First of all, I'm absolutely blown away by Wale's new album, "Attention Deficit". It truly exceeded my expectations and it has definitely changed my perception of Wale as a rapper. Beyond the fashion, sneakers and Hollywood lifestyle, is an incredibly deep thinker, that isn't afraid to speak his mind. The track I'm posting, "Shades", is by far one of the most daring songs on the album. Throughout the song, Wale speaks about how he grew up seeing lighter skinned African American being treated differently than those with darker complexions. He takes the issue one step further by asking his listeners, "What if Barack's skin was all black… would he be a candidate". I think Wale is 100% on point with everything he says in this song. I grew up in a predominately black neighborhood and I seen the insecurities that many people had with their skin, whether it was, guys that avoided the sun, or girls that never showed anyone their real hair. Everything he says is real, and its happening everyday. But the message that Wale places in his song is that it doesn't matter what shade of brown that you are, because at the end of the day, it's what's on the inside that counts.

Wale and his production team, Best Kept Secret, are simply impressive and they definitely deserve to win an award for this song; it's remarkable!

"Shades"
Artist: Wale
Featuring: Chrisette Michele
Produced by: Best Kept Secret
Album: Attention Deficit
Year: 2009
Location: Washington DC
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/wale
Twitter: http://twitter.com/WaLe

This song is brilliant… (or should I say brill)! Apparently Kano has been getting very annoyed at many of the critics whom have voiced their negative opinions about his new mainstream sounding singles, so Kano decided to release a combative record, titled NWMOS, to address all the journalists, bloggers and fans that have been asking him to revert back to his original style of music. The idea to loop a Jay-Z line from Blueprint 3 was absolutely fantastic. And Kano definitely didn't disappoint. I'm fairly neutral on the argument of whether Kano should revert back to his underground style of lyricism. Personally, I'd listen to Kano's music regardless.
I can't wait to hear this new album!

Download: Right Click Save As

"NWMOS"
Artist: Kano
Samples: Jay-Z - On To The Next One
Samples: Justice - D.A.N.C.E.
Production Credits: Mikey J, Swizz Beatz, Justice
Country: UK
Year: 2009
Kano on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/kanorecordings
Kano on Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheRealKano
Label: Bigger Picture Music

This is Sway's brand new single, "Mercedes-Benz"! I've been waiting for this song to be released in CD quality for quite a while, ever since he premiered a one minute snippet of it earlier this year.  Since I'm a bit of a Sway fan, I was planning on buying the digital version of this single though Itunes, but unfortunately, I ran into an annoying and familiar problem… This Single Hasn't Been Released In The US!!!! European rappers really need to start releasing All of their music in All six major continents! This is one of the reasons why music piracy is so rampant these days. I couldn't buy this record legally if I tried (and trust me… I've tried). Now, all these Sway fans that are here in the US, that have been waiting for this single to drop are going to be forced to download this record for free, even though they may have had full intentions of spending the 99 cents to purchase the high quality version of this single.
Now I understand that there hasn't been any promo, or major radio support for this song here in the US, But… that doesn't mean that people the here in the States haven't heard of Sway DaSafo. C'mon Konvict Muzik…

Either way, whether legally or illegally, everybody needs to download this record! It's definitely one of the biggest party records of the year! And to Sway's management.. PLEASE BRING THIS RECORD TO THE USA!

"Mercedes-Benz"
Artist: Sway
Samples: DJ Mark the 45 King - "The 900 Number" (1987)
Samples: Marva Whitney - "Unwind Yourself" (1967)
Album: The Signature 2
Year: 2009
Location: UK
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/swaydasafo
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Sway_Dcypha
Label: Konvict Muzik

This is a great record for your summer playlist, "Stunna Shades" by Robin Rocks, featuring J-Son and Angelica. Fresh from Sweden. Enjoy!

Download From Zshare

"Stunna Shades"
Artist: Robin Rocks
Featuring: J-Son and Angelica
Label: Unsigned
Year: 2009
Location: Sweden
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/hellorobinrocks
Twitter: http://twitter.com/hellorobinrocks

Eminem strikes back against Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon after the multi-platinum pop diva recently released a music video for R&B single, "Obsessed", where she dresses up like Eminem and portrays him as being a compulsive stalker. Eminem has responded with a brand new song titled "The Warning" and it is by far one of the most graphic songs that Eminem has ever written. In the new record, he gives very vivid details about the alleged short-lived sexual relationship that he once shared with Mariah Carey. This feud has definitely taken a turn for the worst. Listen to the song below:

"The Warning (Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon Diss)
Artist: Eminem
Album: Unreleased… (Relapse 2)
Label: Shady Records
Year: 2009
Location USA
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/eminem
Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?zjtmo2dwhmt

