Born in 1988, Fashawn grew up in a virtually parentless home. His father was incarcerated, while his mom battled a drug addiction – a combination that caused a boy to become a man quicker than most. Placed in a group home by child services at the age of 12, Fashawn found solace in music, and began writing rhymes to escape the less than desirable hand he had been dealt so early in life.
Eventually taken in by his uncle, Fashawn spent his teenage years calling Fresno, California his home. Here is where he would find skating, the distractions of the streets, and the pursuance of his music career to be more rewarding than school. Yet, he had a constant thirst for knowledge that extended beyond the streets, so he became an avid reader with an affinity towards non-fiction and motivational books.
In 2006, Fashawn released his first mixtape, “Grizzly City”. Catching the attention of fellow Fresno emcee, Planet Asia, Fashawn was invited to go on the road with him. Knowing this was a chance of a lifetime; the then 17-year-old emcee dropped out of school to follow his dreams and has never looked back.
In 2009 Fashawn released his debut album Boy Meets World
(from Wikipedia.org which we here at grownheadz think he wrote himself but that’s aight, somebody gotta do it)
ANYway, just a reminder: these are not the complete songs, just 90-second clips so you can get a feel for the music. If you like what you hear, buy the CD. If we want good hip hop to flourish, we’ve gotta support the artists.
Surreal is the rapper, The Sound Providers, well they supply the sound (they’re the producers silly). The Sound Providers hail from Cali while Surreal is from FLA. The came together and BAM! While not a review we will say that this is definately some laid back hip hop to chill to.
Don’t forget, these are not the complete songs—just 90-second clips so you can get a feel for the music. If you like what you hear, go out and buy the CD. Quality hip hop grows when we support the artists
From his MySpace page Before the Grey Hairs, REKS was just a teenager who fell in love with the hip-hop movement. Little did he know, one day he would experience working with the legendary DJ Premier and Large Professor. Born Corey Isaiah Christie in Lawrence, Massachusetts, August 24th, 1977, REKS practically grew up with Hip-Hop.
After high school, REKS enrolled into the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. With the Kanye West drive and mentality, REKS decided to drop out of college after one year to pursue his music career full-time. REKS got his career boost in the state’s hip-hop capital, Boston, Mass. He took the underground hip-hop scene by storm and surprised everyone with his first debut album Along Came the Chosen on Landspeed Records in 2001
After several years in the game, REKS released his highly anticipated sophomore studio album Grey Hairs. He teamed up with his former DJ, longtime friend, and Grey Hairs Executive Producer, Statik Selektah.
More Grey Hairs features leftover material from thr Grey Hairs recordings. Be on the lookout for REKS upcoming self titled studio album R.E.K.S. (Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme) scheduled to be released on MArch 9th, 2010. The Year of the Showoff continues…..
Just a reminder: these are not the complete songs, just 90-second clips so you can get a feel for the music. If you like what you hear, buy the CD. If we want good hip hop to flourish, we’ve gotta support the artists.
Jneiro Jarel and Khujo Goodie? Who would have figured?
On the surface, the two couldn’t be more different. Jneiro is an acclaimed rapper, singer, and producer of bleeding-edge beats. In fact, he usually adopts a different alias for each album: 2005’s Three Piece Puzzle as Jneiro, 2006’s Brazilian-inflected Beat Journey as Dr. Who Dat; and last year’s space-hop adventure Craft of the Lost Art as Shape of Broad Minds.
Meanwhile, Khujo Goodie is one-fourth of the legendary Goodie Mob, the Atlanta quartet behind the groundbreaking 1995 classic Soul Food. His inimitable baritone and Southern wisdom is recognized by hip-hop fans the world over. He continues to be an underground force, releasing a well-received solo album, Mercury in 2007.
Together, the two are called Willie Isz.
Just a reminder: these are not the complete songs, just 90-second clips so you can get a feel for the music. If you like what you hear, buy the CD. If we want good hip hop to flourish, we’ve gotta support the artists.
from Blue Scholars.com Blue Scholars have emerged out of the erupting Northwest hip-hop scene with soulful beats, poetic yet political rhymes and a reputation for dynamic live performances. With two full-length albums and 3 EPs, the group has become one of the top West Coast independent hip hop acts, known for their energetic and always entertaining live shows and a world view that blends the personal and the political, but ain’t afraid to party in the process.
Emcee Geologic and DJ/producer Sabzi come from vastly different musical approaches to experiment with a unique, new sound that still echoes the classic boom-bap of a bygone era (see: A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets).
Prior to their collision, Geo had already begun making local rounds as a battle emcee and spoken-word poet, while Sabzi honed his skills as a classical and jazz-trained pianist while attending indie ska and punk shows. For the rest of their bio, CLICK HERE.
Disclaimer: These are not the complete songs, just 90-second clips so you can get a feel for the music. If you like what you hear, buy the CD. If we want good hip hop to flourish, we’ve gotta support the artists.
***NOTE – Just so you know, this is a re-release of their last album from 2007. Blue Scholars have just released OOF!, a new EP out now. We haven’t copped it yet to feature it here on GrownHeadz, but if you can’t wait, check out the whole EP FREE here from their website.
