Pronounced E-mil-io Ro-has, mixed Venezuelan-American, has been on the up & up the past couple years, predominately within the New York rap scene. Moving from Rochester to Brooklyn in 2005 with no money and after years of heavy grind, Emilio attracted the attention of notorious DJ/producer/radio presenter DJ Green Lantern. Green Lantern has since helped with promoting and mentoring Rojas’ fast developing career.
Emilio Rojas – That Time (2008)
Emilio Rojas – On The Ave (2009)
Setting him apart from other MC’s is his ability to rhyme about honest topics and still keep it fresh in the hip-hop manner. Not only is it his content, but also his delivery is significant. In a period where listeners/consumers have very little attention span, it’s important to keep every verse exciting. Emilio has a unique ability to organically switch up his rhyme patterns within his bars without distracting the listener too much away from the song. The replay value is also strong with all of his free albums (I’m going to stop calling them mixtapes), which is a necessary but rare factor with many releases.
Laws ft. Emilio Rojas & Big KRIT – Hold You Down (2010)
Emilio Rojas ft. Jaiden – To The Fullest (2010)
With his latest free album release Life Without Shame, he’s got many hot names to appear and produce…B.O.B, Yelawolf, Big KRIT, Killer Mike, J.U.S.T.I.C.E League, Needlz, DJ Khalil, Dante Ross and of course DJ Green Lantern, to name a few. The album takes it to the next level as far as writing and structure. There’s notable large anthems, which are radio and chart ready without loosing any credibility or forcing an artificial front. And, this is what gets me. A lot of songs that get played on the radio and are requested by the public are just off reputation from a particular artist. Emilio has a sound that is already built to be accepted by the general public, but until a large backing comes from an already popular established artist/house, people will probably continue to sleep. Hopefully, DJ Green Lantern could be the stepping stone between his current steady buzz to a nationwide recognition.
Ok, couldn’t find the actual cover, but come to the party on Wednesday…FREE JAGERMEISTER!!
This is Pulse’s newest release,
The Overload EP. Coming with a new sound for the UK scene, taking influences from all over the shop…Arctic Monkeys to Wiley. The songs on here are built for parties, festivals, jumping, running, screaming, EXDJNJJSDJSMNSFSJSKHF etc etc…
Before I get into anything, in this situation, I’m speaking from my outside perspective, I’m not aware of what goes on in head offices. This post is more of an inquiry directed to towards the folks at Mercury Music Group, who are responsible for Def Jam in the UK. Def Jam UK has been something that’s been on my mind for the past couple years. But it was the release of Kanye Wests’ latest album that brought the thought to the forefront again.
State side, the marketing and hype behind My Dark Twisted Fantasy resulted in the album debuting at number 1 on the Billboard charts, with first week sales of just under 500,000. The album had the internet and media in frenzies. Even without a strong mainstream single (such as Slow Jamz, Gold Digger, Stronger etc…) the album has moved a ridiculously amount of units in today’s hard up market (before All of the Lights release). However, in the UK it failed to break the Top 10 (number 16). Months before it dropped, insiders and critics were already hailing the album as Kanye’s greatest work and the fans continued hyping up the leaked tracks. You would’ve thought that responsible heads in the UK offices would have seen the overwhelming positive pre-release feedback and followed the US’s suit, pushing the album harder.
Kanye West ft. John Legend – Blame Game (wait 10 seconds before track)
When 808’s & Heartbreaks was released, there was a lot more public space for what is, in my opinion a less accessible album. So, why does such a huge house, that is Def Jam, have such a strong presence in the USA, but is not taking advantage of its overseas markets? (I know what Rihanna is doing is amazing, I’ll speak on her in a second.)
Not wanting to go into too much history of Def Jam, (we’d be here all day) but I was first aware of their UK division from the old Tim Westwood Compilations which were released through Def Jam UK and combined have sold over 3,000,000, making the series the biggest selling urban compilations in history! When Semtex got his A&R gig at Def Jam UK, his first signing was Fat Man Scoop, who released his debut single “Be Faithful” (remember that?!) reaching number 1 in the UK and throughout Europe! Both of those examples are from the early to mid 2000’s, but it shows there’s massive potential there.
