Jibbs: Jibber Jabber

St. Louis is known as the gateway to the west. Within rap, the city has served as a starting-point for talent looking for staying power. Both Nelly and Chingy represented the city, with memorable hook-driven songs, that soon led to cult-followings and radio interest. Much younger than his predecessors, 15-year-old Jibbs aims to do the […]

Defari: Steroid Music

In 1999, Defari’s debut Focused Daily gave Tommy Boy Records one of its final notches in the catalog during the independent Hip-Hop glory years. Since then, both the artist and the label have heard cries from the masses on bringing it back. At least one of them appears to have listened. Now on the ABB […]

Pigeon John: No Scrub

Pigeon John isn’t just one of the freshest voices to emerge in Hip-Hop this millennium, he may also be the realest. The Inglewood native has never fronted about packing heat or slinging rocks despite the rough environment he came up in. In fact, the Quannum MC carving out a niche in Hip-Hop as the Average […]

Clark Kent: Super A&R

The fictional character of Clark Kent has super powers allowing his alter ego to rescue and protect what he sees fit. The DJ Clark Kent we all know within our spectrum possesses similar super powers when it comes to music and not just Hip-Hop. And after a career spanning twenty years, experiencing multiple countries and […]

Sandman: Illadelph Stronghold

You think it’s that easy? Just show up on a pair of Clinton Sparks-backed mixtapes with Clipse and get glowing write-ups in national publications, then scores of year-end props? It takes years to get to this point, takes years to make opportunities fall into place. Talk to Northeast Philly native Sandman, and he’ll tell you […]

Raydar Ellis: Off the Radar

Brick Records has forged a reputation for building Boston’s independent Hip-Hop market. Having put out cult-followed records for MF Doom, D-Tension, and 7L & Esoteric, the presence goes beyond Beantown too. But after over a decade of grinding, Brick brought it back home with an unlikely newcomer, Raydar Ellis. Ellis, a Berklee School of Music […]