From his label Tres Records
“Shawn Jackson is a hip hop recording artist who has clearly preserved his ‘88 hip hop admiration, while balancing it with the relevance of today’s culture. An aspiring MC for years, Shawn was introduced to the hip hop community in 1999 as Soul Kaliba, one half of the Rhode Island based group Roolette. In 2002, Shawn quickly bounced back to release his debut solo project, “Soul Searching” catching buzz in the college radio market, followed up by the 2004 release, “Opium,” a ‘demo,’ which caught fire among Rhode Island hip hop fans.
In 2005, Shawn returned back to his home of Southern California to release the experimental 12″ called “GO!” Produced by Newman of Giant Panda. Shawn and Newman, went under the moniker of New Jack Hustle, receiving critical acclaim.
Shawn Jackson’s latest project, “First of All…” is a highly anticipated album that aims to satisfy true fans that feel a void within quality hip hop music. His swagger, rhyme play, and well thought out content, sets a high standard for those that choose to follow…”
Mentioned above is Shawn Jackson’s collaboration in the group New Jack Hustle which we featured previously here as an Album Of The Week. But ANYway ,don’t forget, these are not the complete songs—just 90-second clips so you can get a feel for the music. If you like what you hear, go out and buy the CD. Quality hip hop grows when we support the artists
Straight from the artist’s webpage-
Often compared to the styles of Common, Mos Def, or even Kanye West, Kero One, a San Francisco MC / producer / DJ stands as a true testament to the do-it-yourself success story.
Using only home recording equipment and his personal credit card, Kero One pressed and released his first 12” single in 2003 on his own imprint, Plug Label. Without any experience as to how he should distribute his new record, Kero One spent endless hours researching, cold calling, and seeking help from friends. Of the 50 copies that were eventually distributed around the world, one landed in a tiny record store in Tokyo, Japan. A few weeks later, it was found by a Japanese DJ who played it at a club that night and received dozens of inquires, including a Japanese label executive who immediately contacted Kero One and asked for 3,000 copies of the record.
The record became a hit in Japan almost overnight, and Kero One was invited to tour the country just a few months after.
As always, these are not the complete songs, just 90-second clips to give you a feel for the music. If you like what you hear, buy the CD. We’ve gotta support if we want real hip hop to flourish.
Okay okay we occasionaly get lazy around here so we lifted this despription of New jack Hustle from Amazon.com
“In 2006, producer/rapper Newman, of Giant Panda, first heard rapper Shawn Jackson over the Mekalek produced track Dream Come True. Newman was blown away and commenced to deliver a beat CD to Shawn. Following that, Newman and Shawn put out the Go! single. Go! sold well in L.A., the U.K., and Japan garnering attention from tastemakers such as Quantic and most notably Andy Smith of Portishead. This warm reception inspired the two, now known as New Jack Hustle, to create a full-length album. The resulting project became Sound Check.”
By the way if you take NEWman and Shawn JACKson. Well you can see how they got the name. as mentioned above Newman is a member of the group Giant Panda, which we featured here on Album of the Week. ANYway, these are not the complete songs, just 90-second clips to give you a feel for the music. If you like what you hear, buy the CD. We’ve gotta support if we want real hip hop to flourish
Its a funny thing about underground artist, sometimes you just don’t know a lot about them. Allmusic has a post for Raydar Ellis but nuthin for Quite Nyce. I mean I know Raydar hails from Conneticut, went to North Carolina A&T, transfered to the Berlkee School of Music. He even teaches the only Hip Hop class at Berklee. I know we need to feature his solo album “Late Pass” on Album of The Week. Raydar also just did a seminar on the evolution of Common you can see it here for free. ANYway, don’t forget, these are not the complete songs—just 90-second clips so you can get a feel for the music. If you like what you hear, go out and buy the CD. Quality hip hop grows when we support the artists.
If you like to mix your hip and and politics, then Lif is your man. In age of hip hop where many feel not a lot is being said about what’s going on then I Heard It Today is for you. Even in the age of Obama Mr. Lif is still watching his back. I could keep going but i think you get it. Don’t forget, these are not the complete songs—just 90-second clips so you can get a feel for the music. If you like what you hear, go out and buy the CD. Quality hip hop grows when we support the artists.
*****REMEMBER YOU CAN ALWAYS MINIMIZE THIS WINDOW AND LET THE MUSIC PLAY WHILE YOU OPEN ANOTHER WINDOW AND DO YA THING (WORK, SEARCH THE NETS, WHATEVER)*****
Surreal is the rapper, The Sound Providers, well they supply the sound (they’re the producers silly). The Sound Providers hail from Cali while Surreal is from FLA. The came together and BAM! While not a review we will say that this is definately some laid back hip hop to chill to.
of Broad Minds. 
a world view that blends the personal and the political, but ain’t afraid to party in the process.
distributed around the world, one landed in a tiny record store in Tokyo, Japan. A few weeks later, it was found by a Japanese DJ who played it at a club that night and received dozens of inquires, including a Japanese label executive who immediately contacted Kero One and asked for 3,000 copies of the record.