Fat Man Scoop – Be Faithful
More recently, Californian based A&R Max Gousse (of whom is responsible for Beyonce’s biggest albums and developing B2K) signed up Camden trio N-Dubz to a 5 album deal with Mercury/Def Jam, and is looking to break them into the States this year. With the continuation of America’s eyes lurking over the UK for urban talent, it seems perfect timing for the folks at Def Jam UK to take it to the next level and become more active! There’re plenty of “underground” artists here with enough momentum and fan followings for Mercury and Def Jam to buy into and raise them to new heights.
Def Jam have two stand out artists that have gone against the modern one hit, ringtone, quick money making scheme. With each album releases both Rihanna and Rick Ross have gained more commercial success and credibility. These artists have actually developed throughout their Def Jam contracts, something the label should be very proud of achieving. A lot of artists over the past decade have had one or two hit singles, dropped an album and due to poor sales, have been dropped by their label, thus falling off the face of the planet. Rihanna and Rick Ross were both signed under Jay Z’s time as label head, whether Jay put extra work into the Artist Development department, I don’t know. Rick Ross’ rise over the past years has been so strong he now has been granted his own label imprint and recently took that over to Warner Music Group. And, Rihanna, as of 25th Feb 2011, has sold more than 10,000,000 albums, in the UK alone! These two cases show that if the label spots the potential star early on, they’ll correctly develop them through a longer lasting career, perhaps N Dubz will get a similar treatment (NB. Fully aware that not everyone is an N Dubz fan, I’m speaking impartially.)
Rick Ross – B.M.F
Maybe it’s Def Jam’s tactic to wait and see how N-Dubz fare out in USA before committing more time and money in the UK. I just feel it’s a waste to have this major label set up over here and not be doing more to promote itself and the artists. Cash Money are reportedly about to put more effort into a UK office, and have already put Jay Sean on the top of the Billboard and UK charts. It won’t be long before other labels will come and hunt out future household names. Def Jam UK must be taking notes?
Currently, new A&R Vice President, Sha Money XL holds Def Jam Cipher Sessions, looking out for the latest talent. This is actively healthy for the scene, and also reconnects Def Jam back to the streets. There’re many similar live events throughout the UK, but say if Def Jam UK once again gave a reputable figure head an A&R role, they could kickstart a new takeover (sorry, couldn’t resist, too easy).
Sha Money speaking on Def Jam Ciphers
Def Jams legacy is the most highly profiled within hip hop and urban culture. The signs of a UK chapter back in the early 2000’s was very promising, but since then I’m not too certain what ever happened to it?Obviously there is someone sitting in office, as we’ve just had a push for the latest Def Jam Rapstar video game. If Def Jam UK considered putting effort into their music promotion, we could add to what is a rapidly growing urban market. Or, maybe they’re content just eating off Rihanna sales…but why not capitalise and invest money you’ve made into making more money. You can bet anything that it won’t be long before the Sean Combs, Birdmans, Jimmy Iovines, etc…start taking more artists, of which Def Jam UK could have had up.
Skylar Grey seems to have become an overnight household (at least in the music world) name. She’s the voice on Diddy’s single Coming Home, Dr. Dre’s single I Need A Doctor and Lupe Fiasco’s next single Words I Never Said (from his forthcoming Lasers album which features our boy Sway!!). She is also credited as the writer for Eminem’s Love The Way You Lie (Part 1 and 2) and T.I.’s Castle Walls.
Skylar Grey – Love The Way You Lie (Orginal Demo)
The 24 year old has actually been writing and performing from the age of 7, when she sung alongside her folk singer mother. Then fast forward to 2004 she was signed by Linkin Park’s label, where she recorded under her birth name, Holly Brook. The Mike Shinoda side project, Fort Minor released the single Where’d You Go in 2006, which featured Holly.
Fort Minor – Where’d You Go ft. Holly Brook
Later in 2006 she released her first full length album Like Blood Like Honey (go get that now, deep).
