Beads

The Jacka: Tear Gas Preview [with Freeway & Cormega]

by Beads June 13, 2009 Coming Soon

After many years of anticipation Bay Area veteran, The Jacka, is set to release his newest effort, Tear Gas, on June 16, 2009. The Jacka is a member of the Bay Area powerhouse, Mob Figaz, and is no stranger to all coasts. With the release of Tear Gas, we hear The Jacka teaming up with [...]

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Mr. Midas: Last Man Standing

by Beads April 26, 2009 Mixtapes

Long Beach, Ca is the home to many prominent Hip Hop artists and Mr. Midas is on pace to be in that catagory. Although he splits time between Colorado and Long Beach, Mr. Midas has never lost his west coast hustle. Midas made a lot of noise a few years back when he dropped his [...]

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Let’s Talk with Shade Sheist

by Beads April 2, 2009 Artist Spotlight

Hailing from Inglewood, California, Shade Sheist (born Tramayne Thompson) is a vet  in the game.   Shade has been releasing music since 1993 and has worked with some of Hip Hop’s biggest names:  Dr. Dre, DJ Quik, Timbaland, Kay Gee, Nate Dogg, and Ja Rule.  We cut it up with him recently…….see how it went [...]

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Introducing… Dasha

by Beads February 14, 2009 Interviews

On this Valentine’s Day, we thought it would be appropriate to showcase a beautiful, talented, upcoming R&B singer. Dasha has been featured on Nobody Famous’ recent EP, Biscuits & Gravy, which was released exclusively on this site and has worked with other people in the industry, such as The Underdogs, Howard Hewett, Lil’ Fiz, K [...]

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Get To Know… Thad Reid

by Beads February 4, 2009 Artist Spotlight

At the age of 27, Thad Reid is already a decorated rap veteran. He has dealt with personal tragedy and the constant struggles of „the come-up”. Hailing from the land of Virginia, Thad is already accustomed to being the underdog, but he has used that status to take all by surprise. Trials and tribulations, like [...]

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Artist Spotlight: Shiré

by Beads January 30, 2009 Artist Spotlight

A native of the tough city of Baltimore, MD, Talia “Shiré” Burgess is about to blow the R&B/Hip-Hop scene wide open. Unlike most singers of her generation, Shiré is a true artist who loves to make real music about real life situations; the ups and the downs! She has become a prolific singer/songwriter and all of [...]

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Artist Spotlight: Sha Stimuli

by Beads January 28, 2009 Artist Spotlight

In the beginning, it was written… We are all born with innate gifts, our duty is to embrace those gifts and share them with the world. For Brooklyn born lyricist Sherod “Sha Stimuli” Khaalis, this means provoking an emotional response through his music. Growing up, Stimuli’s inquisitive mind could not be held by your typical [...]

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Producer Spotlight: 14KT

by Beads December 29, 2008 Interviews

14KT is 1/7th of Michigan hip hop heroes The Athletic Mic League (AML) and 1/4th of production powerhouse The Lab Techs. He has been instrumental in boosting the careers of fellow crew members Buff1 and DJ Haircut. Now that he’s produced pivotal tracks for nearly every notable Detroit hip hop artist and beyond, released multiple [...]

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Artist Spotlight: Hasan Salaam

by Beads December 22, 2008 Artist Spotlight

When you think New Jersey, you probably think; Redman, Naughty By Nature and even Joe Budden. But allow us to introduce an emcee by the name of Hasan Salaam. This Dirty Jerz emcee is making a powerful statement musically and in the community. On top of being a supremely talented rapper, Hasan Salaam is very [...]

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Common: Electric Circus

by Beads December 18, 2008 Music Reviews

2003 saw the release of Common‘s Electric Circus and if this album isn’t an experience, I don’t know what is. Over the years I’ve found that this is an album you either hate or love. The people who love it tend to commend Com for his risk taking and his adventurous route taken on this release and [...]

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Common: Resurrection

by Beads December 14, 2008 Music Reviews

After releasing his debut album, Can I Borrow a Dollar?, Common Sense was overlooked and the project garnered very little recognition. But like every great emcee, Common, didn’t let that hinder his growth.

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Review: Graduation

by Beads November 26, 2008 Music Reviews

Graduation is the complete opposite of Kanye‘s first two releases. College Dropout and Late Registration both were swamped with features and skits while Graduation takes a minimalist approach, containing only 13 tracks and many of the features only appear on the hooks.

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Review: Late Registration

by Beads November 25, 2008 Music Reviews

When Kanye West announced the release of Late Registration, he faced two battles. First, he must overcome the dreaded sophomore jinx, and secondly, he had to compare to his first classic release. With the success of College Dropout, the latter seemed so much harder for Mr. West.

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Review: College Dropout

by Beads November 24, 2008 Music Reviews

A lot of producers try and do what Kanye West has done and simply come up short. We’ve heard countless producers try their hand at rapping but for some reason they just don’t cut it. Kanye had a pretty solid fan base built up based off of his beats prior to dropping College Dropout but [...]

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New Interview with J The S

by Beads November 15, 2008 Interviews
http://vimeo.com/moogaloo

Recently, Boston emcee J the S has been all over the scene. With a new project in the immediate future (My Will) and a monumental release (The Last Days) geared for next year, I sat down with Jake to discuss a whole heap of topics. We touch on the typical music things but we also step outside the normal [...]

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14KT: The Golden Hour

by Beads November 10, 2008 Music Reviews

Once again Kevin blessed me with some phenomenal material to review and I can honestly say that this is one of the better producer projects I have heard. 14KT is a producer from Detroit but some of his music is clearly universal and some is out of this world. I guess this is one of [...]

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Q-Tip: Kamaal The Abstract

by Beads November 8, 2008 Music Reviews

In 2000, Q-Tip, I mean, Kamaal the Abstract had a new project that in fact never got released. The self titled release is something that I think Q-Tip wanted to create musically for a while. Kamaal The Abstract is much more musical than any rap album I can think of. Many of the songs include [...]

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ATCQ: The Love Movement

by Beads November 7, 2008 Music Reviews

There is only one problem I have encountered while reviewing these Tribe albums; every album is my favorite, depending on when I listen to them. So with that being said, I completely forgot how much I love, The Love Movement. Not too many groups are able to remain themselves in an industry that is forever [...]

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ATCQ: Beats, Rhymes and Life

by Beads November 6, 2008 Music Reviews

How would a group like ATCQ hold up in an industry that saw a gradual change from the early ’90′s to 1996? Beats, Rhymes and Life let us know that Tribe hadn’t lost a step. The game was now saturated with gangsta rap and an ongoing East Coast/ West Coast battle that would prove to [...]

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ATCQ: The Low End Theory

by Beads November 5, 2008 Music Reviews

Even if Tribe never recorded a second album, they would still be regarded as Hip Hop royalty. Luckily, the group, which was now a trio, dropped, The Low End Theory. Tribe perfected the sound they were looking for on their second album. The beats are minimal but effective and Q-Tip and Phife really hit their [...]

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