Artist of the Week: 810

Meet 810, a 19-year-old, up-and-coming artist out of Baltimore. He describes himself as a "community college student who often neglects other things to do music". At first when I read this I had a bad feeling, but then I checked out his tracks. Song after song of his melodic flow, interesting delivery, and great beat choices - I knew he belonged in the feature. But then it struck me - I've heard this guy before!

A while back I was just checking on other blogs downloading anything that came out with a new name. I'd heard 810's "Supply & Demand" and had loved it. But unfortunately, in the wake of many new projects - all of which were great - I had forgotten about my dude 810. But now I listen to his tape very often, making sure not to miss a line. This kid is going to make himself something substantial in the industry very soon.

This week you'll see new tracks of his coming out from his upcoming mixtape "Glass Half Full" which is slated for late October. Can't wait for WFSL to give you 810 music? Hit up these sites to stay in tune with his upcoming releases:
Blog: http://810muzik.blogspot.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/810musik
Twitter: http://twitter.com/810musik
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/810/17752821162

Would you like to be featured as Artist of the Week? Get at me! -- beatwize@gmail.com

Artist of the Week: Nefarious!

You've seen him before on the blog. His name is Nefarious!, yes with the exclamation. Nef is a producer from a crew known as the Cosmic Souls Collection which consists of him, know:Jaunder, Time Travel, and Juno Complex. His and his accomplices' styles really fulfill the name with their soulful, jazzy, mellow, spacey beats. But back to Nefarious!..

Nef has produced for artists like SLik d, J. Nolan, Amor Jones, and numerous others; this doesn't even include his instrumental albums. This is one of the examples of steady grind. He never stops, stays on top of things, and always gets his ishh done. He's got some heavy indie artists getting at him recently to do work as well; the dude obviously has a bright future.

This week you'll see exactly what I'm talking about if you haven't already yet. Nefarious! just dropped his latest instrumental album on Friday entitled "More Than Music". If you want a good look at his style you should definitely check it out. A lot more coming this week!

If you want more already, catch Nef on the net:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/NefTheDamaja
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/nefariousprod

Would you like to be featured as Artist of the Week? Get at me! -- beatwize@gmail.com

Artist of the Week: CJ the Genesis

Meet CJ the Genesis, a young rapper/producer coming out of Maryland. A unique flow, voice, and style make him not only an interesting listen, but also a very enjoyable one. He's four mixtapes in, all of which are different from each other. In his latest, and I believe biggest release, "Yea..I'm a Nerd", CJ uses beats sampling video game tunes and raps over them with ease. And that's just ONE of the many interesting things he's done.

The first time I'd heard him was on that mixtape. I knew he was something special, and by the second listen in I contacted him. I peeped another one of his mixtapes and by that time I grated his name into the AOTW upcoming list and tried to get him featured on here asap. Well, he's finally here and we're going to have a great week! As a side note: we also dropped his "Run This Town" remix with M-Trey as well!

Throughout his ATOW time, we'll be dropping all four of his mixtapes, one of which I had dropped before. Along with this, I'll be chilling with him for an interview and WFSL will even be dropping one (or more) never before heard song off his upcoming EP! Big things coming up this week, so stay tuned.

So here's the schedule for you all..
Monday: Introduction (this)
Tuesday: Mixtape Drop - World Domination
Wednesday: An Interview with CJ the Genesis & brand new track
Thursday: Mixtape Drop - Spaceship
Friday: Mixtape Drop - World Premier
Saturday: Mixtape Re-Drop - Yea..I'm a Nerd
Sunday: Wrap-up

Want more CJ the Genesis? Catch him on these sites..
Twitter: http://twitter.com/CJTheGenesis
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/cjdagenesis
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/CJ-The-Genesis/98734953302

Would you like to be featured as Artist of the Week? Get at me! -- beatwize@gmail.com

Artist of the Week: SLik d

Allow me to introduce to you SLik d, an young rapper from Carson/Las Vegas, California. I dropped a track from his upcoming mixtape "Summer Vibes" a few days back. Straight off the bat you can see that D is a very soulful lyricist.

There isn't much to say about this artist simply because his music speaks for him. After going through his MySpace, I knew I had to feature him on the site for the week he's dropping his mixtape. It was something special that sparked track after track, and it was pretty obvious that SLik D is part of hip-hop's very bright future.

The first time I'd heard SLik was on that same track you probably heard him on, "Summer Heat". I love smooth beats along with intelligent rhyming, and SLik had the perfect combination of that. And it didn't hurt to have a Nefarious! beat on the track, I'm a huge fan of him. There was absolutely no doubt that I would like D's music. And I was right.

After months of hard work, we're going to get to hear D on his own tape with his own style. His focus on this project has been complete and from what I've heard so far, it's going to be on some next level. We'll be dropping tracks from that and other SLik D tracks during the week.

What to hear/see more from SLik D, or just want to contact him? Check out these sites:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/SLikd
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/slikdizzle
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/s.php?q=slik+d&init=quick#/pages/SLik-d/65261380505?ref=search

A playlist is coming soon, so stay tuned! Check out his MySpace to hear some songs in the meantime!