Holly Brook – Giving It Up For You
Last summer, a name change came with a new record deal from, London born, super-producer Alex Da Kid (Alex, come put some UK talent on the scene too!!)….and from there….platinum singles, grammy nominations and a grammy performance on the way…now ya know!!
This profile is certainly a departure from the other artists that I’ve so far posted on (and I may get slewed for this haha). Something that I’m drawn to and intrigued with is the people “behind” the music. Whether they producers, CEO’s, A&R’s etc…these are the people that support the faces of the music and brand.
Often the case with “Urban” music, these people start with very little and come out of harsh youth.
Bryan “Birdman” Williams Photo courtesy of derickg.com
The first profile I’m going to cover is Bryan “Birdman” Williams. It’s only in recent years that his record label Cash Money has started seeing serious commercial success here in our country. Along with his brother Ronald “Slim” Williams, they set Cash Money up in 1992 in his home town of New Orleans. Up until 1998 Cash Money released all of its recordings fully independently without having any promo videos or songs on the Billboard chart. By securing a loyal local fanbase, every release still sold 100,000’s copies, distributing the albums themselves. The South is notorious for supporting it’s local artists, something that’s good to see also going on in the UK.
Mannie Fresh, Birdman, Slim, Lil Wayne, BG – Circa 2001
After years of high independent sales, major labels of cause took interest. Due to Birdmans strong vision for Cash Money, aswel as being use to having complete control over his business, he ended up turning down countless distribution offers. His audacity was so strong he even told the likes of Russell Simmons (Def Jam co-founder) that he (Birdman) would pay Russell a little fee to distribute his records, but Cash Money would keep the rights to all his masters…plus loan him a little money to play with. He finally negotiated an unprecedented deal with Universal Records. Cash Money would be entitled to 85% of its royalties, 50% of its publishing revenues and ownership of all masters! This was the first deal of its type…Birdman, nor Slim, ever attended any business school, they learned everything on the streets, and their somewhat gangster approach in boardrooms lapped them the most profitable music deal anyone had heard of at that time. The first major release was Juveniles ’98 Southern classic album 400 Degreez, which went 4x platinum. In the late 90’s and early 2000’s Cash Money went on to sell millions and millions of records.
Juvenile – Back that Azz up ft. Mannie Fresh & Lil Wayne 1998
Cash Money had the streets and clubs of America on lock. Over the years the Cash Money family had already suffered many set backs with deaths, life-imprisonments, drug problems…basically, all the usual things you’d imagine when street dudes suddenly start earning $1,000,000’s a year. In the mid 2000’s the label endured losses from the label including the in-house producer for all Cash Money releases, Mannie Fresh, who decided to depart from the family.
Thankfully, remaining star Lil Wayne, who had first signed with the label when he was 9 years old, stayed loyal to the label. Towards the end of the 2000’s he had steadily become the most talked about rapper in the world. His 2008 album Tha Carter III became the only album in 3 years to sell more than a 1,000,000 copies (USA) in its first week of release. From this success, the general public was again fixated on Cash Money and now Lil Waynes own label Young Money, which is an imprint of Cash Money and again distributed by Universal Records.
lil wayne – A milli 2008 (It’s hard tryna find a non-Vevo video that plays on a shared link!)
Young Money & Cash Money have had two of the biggest releases in the past 12 months with Drake’s Thank Me Later and Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday, both citing worldwide critical and commercial success. With California’s Tyga ’bout to blow up next.
Tyga
We’re currently living in Cash Money’s second chapter, and they’re dominating the airwaves. Just try listening to radio for half an hour and you are guaranteed to hear a Cash Money song…try watching a music channel, try going to the club, try walking down the street and not hearing a Cash Money song!…and that’s in the UK…if you tune into an American radio station, say New York’s Hot .97FM, every other song will have a Cash Money artist involved. Late last year, production duo Cool & Dre signed with Cash Money as the labels new in house production team…and now they have signed their own DJ/personality in DJ Khaled.