Someone on youtube said "What a good wedding song!". Sorry, I had to laugh at that one. This is another typical Akon record, with a catchy hook, a great instrumental and a chorus that glorifies strippers and gold diggers. All around it's a good song. Sway, from the UK, did a great job in putting this song together. I spoke to him a couple weeks ago when he was in New York City and he told me that Konvict Muzik was planning to release and market this song here in America before the end of the year. He performed it at the Urban Music Awards, earlier in the month. It received a lukewarm response, possibly due to his British accent. At times, I felt as if I was the only person in the front row dancing to it… maybe I was. He made a reference to his accent in “Silver and Gold“, when he says ""She's always telling me that she loves my accent but she's thinking to herself what the hell is he saying". Personally, I don't think the UK accent is really that hard to understand, although, maybe I’m just accustomed to hearing people use it because I have family over there. Last year when Sway released the "Go Hard" freestyle, he spoke about how his accent prevented him from getting signed to many American major labels. ""I was in New York trying to give them my disc, walked into Shady Records and said listen to this… Peter Rosenberg said 'this is a hit but because of your accent, I'm going to give it a miss.'" In my opinion, Sway's accent is barely noticeable especially when you compare it to other UK rappers such as Ghetts. But that's the way my country is, everyone knows that if "Silver and Gold" featured a rapper with an American accent, the song would be 3x platinum and #1 on the Billboard Charts. No matter what the underground critics in the UK say about Sway‘s new sound, you have to absolutely respect him. He's breaking down a lot of barriers here in this country and he's opening the doors for UK rappers to market their music and find success here in America.

"Silver and Gold"
Artist: Sway
Featuring: Akon
Album: The Signature LP
Year: 2009
Location: UK
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/swaydasafo
Label: Konvict Muzik

This is a fantastic video for Smoke Bulga's "Money On My Mind" featuring Jim Jones! It was directed by DanTheMan, who has filmed music videos for Prodigy, Termanology, 50 Cent and more. It was filmed on location, all throughout Boston (except for the scenes with Jim Jones which were filmed in New York City).

This is by far, the most expensive video and song that any Boston rapper has created all year. The rentals alone that are featured in this video will probably amount to $5,000 or more. Jim Jones was most likely paid, somewhere in the thousands, to appear on the song. Dan The Man is one of the best hip-hop music video directors in the Northeast. His camera alone, the Panasonic AG-HVX200, is worth over $5,000. The production costs of this video must have went "through the roof". I don't think anyone from Boston is going to top this one. At least not this year. Not with a recession… and a 8.7% Massachusetts unemployment rate. Smoke Bulga is the definition of "Ballin"! Ballin in a recession. Overall, Great song, Great video, Thumbs up!

"Money On My Mind"
Artist: Smoke Bulga
Featuring: Jim Jones
Director: Dan The Man
Location: Boston & New York City
Year: 2009
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/smokebulga
Label: http://www.myspace.com/smokebulga
Twitter: http://twitter.com/SmokeBulga

This is an exclusive video (from the good folks at the Secret Society Club) of Kid Cudi and Henok Achido doing their thangs in Sweden at the Hultsfredfestival. Now, I know that I've mentioned millions of times that Henok is one of the best rappers… out, but now I feel the need to re-emphasize that fact and remind everyone one more time that this guy is going to become a global hip-hop icon when it's all said and done.
The people that follow Henok, that go to his shows and buy his music are fans of him for one reason and one reason only… because he's a good rapper. Not because he's rapping on trendy instrumentals, not because of his sneakers, or his borough… they just want to hear him rap… because he's clearly a good rapper. Nothing more nothing less. He's not following himself around with a camera, he's not walking around in shutter shades, he's not wearing the ball-gripping skinny jeans. His female fans aren't daydreaming about his image, they just wanna hear him rap. His male fans aren't envious of his clothing, they just wanna hear him rap. Most of today's new 2009 and 2010 acts are entertainers, they're not just rappers. They sing, they dance, they hop around on stage, they post funny youtube videos; they entertain people. They have little gimmicks; their clothes, their looks, their videos, their blogs, their sneakers, their dj's. Henok just raps, and that's it. They're aren't a lot of new rappers like that. Ghetts from the UK is one of them, but that’s really it. No matter how much you cut and slice it, Henok Achido is the real deal. No if, ands, or skinny jeans about it.

Finally, The official video for Eva Simons "Silly Boy". The is a very futuristic video and it blends perfectly well with the music. The designers did a great job with building the sets and setting up the brilliant light show. And Eva Simons definitely doesn't disappoint when she steps in front of the camera. August 14th 2009 is when the record is going to be released on Itunes. Mark your calendars! Support the Mohawk!

"Silly Boy"
Artist: Eva Simons
Producer: Tearce Keaz
Management: Walboomers Music
Label: EMI
Country: Netherlands
Year 2009
Website: Evasimons.com
Myspace: Myspace.com/evasimons
Twitter: Twitter.com/EvaSimons

I labeled this as "Funny Video", because it's clearly a "funny video". A funny video with a great beat and some good lyrics, but overall, A FUNNY VIDEO! If you're not familiar with NGP, they're one of the hardest working hip-hop quartets in New York City. They're known for their unique sense of humor and their mascot which is a big yellow chicken. They're managed by Robert A. Celestin of RACLawFirm.com under his Intelligent Music Entertainment company. There's nothing really more to say, the video speaks for itself! Check out the details below for more info:

"Took Your Girl"
Artist: No Good People (NGP)
Manager: Robert A. Celestin
Producer: Concept
Director: Pumatrax aka Joe Puma
Location: New York City
Label: Intelligent Music Entertainment
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/nogoodpeople
Twitter: http://twitter.com/nogoodpeople