Would you like to be featured as Artist of the Week? Get at me! -- beatwize@gmail.com

Artist of the Week: Two Crown King

Everyday I get numerous emails from artists that want exposure. In all honesty, most aren't too great or at least need substantial improvement; it's rare to find a gem in a list of many. This one day I logged in and saw an email that looked extremely familiar to every other email I get. I'm always a little skeptical, but I still always give these guys a chance. Call me stupid, but I knew that one day I'd find a couple of artists that truly deserve my time and promotion. Boy, was I right.

Allow me to introduce a duo from London, Ontario (Canada) that are soon to be one of your favorite bands. That's right, Two Crown King is a band. But not a Roots type of band; TCK consists of a rapper, Adam Dick, and soul/funk singer Sean Goodchild. This combination along with a couple of instruments creates a unique sound that gets you hooked pretty quickly.

Still pretty pre-mature to the industry, TCK has one single out entitled "One Man Mess" that I dropped on the blog a little while back. Currently they have three songs out on their myspace and are hard at work on their debut album. Since they want the songs to be perfect (which as you'll see the three are) they don't want to release the others out to the public just yet, so all we have for now is the trio of tracks.

But trust me, for now that's enough. I found myself staying on their MySpace page on for hours listening to just those three tracks. You can find them on the AOTW playlist on the right sidebar for now and the same playlist will remain below even after that. And there's much more coming, including an interview with the band! Not to mention we'll be dropping updates on the band even after the week is done. So stay tuned!

Here's a couple sites to keep you posted on Two Crown King...
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TwoCrownKing
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/twocrownking
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TwoCrownKing
kt8Merch: https://www.kt8merch.com/store/pages/9583/Two_Crown_King.htm



Would you like to be featured as Artist of the Week? Get at me! -- beatwize@gmail.com

Artist of the Week: Coldplay

So I changed my mind about AOTW this week. Originally I didn't want to give an up-and-coming artist the disadvantage of a smaller week for a feature, but then I decided that I really don't need to make it an independent artist. I chose an artist that can spare the one-day loss. This band is Coldplay. But the main reason is because I'm going to their concert on Thursday (!!!) and it felt fitting.

They aren't really hip-hop, but they've worked with lyrical giants like Jay-Z and Kanye West and made a mark on this genre like many other bands are doing lately. The internet has given people all over the world to share their music and some of these people began mixing genres. The industry noticed this and began doing the same with original songs. Hip-hop bands and rock bands began collaborating a lot more after this boom of mash-up music. This wasn't the first wave, though; remember Run DMC & Aerosmith? But anyways, back to Coldplay..

I can't even remember the first time I listened to my to-be favorite rock band ever. It was probably "Clocks" or "The Scientist" that got me into them; but I've loved them ever since I can remember. Originally being coined as "Christian Rock", Coldplay began composing new and innovative music and soon lost that tag and became an "Alternative" band. Mixing an abundance of piano and strings along with the usual rock instruments such as guitars and drums, Coldplay's sound can only be described as "harmonic beauty". Deep meanings, intelligent metaphors, and songs that get stuck in your head for days, and not to mention four-time multi-platinum-ers, this band is definitely one of the greatest of all time.



Would you like to be featured as Artist of the Week? Get at me! -- beatwize@gmail.com

Artist of the Week: D-Sisive

D-Sisive, a rapper from Toronto, has a very unique and interesting style. A type of character that will grab you from word-one, but will leave you baffled from that point on. A dark, yet humorous personality, all-the-while intelligent and thought-provoking. D is many things, and a great lyricist is one on that list. With collaborations with Classified, continuing work with Muneshine, and a Juno in hand, D-Sisive has set his mark in Canadian hip-hop.

The first time I heard D-Sisive was on "Wonderful World", and it didn't even take me a minute into the song to realize this guy was something different. Large glasses while standing on what looked like a farm, I could tell I was in for a completely new type of rap. I was right, but not in the bad sense. He brought on dark truth about the state of the world like I've never heard it before. I had to hear more; that brought me to "Daydream". Soon I realized that I was ready to buy his album. D-Sisive hooked me, as I know he'll hook you.

D-Sisive has a few releases including his debut album "Let The Children Die". Don't get startled by the name, there's a deeper meaning to the title that you'll have to figure out for yourself. Other releases include "Nobody With A Notepad (plus 3) EP", "Like This (plus 3) EP", and "The Book", all of which are must-haves.

This week I'll give you a chance to dig into the D-Sisive crate. A mind like none other and a style that will leave you wanting more. The coming days will include videos, possibly audio, and an interview with the man himself. Stay tuned! But, if you already want more, check out the following sites:
Mypace: http://www.myspace.com/dsisive
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/pages/D-Sisive/49119886682?ref=ts
Twitter: http://twitter.com/dsisive
URBnet: http://www.letthechildrendie.com/
Blog: http://www.theboyinaroom.blogspot.com/
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/aboyinaroom



Would you like to be featured as Artist of the Week? Get at me! -- beatwize@gmail.com

Artist of the Week: Shad

Shad is a rapper hailing from London, Ontario, just a short 2 hours away from Toronto. I first heard him on his second album entitled "The Old Prince". I had never heard of him before, nor was I too interested in hearing the album. Nonetheless, the fact that it was a Canadian artist who grew up close by kind of had me wanting to take a quick listen.

