HHF Opinion: Can Hip Hop Die?

Written by James “Nobodee Jones” Horton

 

It’s a funny thing, me being an atypical cat, Midwest rural born and southern deep fried upbringing. I been into hip-hop music since the era of the fat boys back in the gap. Over time I have seen the good bad and ugly.  There are artist that I try to keep tabs on and I have seen them grow and in fact they’ve helped me grow or at least gave me things to consider.  So consider this? Is hip-hop dead?

Not that old of a horse to beat since so many have an issue with calling trap hip-hop. (That’s another story). Yet hip-hop music, rap, wasn’t ever dead per se.  The craft didn’t die and ‘naw the industry couldn’t and wouldn’t kill it, too profitable. (Sidebar) The industry just gained more control but that’s been in effect since the mid to early 90s.  Industry built on catering to the dreams of folks who got less  and want more in the culture and playing advocate for that “I want that too, going to get that” mentality.  The truth of it all was that many mainstream artists don’t own a quarter of what they say they have or what the industry reflects they have. Didn’t the Tribe tell y’all about rule #5080? 

Anyway, to stay on topic; the heart of hip-hop flowed back home in the underground, it just flowed back to the hunger and desire that birthed it and away from the industrial issues with “successful” mainstream artist.

What I mean is so many cats get the game misconstrued. The ebb and flow of hip-hop has never been one of confinement or alignment. In the core of the art is that need; need, hunger, drive, experience, or that fire. That’s not even mentioning skill, know what I ‘m talking about. A cat gotta have skill in the game if he expects to play.  Yet the game gets a little throw’d when you speak to that need and skill because that need and skill changes with each individual.

That’s why the sound can change but the heart never does.  Nothing makes a cat go after his scratch like necessity. When the only dream you have is tied to a mic then by any means necessary (that’s where the hustle can come in). However that passion is reflected in not just the sound but the thought process.  

You cannot tell me that in a year’s time a cat went from po’ to paid and still has the same mentality.  It goes the same with artist; folks act like they aren’t people and subjected to the same laws as all us. Success has its way of changing perspectives and in hip-hop that can be detrimental to an artist work.  Then you add in the influence and pressures of the industry and when that next work drop it’s weaker and so forth with each generation of work.  

“I will never be able to top what my name is.” Eminem stated that and love ‘em or hate ‘em but the truth will set you free. So many mainstream folk lose there potency but through their name alone they can ride a good beat and still sell.  This is a good business plan in the mainstream industry because money is made. Why you think there are so many DJ and Producers now a days?

The point is the essence of hip hop is not found in the well fed. The essence, lies’ as that ish always has with the hungry, in the underground. So I can only reason that’s why it was said to be dead. Or maybe its mainstream hip-hop is dying.  I mean I expect maybe 2 or 3 dope albums from a good mainstream cat. That’s why if the cats do have some skill in the art their albums represent strength because them cats still hungry. In fact many need more scratch ‘cause the industry just reintroduced them to debt; which means it reintroduced them to control.

However the Underground are unsigned, unfiltered, and are always hungry; each body of work is a testament to the heart.  Shid, that’s why weak cats (mainstream or underground), weak in character, skill, hunger, delivery don’t last long. Hell in the underground, it’s a bit different. Mainstream artist, through name can often ride a smooth tune but underground artist will get murked by the same tune.  The hunger is there, the mind frame for most of the cats in the underground in still in that perspective of “gotta get it” and many, many of these cats are holdin’.  

It was just recently that I began to really dive in to the underground/unsigned genres. What I see is impressive but what I worry about is the industry getting a foot hold in the culture, the culture that represents the root of the culture. Chance the Rapper wants the Grammy’s to open the floor for mixtapes, for the underground. That may lead to the death of a culture.  

James “Nobodee Jones” Horton, co-owner, online broadcaster, personality for RAWR Radio based in Ardmore, Ok. Born in Ardmore, OK raised in Atlanta, GA. Pays homage to hip hop culture through RAWR Radio weekend Show cast via Mixlr.com online. RAWR Radio itself grew from a personal need that mainstream hip-hop is failing to produce. Although still in the early stages the shows continue to see growth. We feature Unsigned Underground artist. Real radio, just like you like your Hip-Hop! From the heart but not for the overly sensitive. Check out the RAWR website and stay connected with Nobodee Jones and RAWR Radio on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Soundcloud, Google+.  RAWR!

