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

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

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