, Black Rob, Murda Mook, Fred the Godson, Producer illmind, Chris Rivers, Cory Gunz, Papoose, Charlie Clips, Cassidy and more.

Brute camp’s drive comes from being lyricists and artists that enjoy story telling in a music form. The listener can hear the message and visualize what is being presented to them.

To shine light on their music, Brute Camp has numerous music videos, songs streaming on SoundCloud and other internet resources. In all fairness, their stamp I Got Bars is better known than the groups official name which is BRUTE CAMP. My job as a journalist and writer is to bring awareness and inform individuals of what they should be tuned in to. BRUTE CAMP. The music should be listened to for entertainment, lyrics and visual storytelling.

When you think of real Hip Hop think of BRUTE CAMP and know they Have Bars.
Follow them on IG @Brute_Camp

Written by Sugarhill Sky.
*No funds were given or services bartered for this write up.
For event coverage, write ups, reviews etc.
sugarhillsky13@gmail.com

GO SHAWTY IT’S YA BIRTHDAY

Curtis James Jackson III was born July 6, 1975 aka Boo Boo known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, businessman, and investor. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of the borough of Queens, Ny. In 1996 a friend introduced him to Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC, who was establishing Jam Master Jay Records. Jay taught him how to count bars, write choruses, structure songs and make records. His first appearance was on “React” with Onyx, for their 1998 album Shut ‘Em Down. He credited Jam Master Jay for improving his ability to write hooks, and Jay produced Jackson’s first (unreleased) album in 1999 after Jackson left Jam Master Jay, the platinum-selling producers Trackmasters signed him to Columbia Records. They sent him to an upstate New York studio, where he produced thirty-six songs in two weeks; eighteen were included on his 2000 album, Power of the Dollar. 50 founded Hollow Point Entertainment with former G-Unit member Bang ‘Em Smurf also has had a highly successful business career. He is financially invested in a highly diversified variety of industries such as now involved in artist and talent management, record, television, and film production, footwear, apparel, fragrances, liquor, video games, mobile apps, book publishing, headphones “which I own a pair” health drinks and dietary supplements. His broad business and investment portfolio contains investments in a variety of sectors including real estate, financial market investments, mining, boxing promotion, vodka which is good it’s called Effen Vodka it comes in different flavors, fragrances, consumer electronics and fashion. He established his own record label G-Unit Records in 2003 following his mainstream success. In November 2003, he signed a five-year deal with Reebok to distribute a G-Unit Sneakers line for his G-Unit Clothing Company. In an interview regarding his vast business empire, Jackson says his businesses have a habit of doing well as he sees all of his ventures both past and present as revolving around his alter ego. Jackson has also started a book publishing imprint, G-Unit Books on January 4, 2007 at the Time Warner Building in New York. He has written a number of books including a memoir, From Pieces To Weight in 2005 where it sold 73,000 copies in hardcover and 14,000 copies in paperback; a crime novel and a book with Robert Greene titled The 50th Law, an urban take on The 48 Laws of Power. In November 2011, Jackson released 50 Cent’s Playground, a young adult fiction novel about a bullied, violent kid and his gay mom.

One of Jackson’s first business ventures was a partnership with Glacéau to create an enhanced water drink called Formula 50. In October 2004, Jackson became a beverage investor when he was given a minority share in the company in exchange for becoming a spokesperson after learning that he was a fan of the beverage. The health conscious Jackson noted that he first learned of the product while at a gym in Los Angeles, and stated that “they do such a good job making water taste good.” After becoming a minority shareholder and celebrity spokesperson, Jackson worked with the company to create a new grape flavored “Formula 50” variant of VitaminWater and mentioned the drinks in various songs and interviews. In 2007, Coca-Cola purchased Glacéau for $4.1 billion and, according to Forbes, Jackson, who was a minority shareholder, earned $100 million from the deal after taxes. e no longer has an equity stake in the company, Jackson continues to act as a spokesperson for Vitaminwater, enthusiastically supporting the product including singing about it at the BET Awards and expressing his excitement over the company’s continuing to allow his input on products. He joined Right Guard to introduce a body spray (Pure 50 RGX) 50 Cent signed a multi-year deal with Steiner Sports to sell his memorabilia, and announced plans for a dietary-supplement company in conjunction with his film Spectacular Regret in August 2017. his career Jackson has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and won several awards, including a Grammy Award, thirteen Billboard Music Awards, six World Music Awards, three American Music Awards and four BET Awards. He has pursued an acting career, appearing in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2005), the Iraq War film Home of the Brave (2006) and Righteous Kill (2008). 50 Cent was ranked the sixth-best artist of the 2000s and the third-best rapper (behind Eminem and Nelly) by Billboard. Rolling Stone consider Get Rich or Die Tryin‘ and “In Da Club” to be in their lists of “100 Best albums of the 2000s” and “100 Best songs of the 2000s” at numbers 37 and 13. 50 Cent is a very down to earth person his performances are good. 50 Cent has a new album called G to the Street for 2017