HHF Editor’s Letter

Note from the HHF editorial team

June 2016

Hi, we’re currently working hard at Hip Hop Forum digital magazine to create a new era publication that embraces hip-hop culture in its purest, realest form; while also reflecting community issues and containing a new writers development program.

Coming up soon, interviews with non-profits in the US; interviews with artists – across the elements – in the US and abroad and also a series of short articles with people offering their perspectives on the state of the culture.

Soon we’ll be introducing our team of great new writers, and a more regular weekly publication program of news, reviews and interviews, while continuing to develop the site so it better suits your needs and expectations.

Keep in touch, get in contact with your ideas and advice – everything is welcome and we want to hear from you.

At the moment, we’re looking for writers to contribute to the magazine: in particular, we’re looking for reviewers – funny, opinionated and knowledgeable – who can write snappy, entertaining reviews on US and international hip-hop releases. This would be a regular gig for the right person, or people. New writers welcome.

Contact Madeleine Byrne for more info.  

www.madeleinebyrne.com

www.facebook.com/madeleinebyrneparis/

Join Us.   

Personal Response: Officer Nero judgement, Freddie Gray trial By Omi Muhammad

Personal response Article about the Officer Nero judgement, the officer involved in the Freddie Gray trial.

Written by: Omi Muhammad

 

May 23, 2016 11:13 AM

CBS Alert reads “Baltimore Officer Acquitted in Freddie Gray Case”.

My phone screen goes from red to blue and back to red again. I knew that it was due to a glitch in my filter app but all I saw was the symbolism. I stared at the screen, numb, not shocked just numb; I realized that in the back of my mind I expected this. I absent-mindedly logged onto Facebook where I saw all sorts of different reactions to the verdict. People were outraged and calling for blood. Parents were pleading for possible rioters to be mindful of their children’s safety. Some people agreed with the verdict. I know how I wanted to feel but in all honesty, the pain was too much for me to allow myself to feel at all.

Freddie Gray was another life lost at the hands of justice; and yet, no justice.

Over the years, countless minorities have been abused and even killed by police hands; and yet so few are mentioned. The numbers dwindle even further when asked about justice. The problem isn’t just police brutality or that this one officer was acquitted; the problem is the system that allows it. The system that enacted and later amended the Three Fifths Compromise. Over 150 years later, why are we still fighting to be considered human?

Minorities are taught as children how to survive before we even begin to learn how to live. Imagine being told that you and anyone who looks like you is a target, for anything from a mean look to death. Imagine being told to talk, dress and behave a certain way just so that you don’t arouse any more unwarranted suspicion. Think of the worried glances at the clock when you are late coming home. Tears dripping onto clasped hands as someone prays fervently that you’re one of the ones who makes it. We need a paradigm shift in this country; one that doesn’t create an ideology of selective humanity.

We need to reclaim our humanity. As a human being, I have choice words for the officers and the judge; but that doesn’t bring anyone back or prevent these situations from occurring. It doesn’t help us cope or build for the future. This is why I’m especially proud of the Baltimore youth. They have yet to lose their ability to feel, that was made evident by the explosion of art following the riots. From murals to national slam poems, our youth have been re-establishing their power. To Freddie Gray and all other lives lost, we honor you and will continue to reclaim our humanity.

West Baltimore native Omi Muhammad is an artist and writer, now based in Philadelphia. To read her work, please go to http://www.urban-gypsy.net/index.html

 

Omi Muhammad

Omi is part of the New Black Writers Program, managed by Hip Hop Forum Digital Magazine, to support, nurture and develop the talents of Black American journalists of the future.

