['To My Man ill Will God Bless Ya Life']

February 9th, 2011, exactly one year ago, I lost one of my best friends ill Will Walker.  For those who knew Will, they would say that his life was full of motivation and positivity.  After being on DC/MD WKYS radio for more than several years, ill Will became an extra-ordinary personality that influenced many different people from all walks of life.  He was one of my biggest supporters and he taught me valuable lessons.

[Pay it Forward: @IllWill2 @TheSMD Sneaker Man Dan]

Even though he was sick and internally suffering, Will sustained faith in good things to come and would never complain about anything. He is my inspiration and motivation and I will continue to aspire to inspire as he did.

[Politik. to New York]

[Agenda Trade Show: New York]

For the past few years, I have been traveling to New York for the Agenda Trade Show to check out the latest trends and up&coming looks in street fashion.  Different brands such as: Diamond Supply, Delicious Vinyl, SkullCandy, Hawke & Dumar, 10 Deep,  and many more, travel from New York  to the big show in Long Beach, to trade and showcase their latest gear. Different buyers, distributors, and new vendors, gather to discuss series street wear business.

[Check out the Preview Below, Click 'Play']

Inspired by fashion Blogger, Scott Schuman, creator of the “The Satorialist,” I came up with the concept of [Street Sartorialism].  With visual representation of motivated designers and sellers, these individuals reminded of Schuman with their eye for fashion and style. Street Sartorialism offers people in the fashion community to create their own creative hip-hop styles and unique look.

[Straight from the Wall of Fame]

[No Gimmicks, No Guns, No B**ches, No Bulls**t, Just Common Sense]

In 1994, Common released his second critically acclaimed album, ‘Resurrection.’ Ripped straight from the Source Magazine, the photo above reflected Common’s break through moment as a certified hip-hop artist. Now to see Common almost more than a decade later, he is no longer just a ‘rapper.’ He has truly reformed his musical career into other ventures such as acting, philanthropy, and fatherhood.

Ending the first month of 2012, I was able to sit down and have a conversation with Common and it wasn’t your traditional Q&A.  Our interview was more of a simple conversation between two individuals raised by the hip-hop culture.

[To check out our Convo, Click 'Play']

[Special Thank You to June G. of Warner Bros and @Common]

In Early December of 2011, the Dynamic rap duo of Huntsville, Alabama, G-Side, performed for their first time in Washington DC. ST ’2 Lettaz’ and Young Clova have been putting in major foot work with their label Slow Motion Soundz and their production by Block Beataz continues to knock thru speakers.  As the group’s exposure is continuing to grow, in addition to well written reviews from PitchFork, Spin Magazine, and the Washington Post, G-Side is expected to be the new face of Southern Rap.

[via Washington Post/Click the URL for the Full Story http://tinyurl.com/7jy38oe]

With more than 5 well composed albums, Huntsville has truly become International, and G-Side is on the rise in Hip-Hop.  Their musical style, incorporated with  soulful beat selections and lyrical wit, puts them at the forefront as a new underground hip-hop group with a successful future ahead. Their latest albums entitled ‘Island’ & ‘Cohesive’ display their unique and yet distinctive sound with live sound and two talented vocalist, P.H. and Tiffany Joi.

[Vocalist @TiffanyJoi]

Click [Play] Below to Check out the Conversation Live in the Basement

The intro of the video features their latest single ‘Cinematic’ which perfectly describes their movement, and ends with the video we ended up shooting ‘No U in Us’ (Stay Tuned for the Official Video Soon!)

Thanks to Paris, CP, & Codie G, I was able to invite the group over to the basement for a quick overview of their latest experiences and album releases. With straight conversation about hip-hop and the music industry, G-Side and myself developed a natural kick-back environment with good vibes and good music.  Never before had they heard ‘go-go’ music, and I showed them the progression of the native sound of raw music.

[CP of Slow Motion Soundz/@SlowMotion767]

[2Lettaz, Paris, Young Clova, P.H. & R.Dot]

All in all, G-Side has become one of my favorite up and coming artist in hip-hop present day.  They are the first ‘Artist Spotlight’ I have chosen to cover and I hope to collaborate with them more in the future.  Please support good music and tell a friend to tell a friend, that G-Side is Next.

[@GSide_Music] http://g-side.bandcamp.com/ [For their Music]

I appreciate everyone who has voted and supported me for the Complex Mag/McDonalds DJ FlavorBattle competition.  Your votes have allowed me to make it thru to the Second Round to hopefully send me to Miami for the final Competition. Please keep voting on FlavorBattle.com to Represent as the East Region DJ.

In order to update the Flavorbattle.com site, Kim Robinson of Complex Magazine came from NY to MD to conduct the interview that will be shown on the site. Not only did he put me on to new music I also gave him a sneak peak of a new record by a local legend, Wincee’ of Backyard Band (prod. by Craig of BKS).

Click [Play] Below to check out the ‘Behind the Scenes’

[Voting for the Second Round is over at Mid February so Please Support at flavorbattle.com]

Special thanks to my good friend Kosta of Rapteez clothing, for introducing me to Visionary Casting Director, Fred Johnson.  Based out of L.A. and still a DC Native, Fred Johnson took over the industry’s scene by casting for some of the biggest artist such as Justin Timberlake to Chris Brown and even directors from Chris Robinson to Hype Williams.

With an eye for talent, I invited Fred to my internet radio show at ListenVisionStudios to talk about his latest casting for Jay-Z & Kanye’s hit single “N%6&s in Paris”

Click [Play] Below to check out the Interview

[@TeamFrederico @Paris_Cole @JankySlamsworth]

[Up and Up]:  After inviting Gods’illa to my radio show at Listen Vision, I followed up with a collaborative Jam Session on a Tuesday Night at Liv.  Located right on U Street, LivDC was a true hip-hop event with good vibes and beautiful people. The night was filled with freestyles, poetry, and good live music from some of the original members of Mambo Sauce.  With live musicians and a real back-line, DC was ‘Un-Plugged.’

Check out the ‘Art of DJ-ing’ with DC’s own Gods’illa. Click [Play]