(This one is for the CS hip-hop heads!)
The Rap game today is dominated by artists who are indeed much more than that. They are business moguls. They are prominent figures and faces in the media, and actually seem to be larger than life. They create music that instantly becomes popular, and effortlessly extends to people all across the World.
In a way, it’s very much like the NBA. Your casual basketball fan is most likely going to be familiar with all of the major superstars in the league and what team they play for. But, there is a good chance they don’t know a whole lot about the up & coming youngsters, who are so very important to the makeup and future of their franchises and respective Cities.
Below you will find some MC’s who are exactly that. Up and coming, and on their way to being a large part of the future of hip-hop.
If you don’t know, now you know.
1) Shadrach Kabango (Shad K)
Shad K is Rwandan-born and Canadian-raised. His albums have received the highest of praise, and have been nominated for prestigious Canadian accolades such as the Polaris Prize & Juno Award. While he’s highly educated and fluent in multiple languages, Shad also has an uncanny sense of when to drop some humor, or a random throwback sports reference. His lyrics constantly make their way back to the random NBA reference.
“Keep it real player, with the volume cranked, and I be balling like Tim Duncan, calling banks.” / “Fake ballers, weak game, less polished than Ben Wallace.”
Shadrach is rapidly gaining a significant (and much deserved) fan base. He currently has three full albums, with his most recent one, “TSOL“, being released in 2010.
Video: Rose Garden Album: TSOL (2010)
Keep up with Shad here: http://www.shadk.com/
2) ScienZe
ScienZe is Brooklyn born, bled and raised. My personal favorite on this list, he has more depth than a John Starks jumper. While talking with him earlier tonight, he expressed his life-long affinity for the New York Knicks. “I was definitely an NBA fan growing up. LOVED the Knicks like it was in my DNA.”. Lucky for us, he loves his work even more than he does the Knicks.
ScienZe’s approach to hip-hop is based on the idea of simplicity. Have a passion for what you spend your time doing. Work vigorously at it. Stay hungry. Keep your loved ones close. Repeat. His lyrics embody this mentality, and are constantly reminding his listeners of it.
“Be as bright as the morn, be organic and strong. Keep it natural too, watch the people respond.” / “Keep in touch with your heart and you can never go wrong. Speak loud and be clear, live free and be large. Keep it all the way fresh, keep it all the way charged.”
ScienZe currently has a few mixtapes and two recent full albums “When Skies Fall” (2011) & “Divine ScienZe” (2012), to his body of work. Take a listen and get very familiar, because he is here to stay for the long haul.
Video: No Pressure. Album: When Skies Fall (2011)
Stay in ScienZe class here: http://scienzeclass.com/
3/4) TiRon & Ayomari
You get a bargain here. The ol’ two for one if you will. Two MC’s that because of the artistic chemistry they have together, decided their product is much more substantial as a dual effort, than it would be if they were going at it alone. As we see so much in the NBA these days, sometimes teaming up with others who have one goal in mind is the perfect recipe for success. One (TiRon) from outside of Chicago, and the other (Ayomari) from outside of Atlanta. Both now currently residing in Los Angeles, and creating Hip-Hop gold together. Very Stockton and Malone, pick & roll-esque.
They both created fan bases and buzz for themselves through their own individual mixtapes and side projects. But together now, they have built a creative monster that is gaining momentum and has no plans of dying. Their first album as a duo, “A Sucker For Pumps” (2011)”, was released as what is considered to be a “concept album”. They based the album on the dynamics of the everyday highs and lows in the relationships between Man and Woman, that we all inevitably go through. The album is truly a work of art, and has been the subject of such reviews by many in the industry.
Tiron & Ayomari are both diverse in the fact that they aren’t bottled into any mold of hip-hop. They can do an album based on relationships, and turn around and use their lyrical prowess to assess such subjects as the world of food in Los Angeles. Really looking forward to what is in store for these two.
Video: Good Food. Album: A Prelude to ASFP (2011)
Like their facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/TiRon-Ayomari/161971980537691
5) Sene
Another Brooklyn born MC. Sene was raised in a New York household, by parents that had introduced him to a diverse musical platform at a young age. While having a deep appreciation for music his whole life, he didn’t necessarily grasp his path to being involved in it. He ended up moving to California at 18 years old in search of some clarity. While Sene’s five years on the West Coast were self admittedly a bit off the ideal road he had envisioned, it did in fact gave him exactly what he went there for.. A feel for his own artistic style, and more importantly, a sense of self-awareness.
“Moving to a place where you have no family, will teach you a lot about yourself. Thanksgiving becomes Thursday and Christmas becomes “Oh Shit, that was yesterday?”/ “While I was out there I read some shit. It said “New York hip-hop died somewhere between 95′-99′. Somewhere between shiny suits and shine IN suits. You mean to tell me you couldn’t find a pulse nowhere? I bought a one way ticket home.”
His lyrical style is pleasantly raw and paints a perfect picture of what it’s like to live in the culture he knows. He does an outstanding job of conveying an overall message to his listeners, based on his own individual experiences. Sene is the point guard on a small team of MC’s bringing a whole lot of credibility back to New York and the East Coast. Him & Scienze (the second MC on this list) have actually teamed up and have recently been working on a project called Stoop Kids that is coming along nicely. His recent full length album, “Brooklynknight” (2012), which ironically the Brooklyn Nets ended up naming their mascot, has something for every kind of hip-hop fan on it. Do yourself a favor and give it a spin.
Video: Brooklyknight. Album: Brooklyknight (2012)
Continue to follow Sene here: https://www.facebook.com/senemusic