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HHF Profile Interview: Changa Onyango, Executive Director at Community Mediation, Baltimore, Speaks following Officer Nero acquittal in Freddie Gray trial

As part of its community focus, Hip Hop Forum Digital Magazine reached out to Mr Changa Onyango, Executive Director at Community Mediation to hear how people in West Baltimore felt about the Officer Nero decision on May 23rd where he was acquitted of all charges over his involvement in the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. At the same time, we took the opportunity to speak to him about the importance of giving the local community a voice via mediation and his work with two local non-profits, OBI and Group Harvest.

Interviewed and written by Madeleine Byrne

Photo of young woman in Baltimore, keeping a smile on her face.

‘Apathy is the word I’d use,’ Mr Changa Onyango replied via email when asked how people in West Baltimore responded to the decision that saw Officer Edward Nero cleared of all charges. ‘The people don’t hold out hope for justice in any tangible ways any more. Mainly they were happy to see that the world give them a nod for 15 seconds.’

Twenty-five year old West Baltimore native Freddie Gray died on April 19th after suffering a ‘high-energy injury’ an autopsy report said came from the sudden deceleration of the police van in which he was travelling, shackled and handcuffed, but not restrained by a seatbelt. As a result of his injuries – a severed spine and crushed voice box – Mr Gray fell into a coma and died a week after his arrest.

 

Baltimore’s former Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said the officers stopped three times: first, to put Mr Gray in leg-irons, second to ‘deal with Mr Gray’ and then to put another prisoner in the van. He also acknowledged that: ‘We know our police employees failed to get him medical attention in a timely manner multiple times.’ After a medical examiner’s report ruled Mr Gray’s death a ‘homicide’ six police officers were indicted on charges ranging from reckless endangerment, manslaughter to 2nd degree depraved-heart murder.

Last December a jury failed to reach a verdict regarding one police officer. During the most recent May hearing, Officer Nero was cleared of all charges (two counts of second degree assault; misconduct in office and false imprisonment). Legal commentators claim that the reasons for the acquittal provided by Judge Barry Williams might indicate a higher chance of a conviction in the remaining cases, especially in that he argued Officer Nero’s role was ‘secondary’ so he was not responsible for the fact that Mr Gray was not restrained properly.

The case of the officer driving the van, Caesar Goodson, begins next. He faces 30 years in jail if convicted of a murder charge. Considering the evidence that show Mr Gray’s injuries were caused by the van’s sudden stop and a proven history of ‘rough rides’ in police vans in Baltimore, many believe that the case against Goodson is strong.

And yet, as Mr Onyango explained this raises difficult issues for the local community. ‘A lot of people see it as a color issue or race issue and one of the key defendants is black. People don’t want to see at the end that their protesting etc ends up sending a black person to jail – cop or not.’ Caesar Goodson, the driver of the police van, is African-American.

During the first Freddie Gray trial, Mr Onyango organised a series of open mics across the city so people could speak and be heard. ‘A big part of the violence (following Freddie Gray’s funeral on April 27th) happened because people had no place to fellowship. Churches weren’t open,’ he said. ‘There was nowhere you could take refuge from all the negativity. Having places open their doors and posting a sign up that says…”no judgement zone…speak your piece” was a way for us to be cultural relevant in our response.’

Mr. Changa Onyango

With more than 20 years experience working in West Baltimore, Changa Onyango is the Executive Director of Community Mediation and also helped set up two other non-profits in the city: OBI and Group Harvest. He explained the importance of his work this way:

As a mediator I facilitate tough conversations when people have a hard time getting themselves heard. The main thing we do is modelling the active listening skill in the context of conversation. We know through research that the best chance for peace is when both sides feel heard and understood. We train volunteers to do the mediations and we use local spots like conference rooms or churches to have the mediations in the community. Our mediators are trained not to input information or restate people’s position.. we only reflect, listen… listen, reflect. It’s the key to people feeling like they own the solution.

OBI is a non-profit that provides training to local boys and was founded after Mr Onyango travelled ‘around the country doing the training for other groups on contract through the United Way and Youthbuild USA’. While Group Harvest ‘came as a collaboration between myself and Rodney Powell who is now an administrator in Connecticut public schools.’

As he explained: ‘We decided to create a company that would go around and teach teachers through professional development workshops and also engaged directly with students to help build climate that over time could change the culture of student teacher relationships.’

