Yo Kingpen Slim is the big homie, fellow Jamerican (Jamaican American) & one of the coolest people I know. I actually take mental notes when I’m around this dude, from the way he rocks a show, his work ethic to just how he interacts with people. He lyrically keeps me on my toes & is an example of how hustle & dedication can pay off. Dude looks to be a legend in the game, not just as a D.C. artist but as an MC in general. From what I’m hearing this project is nothing short of EPIC. No exaggeration either, I actually heard it described that way so, I’m about to throw this on the iPod & give it a spin. I highly suggest you do the same.
Recent Studio 43 signee RA the MC releases her first project with the label. All the eyes in the Washington D.C. Metro area are on her. I’m about to give it a listen myself but, I’m sure it’s official, c’mon, she’s got the Heart of a Champion…(pun intended). The album features great artists and homies of mine X.O., AB The Producer & R&B songstress Ihsan Bilal.
Fat Trel is a dude I’ve watched blossom while performing at Studio 43′s Open Mic Mondays at Pure Lounge to becoming a bright star in his own right. I’ve done some photo work for him & his musical family The Basshed Music Group & it’s great to see him doing his thing. Alongside Black Cobain he’s also with Wale’s The Board Administration and is poised to make a bunch of dope music. Personally, I feel Trel represents a large portion of D.C. so signing Trel may have been one of the best decisions of Wale’s career.
I’ve met Black Cobain on a couple of occasions & he’s a pretty cool cat, & dope MC. He’s recently become apart of Wale’s imprint The Board Administration so it should be great to hear the work he’s been churning out lately.
This is the big homie so I had to post it, I was also at the premiere party for this & the function was live, mad love in the air. Enoch is like the Yoda for this hip-hop movement we got going on here so make sure you stay up on his work.
This dude Cortez is not only a good friend of mine & super cool dude but lyrically dude’s a beast. Everytime we kick it, cypher, whatever he helps keep my lyrical sword sharp. This song is produced by Diamond District’s own Oddisee, who’s an incredible producer & rhymer so needless to say this song is a certified hip-hop gem. I’ve given it a listen myself & the joint is crucial so for your listening pleasure, here you go.
Yo this is an ill ass fight scene. Pai Mei is a mythical master, no one really knows his age. He’s popped up in various old Kung-Fu movies but most you will probably recognize him from his latest appearance in Kill Bill vol. 2.
Spike Lee is my favorite film director of all-time. Period. His films have really help sculpt the human being I am today. His films have shown me what years of public school textbooks, teachers & professors and other traditional educational media have failed to do. His movies are realistic glimpses of racial relations, politics, the media & the world in general. Glimpses you won’t often see in the mainstream media. I have a huge respect for Spike Lee because he’s always done what other film-makers have been scared to do, say what other writers have been scared to say, and play the roles many actors were afraid, ashamed, or just not bold enough to play. His movies such as “Do The Right Thing”, “School Daze”, & “Malcolm X” deserve to be put inside some museum years from now & honored as shining examples of the last century’s art. It’s actually a personal goal of mine to act in “A Spike Lee Joint”. Being a musician & future film-maker myself, I’ve come to appreciate all of his jazz-laden films, the way he cuts his footage & directs his cast. He is a constant creative inspiration & true Light Bringer.
“I think it is very important that films make people look at what they’ve forgotten.” Spike Lee
brief bio:
Spike Lee was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Jacqueline Carroll (née Shelton), a teacher of arts and black literature, and William James Edward Lee III, a jazz musician and composer.[1][2] Lee moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York when he was a small child. (The Fort Greene neighborhood is home to Lee’s production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, and other Lee-owned or related businesses.) As a child, his mother nicknamed him “Spike.” In Brooklyn, he attended John Dewey High School. Lee enrolled in Morehouse College where he made his first student film, Last Hustle in Brooklyn. He took film courses at Clark Atlanta University and graduated with a B.A. in Mass Communication from Morehouse College. He then enrolled in New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He graduated in 1978 with a Master of Fine Arts in Film & Television.
Lee and his wife, attorney Tonya Lewis, had their first child, daughter Satchel, in December 1994.[3] Spike Lee is a fan of the New York Knicks of the NBA, as well as the English soccer team Arsenal.[4]
Lee’s thesis film, Joe’s Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads, was the first student film to be showcased in Lincoln Center’s New Directors New Films Festival.
In 1985, Lee began work on his first feature film, She’s Gotta Have It. With a budget of $175,000, the film was shot in two weeks. When the film was released in 1986, it grossed over $7,000,000 at the U.S. box office.[5]
The reception of She’s Gotta Have It led Lee down a second career avenue. Marketing executives from Nike[6] offered Lee a job directing commercials for the company. They wanted to pair Lee’s character from She’s Gotta Have It, the Michael Jordan-loving Mars Blackmon, and Jordan himself in their marketing campaign for the Air Jordan line. Later, Lee would be a central figure in the controversy surrounding the inner-city rash of violence involving Air Jordans.[7] Lee countered that instead of blaming manufacturers of apparel, “deal with the conditions that make a kid put so much importance on a pair of sneakers, a jacket and gold”. Through the marketing wing of 40 Acres and a Mule, Lee has also directed commercials for Converse, Jaguar, Taco Bell and Ben & Jerry’s.
The 1 Year Anniversary of our beloved Beat Clash was a huge success. We brought out the illest performers, the crowd’s energy was beautiful, & as usual we brought out the illest Beatmakers in the Washington D.C. Metro Area, we even had a dude come down from New York to enter the battle. I can honestly say I wasn’t disappointed by any of the rounds & producers this clash. We had producers bring their A game, which is really the point of this whole thing in the first place. The dude from New York even came down with a championship wrestling federation belt. But sadly lost in his second go-round of the battle. I told him to atleast let me wear the belt for the rest of the clash. Needless to say, he denied my request lmao. All in all, we had a great time & we thank you all for supporting this movement we started. It has been a beautiful first year & certainly won’t be the last.