Written by Jewels 78

DJ KEYNOTE SPEAKAZ RISING UP!

street line

In the year of 2016, where there are lots of ambitious, hard working and upcoming hip hop artists and only a few of them stand out, the one person who definitely stands out is the 19 year old, North Carolina native known as DJ Keynote Speakaz. I got my first taste of his style when he followed me on Instagram more than a year ago I happened to notice that he was another hip hop artist who was working towards his dream of becoming both a rapper and producer. His posts consists of other hip hop artists he’s inspired by, notes of him asking us, the followers our opinions about his work and hip hop and videos of him working on a new beat while quizzing us hip hop heads about who sampled what for what track on what album they did. Keynote would often doubt himself by asking his followers if he should give up rapping and just stick to producing, just like any other artist out there with a dream – sometimes we doubt ourselves and can be a bit insecure. Then at some point, I got to actually hear his voice and was completely thrown off guard by his very strong and deep talking and rapping voice. Hearing him rap sounds like a Fat Albert chopped and screwed, rapping Barry White with a tad bit of Biggie Smalls and he’s only 19 years old. How many 19 year old guys do you know have a voice THAT deep? LOL! His work is definitely worth the listen and it matches his stage name completely. His ear for incredible beat making and remixing popular songs on different beats is definitely something worth listening to in 2016, especially with all the stagnant “Trap Muzik” stuff that’s constantly being pushed on us by mainstream and Soundcloud rappers who decide they wanna become rappers and producers overnight but there’s something about Keynote that’s very not overnight. With an ear and voice like his, it’s clear that he’s been doing this for a while and he’s a very dope and talented individual whose clearly all about hip hop culture. Whenever you listen to a DJ Keynote Speakaz joint, just remember that you need the right “Speakaz” to blast it and enjoy. The beats will have you nodding your head and eventually, his deep Barry White-ish voice will have you learning the words to his catchy rap songs but at the same time, you learn about the samples he uses because they’re very much obviously used so well and in a such a beautiful way. DJ Keynote Speakaz is no J Dilla, he’s no Marley Marl, Timbaland, Pharrell, or a 9th Wonder but he’s just simply the DJ that’ll have your “Speakaz” rocking and booming.

Check out DJ KEYNOTE SPEAKAZ
http://https://youtu.be/uiS-Z-I4k0w

Street Line WRITTEN BY JAY DOGGZ

FAT JOE at SUMMER STAGE

Although I live across the street from Crotona Park, it was nice to see both Fat Joe and Remy Ma perform in my hood for the Summerstage Concert series. I originally thought they were supposed to show up the next day but my sister overheard them performing and it was “What’s Luv?” the joint he did with Ashanti back in 2001. Then my mom comes in through the door with the same enthusiasm as my sister, hyped about Fat Joe and Remy Ma performing as well, so I decided to throw on my sneakers, grab my keys and both my iPhones and speed walk to go catch the show in my basketball shorts and a grey t-shirt before the show was over. When I got there, it was super crowded. People were all over the park with their phones out recording and singing and rapping along to the songs they were performing and it was “Lean Back” when I got there. I decided to find a good spot to stand at and get a good angle to record them on my busted iPhone that I keep for hip hop occasions like this. I got a good 1 minute long video of Remy doing her verse to “All the Way Up”, which is one of the hottest hip hop joints out this year. While Remy did her thing, strutting across the stage, spitting her verse with so much aggression in her voice, the DJ played with the song a little bit while the audience got hyped and rapped along with Remy to her verse while jumping up and down and simultaneously recording on their phones at the same time. It was dope to see The Bronx represent as hard as they did because The Bronx is such an underrated and forgotten borough in New York. It was also dope to see a lot of hip hop fans and older heads out there enjoying the show instead of doing their usual “new school rap” hate rantings all day. Watching Fat Joe and Remy Ma up on that stage made me very proud to be from The Bronx and of course, it was another monumental dope hip hop moment for me, even though I caught it at the very last minute, looking crazy in a t-shirt and basketball shorts.

WRITTEN BY-Jay-DOGGZ