In a series of YouTube videos, Mr Onyango has offered up some interesting perspectives on the best way to motivate young people via a concept of ‘leverage’ without returning to harsh discipline, or physical punishment that can entrench a sense of disengagement. He describes how he tries to motivate his own children to strive for better, while reinforcing a spirit of collaboration, rather than a winner take all mentality.

I asked him to speak about this more:

‘My theory is there are three main ways to motivate people; the first being to influence their preference the second being to introduce a logical idea and the third being violence. If children are people then we have to use one of these three to get them to make decisions that are in line with what we think they should do. If children are not people and they are instead property, then we can just pick them up and manoeuvre them however we wish.’

He continued: ‘I don’t wish to treat my children as property so I have had to retrain myself to treat them as humans regardless of their size I’ve had to retrain myself to respect their logical processes and to introduce to them the reasons behind my decisions and actions as well as the reasons behind what I wish for them to do. I’ve also have to convince myself to be okay with the fact that this will not always work. In our society external influence is pervasive. In poor families it’s even more so.’

The neighborhood where Freddie Gray lived in West Baltimore faces a series of issues, Mr Onyango explained. One of the most important being the lack of good quality housing. This problem is not new. Indeed, Freddie Gray’s mother won a court settlement after laboratory tests in the 1990s found Gray and his two sisters had double the level the State of Maryland defines as the minimum of lead poisoning. The lead came from squalid walls of the home where they lived. While a 2014 Maryland Department of Environment report found that more than 2,600 children in Baltimore had dangerous levels of lead in their blood.

‘West Baltimore is a very complicated set of circumstances. There’s a lot of history that still effects and informs policy at high levels as well as individual decision-making at the lowest levels. There is still plenty of bigotry and hatred between disparate groups,’ Mr Onyango said. ‘The roots if you follow them deeply enough usually go back to resources and territory or property. Everyone wants to build a legacy and in America there’s really only a few ways to do it.’ And yet, ‘the problem with trying to build a legacy (…) is that you must own the means of production. In this case that means of production is usually space.’

‘Baltimore is one of the highest concentration of dissing franchise black folk in terms of real estate meaning that the ratio of people who own is extremely low,’ he explained. ‘The fact is that this was intentional and very evident, yet no effort has been made to reverse the very real and lasting effects so this is the biggest reason that the hate endures.’

In conclusion, Mr Onyango said: ‘Poor education, Black Afluenza, discriminatory hiring practices, and media stigma are all also real contributors to the current climate,’ but in the end, the ‘housing/space ownership dilemma is the biggest piece of the puzzle for Baltimore.’

To find out more about Community Mediation Baltimore, go to ^{http://communitymediation.org/}

Thank you Omi Muhammad for organizing this interview.

Thanks to Omi Muhammad!

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HIP HOP FORUM DIGITAL MAGAZINE Editor’s Letter

Note from the HHF editorial team

June 2016

Hi, we’re currently working hard at Hip Hop Forum digital magazine to create a new era publication that embraces hip-hop culture in its purest, realest form; while also reflecting community issues and containing a new writers development program.

Coming up soon, interviews with non-profits in the US; interviews with artists – across the elements – in the US and abroad and also a series of short articles with people offering their perspectives on the state of the culture.

Soon we’ll be introducing our team of great new writers, and a more regular weekly publication program of news, reviews and interviews, while continuing to develop the site so it better suits your needs and expectations.

Keep in touch, get in contact with your ideas and advice – everything is welcome and we want to hear from you.

Join us.

HHF Interview: DJ Shaun Hilltop

In this interview, DC-based DJ Shaun Hilltop talks about the “Hilltop Radio Show”, the art of being a DJ, and the three major tours he’s been working on under the “Hilltop Radio Show Entertainment” name.

 Interviewed by Michael ATG

 

HHF: Thank you, Sir, for taking out of your day to be a part of this interview. Starting off, you’ve been a DJ for over 20 years and grew up watching DJ’s such as Red Alert, Chuck Chillout, but were majorly influenced by your uncle, DJ Eric Thomas. Now my question is, how exactly did your uncle influence you to begin your career?

