Weekly Profile #6

Let me introduce to Asher Roth.

Asher Roth is a 22-year-old American rapper from the suburbs, Morrisville, Pennsylvania to be exact. He is currently signed to a joint venture between Scooter Braun's Schoolboy Music and Steve Rifkind's SRC Records. The Greenhouse Effect mixtape was Roth's first professional release. It was released on June 13, 2008 for free by means of Roth’s website Thedailykush.com. He was the first white rapper to be featured on Dj Drama and Don Cannon’s influential Gangsta Grillz series. Roth was featured on the cover of XXL magazine’s annual Top 10 Freshmen: Hip-Hop’s Class ’09 issue. Roth is expected to release his untitled debut album on March 17, 2009.

Asher Roth has top notch wordplay, but don't take my word for it listen for yourself. Here is Asher Roth's "Morning Do"

Trae The Truth Plays Santa for Kids at "Winter Wonderland"

Houston rapper Trae the Truth will join local councilman Jarvis Johnson this Thursday (December 18) for the 3rd annual "Winter Wonderland," a Christmas party for students in Houston's District B that have shown an vast improvement in their grades this year. Trae will be dressed in Santa Clause attire to greet arriving kids and hand out toys supplied by Councilman Peter Brown. This year's "Winter Wonderland" is being held at Discovery Green Park in downtown Houston. In addition to Trae's role as Santa, the kids will be treated to ice-skating, horse trolley rides, and a snowman-making contest. Councilman Jarvis Johnson hopes by having such a prestigious event, more kids will focus on their studies in the coming year. "By rewarding the academic success of the most improved students, it is my expectation that other students will strive harder next year to achieve the same success," Johnson told AllHipHop.com.

Weekly Artist Profile #5

Let me introduce you to Charles Hamilton.

Named one of hip hop's top ten freshmen by XXL magazine, Harlem born Charles Hamilton has been gaining notice in the industry since first blazing onto the scene in 2007. He is known for his versatility: rapping, producing and occasionally singing. The 20 year-old signed to Interscope Records and has quickly become known for his love of all things Sonic The Hedgehog related. Releasing a slew of mixtapes, including Charles Hamilton: Outside Looking In hosted by DJ Green Lantern and Crash Landed hosted by DJ Skee, Charles is back with his latest EP, by means of DJ Skee, It’s Charles Hamilton, a mixtape available for free to the masses. Embarking on a three-month online tour known as, “The Hamiltonization Process,” Hamilton is making an effort to reach close to two million unique listeners, instead of conventional touring.

Here is "Lemme Know" by Charles Hamilton

Busta Rhymes Apologizes For "Arab Money" Misunderstanding

Iraqi-born rapper The Narcicyst was incensed because of Busta Rhymes' contentious song "Arab Money," and expressed his ire over it. However, The Narcicyst told AllHipHop.com that he got an apologetic phone call from Rhymes himself just hours after he displayed his disdain. According to Narcicyst, the two of them spent nearly half an hour conversing about the original intention of the song which was meant to pay tribute to Arab culture. Rhymes told Narcicyst that he didn't blatantly disrespect the Arab culture and that representing it with a positive tone was important to him. Following Busta's apology, The Narcicyst took down his response to the song, a track titled "The Real Arab Money." The Narcicyst said this regarding the incident, "This is what Hip Hop is about. Two brothers from another mother can come to a peaceful and just conclusion for all sides.”

I managed to find the song that has been removed from Youtube and even banned in the U.K. Click here to listen to "Arab Money"

Weekly Artist Profile #4

Let me introduce you to Immortal Technique
Felipe Coronel a.k.a. Immortal Technique is a rap artist and revolutionary. His heritage is Peruvian and he was raised in Harlem, New York. A majority of his lyrics focus on political issues. The views he communicates in his lyrics are mostly a mixture of interpretations on issues such as politics, poverty, religion, social class and racism. He also concentrates on the bitter truth of crime in the housing projects of New York City's slums. Although he has been offered a deal, he has never signed with a major record label. Immortal Technique states in his music that he is very cognizant that record companies, not the artists, benefit most from mass production and marketing of music.

Here is "Dance With The Devil" by Immortal Technique

Stephen Colbert Roasts Kanye West

Contemporary artists have fallen into the mainstream deathtrap. These artists are just fine with bandwagoning and recording a song that meets the current criteria. Right now, the criteria only has one requirement: auto-tune. Let's take the artist who is currently at number one at the moment, Kanye West. In a recent quote, Kanye claims, that "I will go down as the voice of this generation of this decade..." However, in Stephen Colbert's opinion, (which I strongly agree with) he is not the voice of this generation. Colbert on his news-parody show, The Colbert Report, harangued West saying, "Sir, you are not the voice of this generation of this decade. In fact, with all the auto-tuning on your records, you're barely the voice of your own albums." Kanye West has lost a lot of street credibility and his performance at Dave Chappelle's block party seems like a thing of the past.

Kanye West should listen to Dead Prez's "Turn Off The Radio" to learn a thing or two and so should you.

"Ear-Opening" Documentary

The documentary that I speak of is "Dave Chappelle's Block Party." Originally released in March 2006, the film highlighted comedian Dave Chappelle as he supplied a Brooklyn neighborhood with a unprecedented day-long block party. This memorable Saturday afternoon was a celebration of music and comedy, history and community. Aside from Chappelle's witty humor, Chappelle presented a star-studded roster of artists to a diverse crowd. The lineup included the likes of Kanye West, Mos Def, Common, Talib Kweli, Dead Prez, the Roots, and an impromptu reunion of the Fugees. These performers are well-recognized not only by the quality of their music but also by the power and might that their work draws from keeping their creativity uncorrupted.

The documentary showed me how brilliant music and humor can bring us together and help our society surpass the tumultuous times that we face nowadays. Why don't other artists put on events like this?