Cash Money/Young Money Photo courtesy of derickg.com
Cash Money & Eminem Photo courtesy of derickg.com
Cash Money have now set their eyes on the UK, in 2008 they signed R&B singer Jay Sean and more recently ex Mis-Teeq member Sabrina Washington. They’re also reportedly setting up office in London too. It seems Diddy isn’t the only one to see the gold mine here. Williams isn’t stopping at urban acts, he’s sighting straight pop music, rock and country as all big money makers and currently scouting for the right talent to induct into the family.
Birdman, Jay Sean & Nicki Minaj Photo courtesy of derickg.com
Birdman’s other treasure chest is the Oil Business. Him and his brother have been involved with the oil industry for some years already and have pumps in different areas of America. Bringing in $100,000,000’s…”for my (Birdmans) kids and kids’ kids.”. Nice.
What I find influential is Birdmans (and Slims) faith in their own vision and how they have/are following their dreams…without formal education. It goes to show how far true passion can take you. If they can make it with their background, really, nobody has an excuse not to be successful. Sure Cash Money releases may not evoke the same emotion, as say a Nas or Lupe song…but for me at least, it’s a representation of regardless your background, with enough resilient and efficient work, a dream is more than capable of achieving.
Since the success of Ed Sheeran’s final independent EP (as he’s now signed with Atlantic Records), alot of peeps have been sayin how their favourite track is Little Lady, which features Mikill Pane. It’s no doubt a moving song/story, unfortunately many of us know of a person similar to the character in the track (maybe not to the extreme extent, but still)…only making the song hit harder.
Ed Sheeran – Little Lady ft. Mikill Pane
To give you a little background to Mr. Pane…actually, here, jus read this taken from his website his own website (I recommend that u click on the twitter link…bare jokes there!)
“My name is Mikill Pane and I am the alter ego of the late Smife (RIP – actually fuck peace, I just want him to rest). From the moment you read this you will forget that he even existed and hail me as the rightful owner of all his worldly possessions and titles including Best Rapper Alive (sorry Jay-Z, I’m a huge fan but somebody obviously lied to you).
I’m not arrogant. In fact I’m probably the most modest person you’ll never meet. Stop reading now – you’re here to listen to my tunes, ain’t you?”
Hiphop/electro/grime/folk/dubstep/sjfhhweufhhf…yeh Mikill Pane’s music covers various genres…. His bars are ones that you want to listen to and see where he takes you with it. Listen to the lyrics to Can’t be Bothered demo on http://soundcloud.com/mikillpane ….nine to fivers workin in retail or customer based jobs gonna feel it!!..and check the other tracks. Download two of his EP’s from here and here.
Mikill Pane – The Return of Mister Pane
Mikill Pane – Fairytale (Produced byTeaser)
As far as I’m aware The House of Coxhead and Blatently Blunt both have interviews with Mikill coming in the near future, be on the lookout for those.
Yo, not gonna lie, i wasn’t too up on Mentalist until my bro Kaosput me on to him. He’s just dropped his new album Make You Proud as a free download. It can be downloaded from here for £0.00! It features mainly production from renowned producers Loudmouth & Knite 13. I’ve been reloadin it for a minute now. The folks over at Soul Culture gave it 4/5…so ya knw its gotta be sayin sumthin! There’s bare standouts on the album, but the one doin it the most for me is probably Mirage, which features Shanaz Dorsett layin down the hook….of who is also mad talented n u can download her free EP here, where she blesses some DJ Premier classics.
I real believe songs like the ones included on Make You Proud could have commercial success in the UK! The beats are seriously accessible, the lyrics include matters that the everyday person goes thru (including significant other issues…who doesn’t enjoy relationship songs) and there’s hooks that u can easily to hum along to. This shit needs to be distributed on a large scale, mannn!
Anyway, head over to We Plug Good Music for an in depth review and streams of a few tracks…including the Mirage track (2nd stream), which likewise they put as their favourite.
Speakin on Cores (See here), he’s jus released a project that he produced and recorded 6 years ago. If you ask me he’s actually an ill MC. Nowadays he pretty much stays behind the boards, apart from when acting as hype man at pg live shows.