DJ Shaun Hilltop: (pauses) He influenced me because I used to go to radio stations at that time and load his albums up. Back in the day, the DJs at the radio stations, used to have the turntables. I would load the albums on the turntables for him that particular night, you know that he’s DJ’ing. And that right there kinda … kinda grew a passion, and a love for just watching him, you know DJ, and you know playing old school music from way back in the day. That’s what influenced me to be a DJ today.

HHF: So you basically just put everything in motion for him. You helped him get everything set up.

DJ Shaun Hilltop: Yes, yes sir I did. Sure did.

HHF: OK, years later, when you started off your name was DJ Big Daddy Shaun, right?

DJ Shaun Hilltop: Yeah, DJ Big Daddy Shaun was the DJ name I used in high school and when I got into college, in the college scene, I used that up until I took a break. And I went into officiating college football, high school football, and then I recently – and it’s about ten years now, I came back into DJ’ing, and changed my name to just DJ Shaun.

HHF: You’ve been all over with it and taken every outlet you could possibly take.

DJ Shaun: Yes. Weddings… family reunions… park jams… just little, little events. Anything I could get my hands on, I did it.

HHF: Now, I know of course in the DC Area, and the underground scene you’re a legendary DJ among the airwaves, and off the airwaves. I can say, from what I’ve seen, and what I know, the drive you have is impeccable, to say the least.

DJ Shaun: Right.

HHF: How do you keep it all together? What drives you the most to go so hard, and stay so focused, all these years that you’ve been in the game?

DJ Shaun: (pauses) People man. The artist. The real artist, that are real to the game, currently hip hop. So, so you know, they keep my drive, and my passion, and keep me motivated to be able to, you know, do my radio stations, go on the air and play the music that everybody wants to hear in the clubs, you know clubs, park jams, things like that, etc. The artist, you know, the listeners.

HHF: Ok, just the art of the music fuels you, I understand.

DJ Shaun: Exactly!

HHF: As an artist myself, I 100% understand that the music keeps you going man. It keeps you wanting to keep pushing, I definitely understand that one Sir.

DJ Shaun: And artist like yourself, that’s motivated, and putting 120% into your craft makes MY craft, even better because I know I’m getting good, positive music that the listeners, love, listen, and gravitate to.

HHF: We really bounce off of each other. You know, like, as you get fueled by us and that we push you… The DJ’s pushin’ our music and givin’ us those spins, that only motivates us to go even harder.

DJ Shaun: Exactly, exactly.

HHF: Right, it’s all one big vibe man, that’s how I look at it. And uh, speaking of….

DJ Shaun: (begins to speak)

HHF: I’m sorry, go ahead.

DJ Shaun: And let me jump on this thing. I don’t know if you’re gonna get to this question, I’m probably jumping a little forth, while it’s on my mind.

HHF: You’re fine, go ahead.

DJ Shaun: The art of being a DJ. Being a DJ is just not two turntables, a mixer, a microphone, speakers and a headphone. Being a DJ is you have to tell a story, while you’re mixin’ and scratchin’. You get what I’m sayin’?

HHF: Right, right.

DJ Shaun: It’s like you writing your lyrics, your lyrics are coming from your mind as an artist.

HHF: Yeah, from the heart.

DJ Shaun: And you’re writing it down, and you’re perfecting a story. You’re perfecting a craft. So people can be like, you know when they’re listening to your music, they can close their eyes and be like “Damn, you know I’m feelin’ him, I’m wit’ him on what he’s writing.” And that’s the way that I take my profession into the turntables, because here’s the thing. You wanna keep the crowd pumped up, you wanna keep the crowd on the dance floor.

HHF: Of course, of course

DJ Shaun: By all means necessary. When you know play that one wrong album, or that one wrong song, and people start walking off the dance floor… It’s hard to get them back on the dance floor. So it’s the same thing, DJ’ing is a craft. You have to tell a story with your music.

HHF: Right, you gotta make sure you keep they attention, keep ‘em tuned in.

DJ Shaun: Yessir.

HHF: OK now I know you manage a slew of quality, underground artist as an A&R for IMG records, under Universal Records.

