One Man’s Reality of Being Black in America


A plea for understanding and help from James Alvin Barnes, Jr. “JB” is a rap artist (find him on Twitter)struggling to overcome parts of his past and a physical disability. Here is what he has to say to America: What Do I Do, America? Hello, America. My name is James Alvin Barnes Jr.  I’m here…

King Sykes Reigns Supreme in Rap & Social Media


Brandon “King” Sykes, co-founder of Diamond City Boyz, is a new up-and-coming rap artist with an entrepreneurial spirit. Still in his teens, King Sykes is busy creating moving, emotionial rap tracks, as well as branding himself successfully online. I listen to a lot of rap artists, and King’s music stands out to me as a…

Wave King – Stay Wavin!


Wave King is another in the line of based rap artists coming up that is making a huge impression on the music industry. Along with his brother, Young Jordan, they are taking the philosophy of based rap (created by rapper Lil B) and turning it into interesting music and lyrics. Based rap is all about…

Lady Jazz Hits All the Right Notes


A lovely young lady named Jasmin, also known as “Lady Jazz,” has been creating quite the ‘winter storm’ up north! Based out of chilly Providence, RI, Lady Jazz keeps the runways warm with her sizzling style and smoldering sexuality. It’s very rare to find ‘the complete package,’ but Lady Jazz is not only beautiful, she’s…

What Kind of Rap Dawg Are You?


Because I write reviews of rap and hip hop, I follow A LOT of up-and-coming rap/hip hop artists on Twitter. I’ve found that while there are literally millions of aspiring future rap superstars on Twitter (with YouTube channels, SoundCloud sites, ReverbNations pages and more) many “future rap stars”  fall into one of six “Dawg” categories:…

Young Jordan – Based and Wavin


There’s another Based God coming up through the ranks. Young Jordan is an exciting new based rap artist who is making his mark in the world of music. And what is based? According to the Based God himself, Lil B, it means, “…being yourself. Not being scared of what people think about you. Not being…

Poetic Killa – Revenge Rap & Boston Poetry


Poetic Killa is young. He’s only 18 but his lyrics are those of an older mentality. This might be because at 18, he has already worked with big-name artists like Raekwon, Kool G Rap, D12, Young Buck, Jadakiss and more. Pretty impressive! From Boston, Mass., Poetic Killa writes very raw yet lyrical rap songs. He…

Smooth Being – Bronx Symphony


Rap As Stream-of-Consciousness Performance Art Smooth Being, a 21-year-old rap artist from the Bronx, is doing something new. He’s creating vibrant, hardcore rap but he infuses it with an amalgamation of obscure references, retro and pre-pop musical tracks and a sense of humor. I was fairly amazed, when I started listening to his music, to…