I'll never forget that first moment of listening to the album. I just thought "..wow". That's not even a joke, I literally said that. He had me hooked from line one - "Brother please, no more Pamela lee's let's set it straight/I'm the biggest thing out of Canada til Quebec separate". Whether or not it was his plan, I could relate immediately; and maybe that's why I decided to keep listening. A day later I would go and buy his album and begin a month long repeat-session of the album.

I then went ahead and checked out his debut "When This Is Over" which is just as good. If there's a future of hip-hop, it's Shad. He's the best artist you've never heard and the most intellectual hip-hop artist I've listened to in a long time. He doesn't deal with conspiracy theories, he deals with real-life, day-to-day issues in our lives. It doesn't matter if you're from Canada, the US, or even Russia - you can relate to Shad.

"The Old Prince" was released in USA on June 30th, about two years after the Canadian release. If you're in the US, don't sleep my dude here. Check his stuff out and give him his props. Here's a week to you Shad. You've been an inspiration to many Canadian hip-hop artists just like me and I hope you'll continue on your Quest for Glory. We're all rooting for you 110%!

Here's some Shad-related sites to check out. On the right sidebar you can find a playlist of his music. That will remain for the week, but if you want to see the playlist later on, you can jump to this post and find it here!

Website/Blog: http://www.shadk.com/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/shad
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/shadk?ref=ts



Would you like to be featured as Artist of the Week? Get at me! -- beatwize@gmail.com

Artist of the Week: Kid Cudi

I remember the first time I heard Kid Cudi. Well, actually the second time. The first was when I heard "Welcome to Heartbreak". But that wasn't a clear idea of who Cudi really was. The real first time was when I heard "Day & Night". I hated him.

Everyone tried to get me into the song and I couldn't stand it. Maybe it was the fact that it was being forced on me by nearly every friend that was into hip-hop music. I don't know what it was, but I couldn't stand it. Then one day, I found myself listening to it. Once..twice..three times. Before I knew it I was listening to the tape "A Kid Named Cudi" and I couldn't stop listening to his original, abstract style. I Embraced the Martian.

Soon after (I think) I heard the 'Buggin' Out Remix' with him and Consequence. Again, I was hooked. This is when I knew the Kid from Cleveland was something special.

Kid Cudi is currently signed to Kanye's label G.O.O.D. Music. With hits like "Day & Night", "Make Her Say", and numerous others, this Kid is definitely going to be something huge this year and in the years ahead. His first album "Man on the Moon: The End of the Day" is coming out August 25th this year. It includes production by Kanye West and Dot Da Genius and guest appearances by Common and Snoop Dogg. Kid Cudi's originality, along with catchy and creative lyrics make him not only a great rapper, but a standout artist as well.

Here's some Cudi-related sites to check out. On the right sidebar you can find a playlist of Kid Cudi's music. That will remain for the week, but if you want to see the playlist later on, you can jump to this post and find it here!

Website: http://www.kidcudi.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/imcudi
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/kidcudi
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/KCudi



Would you like to be featured as Artist of the Week? Get at me! -- beatwize@gmail.com

Artist of the Week: Michael Jackson (R.I.P.)

What better way to kick off the Artist of the Week series than the late, great King of Pop, Michael Jackson?

You must be wondering why a non-hip-hop artist is being featured. Well, you're very wrong about that. Jackson has influenced countless hip-hop artists and has been sampled on numerous tracks, classic and new. From Nas, Jay-Z, and Raekwon to Kanye West, Mike has been in the hearts of hip-hop fans longer than they've ever known.

Last week, Michael Jackson died unexpectedly - leaving family, friends, and fans in grief. But rather than remaining in this sadness, we have to celebrate his life as he lives through his heart-stealing music, legendary dance, and innovative videos.

So here's a week to you. As promised, there's playlist with a lot of his tracks (53 to be exact) and you'll be seeing random blurbs etc. about the great man here! So stay tuned!!



Would you like to be featured as Artist of the Week? Get at me! -- beatwize@gmail.com

Artists of the Week

So to make the blog a bit more interesting I plan on creating weekly artist themes on the site. Each week you'll see a new banner with the artist of the week. There will be a featured playlist on the right where you see currently see the iPhone music stream.

You'll notice that the King of Pop is currently in the banner. Now, usually these weekly themes will start on a Sunday, but I decided that we should start this on early because of the recent events. On Sunday night or Monday morning you'll see a playlist of some of Jackson's amazing music.

Now, are you an upcoming artist that wants some great promotion, contact me with some of your music and maybe you can be featured for a whole week on the site! Again, that includes your picture in the banner and a playlist of your music on the page, along with posts of music/news etc. of you that I want to put up AS WELL AS you being put in the "Artist of the Week" archive. So get at me -- beatwize@gmail.com

This is what this blog is all about. This is What Feelings Sound Like.

Peacepeace,

Beatwize