DJ Shaun: Yes.

HHF: A couple of the artist includes; Patricia MyTime, who wrote for SWV, which is one of my favorite old school groups. Now with you managing those artist, you basically gotta, you know, help them along their way as to continue to perfect their own craft, so what’s really the main thing you try to teach your artist, while they’re under your watch to help them succeed?

DJ Shaun: The keyword on that… is patience.

HHF: Yessir. Yes sir.

DJ Shaun: Have patience… Have patience, patience, patience!

HHF: Right, cause that goes a long way …

DJ Shaun: Listen. Listen to what your management is telling you. Understand the music that you’re in. Understand the culture that you’re in. Learn about what you’re doing, then YOU perfect the craft. It’s not all about sitting – of course you know, you’re an artist – it’s not all about sitting down writing a rhyme, going to the studio, and putting it all on an album. It’s all about understanding why you’re writing …

HHF: Yeah, it’s much deeper than that.

DJ Shaun: (continues) what you’re looking for, your purpose. Your purpose, you’re creating something and waiting, and having the patience to get to the next level. You got some artist that rush, and once they rush themselves …

HHF: They wind up flopping.

DJ Shaun: They wind up flat lining. And once you flat line… it’s hard to get back up there again.

HHF: That’s 100% right. That’s 100% right.

DJ Shaun: And make sure you quote me on that…

“The key element of being a talented artist under good management is having patience.”

HHF: Understood. I’m definitely quoting you on that one, Sir. I got you. (Both laugh)

HHF: I’ve already named a couple people, who you felt helped you become the highly respected DJ you are today, who exactly are your Top 3 influences since you’ve been in the game?

DJ Shaun: First one would be, Steven Russell-Harts, of Troop. He’s the number one guy, because we have, a bond and a connection with one another that can’t be broken. I’m his manager. And he believes highly of what I’ve been doing, and I’ve been taking his career to the next level.

Even though, he’s been in the game for 20 plus years, he allows me to come inside his circle, and push him even more. So when he’s being pushed, he’s pushing me also to be the best manager, the best DJ I possibly can.

HHF: Right.

DJ Shaun: And my second one would be Gymini. He used to be formerly of the 69 Boyz. He’s another one. I push him to a higher level. He pushes me to a higher level. I also manage him as well.

HHF: OK. You bounce off of each other.

DJ Shaun: Yes. And my third, the third one I would say, is my business partner – she’s an artist as well – and that’s Rayn Jackson. She the kind of artist, that believes in what we can do as a tag team. And she pushes me, as far as with management, and my DJ. And I push her, as far as management, and her singing career. So they would be my top three, that I would honestly say, yeah.

HHF: Alright, I’m glad you did bring up Rayn Jackson. Because I seen that you dabble into the fashion industry and that you two are in charge of the Entertainment for the Ebony Fashion Fair, in Los Angeles, CA, as well as the “Real Fashion meets Real Music” Tour. What made you wanna get into the whole fashion industry?

DJ Shaun: (pauses) A good friend of mine, Kenneth Sampson, out of Philadelphia. We became friends on Facebook. He inboxed me, and said “DJ Shaun, would you mind coming to Allentown, PA, and DJ’ing this fashion show?”. And I’ve done fashion shows, quote unquote, but nothing to where this fashion show I was particularly involved. I really loved it… enjoyed myself, and everybody enjoyed the music that I was playing, which was old school music like back in the day, you know like Bel Biv Devo… you know, “Percolator”… All those… (pauses)

HHF: The classics, the classics!

DJ Shaun: The classics. They allowed me to come into their house, and that’s the music that I played, and they loved the selection – why? Because it’s like I said earlier, they never left the dance floor. Actually they were coming up to me… (saying) “Can you play this, can you play this, can you play this?”. So the more, and more that you get request, the more and more you can become a better DJ. But that was the reason why I got into fashion, because of Kenneth Sampson. Coming out of Philadelphia.

HHF: That’s very interesting. Alright, I also see you guys are doing big things with the tours and everything too. Speaking of the tours, I want you to break down your current three major projects. You currently have all three projects currently touring the US, under “Hilltop Radio Show Entertainment”; “Silence The Violence”, “Grown And Sexy” and the “Classic 90’s” Tour. What’s your vision behind these projects, how did they really come about?

DJ Shaun: OK, the “Silence The Violence” Tour came about last year, in October. When a couple of young kids I knew, from refereeing – a long, long time ago – got killed.

HHF: Mm. Ah man… R.I.P.

DJ Shaun: It kinda like bothered me a little bit inside. But then I was like you know, I have to do something to not be the ones that talk about… I have to be the ones that’s gonna be about it. So I reached out to Gymini, and I reached out to Bonecrusher. I reached out to JT Money, which are all, you know, mainstream artist and spoke with them about the idea that I had. They took their idea, and now we’re starting our… Our first adventure, with these three in Chicago. What better place to start than Chicago?

HHF: That’s a blessing… Yes. They need it the most, to be honest. They really do, and I haven’t heard from Bonecrusher in a while. So to hear that he’s out here doing positive stuff as well, that’s a major blessing too; that’s a major blessing.

DJ Shaun: Yeah. Bonecrusher, and JT both have two hot singles that are out right now. Which is really, really good and Gymini will be in the studio come next month, and working on his new single. It’s gonna be nice and fun for everybody to tune in and listen to.

As for the “Grown and Sexy” Tour, it’s made up of artist Troop, Public Announcement, Hi-5, and now I added another young group from out of Atlanta called Emerge. These visionaries named Emerge are the up and coming Bad Boys of R&B. And what I mean by “Bad Boys of R&B”… I mean they have that Silk, that H-Town, that Jodeci, that love… The girls will gravitate to them, and love the music that they’re singing.

HHF: OK. That classic R&B feel to ’em.

DJ Shaun: That classic R&B, putting these guys with classic R&B artist. And Steven Russell-Harts will be debuting his new – one of his singles off his new upcoming album in August called “60’s Baby”.

HHF: Do we have a date in August for that?

DJ Shaun: We haven’t really projected a date yet, but it will be launched in August, and “60’s Baby” is the title of that track, of that album. Yeah. And the “Classic R&B” Tour. That again, will be Troop, Hi-5, Public Announcement, Men At Large, and Rude Boys. So we’re bringing back classic 90’s, to everybody that enjoyed the 80’s and 90’s music from these groups.

HHF: Light, that’s gonna be real interesting.

DJ Shaun: Yup, and it’s crazy that I had started promoting this and we already have four cities that wanna buy this package deal with these groups.

HHF: Ah man that’s big.

DJ Shaun: And their all different states, all southern states: Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi.

HHF: Shew, the south when it comes music overall – I can’t even just say Hip-Hop – they really been holdin’ it down, and showin’ a lot of support, and they all support each other. I think that’s what really keeps it together, down south. So yeah, that’s major, that’s definitely major right there.

DJ Shaun: Yessir!

HHF: Well I pray all tours go successful, they seem they’re all going real good right now. And as far as all your other ventures, I pray all of those continue to, you know, go well. And everything continues to go good in this career that you’ve already built. I really wanna thank you for your time today.

DJ Shaun: Thank you man, I appreciate it. Just know, Hip Hop Forum Digital Magazine, Number One Hip Hop Magazine in the world! And remember all you artist that are trying to raise to the top… Remember to have patience, and listen to management before you move on. I appreciate you, young man, for taking time out of your schedule, and even considering me to be apart of this awesome magazine.

I also just wanna give a shout out to Tash Porter, you know for getting you guys to contact me as well. Thank You.

HHF: I thank you, Sir. You make sure you have a good one, and God Bless.

DJ Shaun: You do the same, God Bless you as well brotha.

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Interviewed by Michael ATG (AttackTheGame), an MC out of Dover, Delaware (born in Long Island, New York), who performs positive, upbeat hip-hop with a message in his lyrics. Following up on his last release, ‘Faith’, Michael is now working on a project called ‘The Journey.’

Michael is part of the New Black Writers Program, managed by Hip Hop Forum Digital Magazine, to support, nurture and develop the talents of Black American journalists of the future.

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