Whether getting love or hate, 15 y/o NYC rapper Chris Miles embraces the commentary as long as he remains a “Topic of Discussion.” In a new loose single produced by Statik Selektah, Chris continues to flex mind-bending wordplay and a charismatic flow atop the bouncy boom-bap beat.
“Topic of Discussion” releases in anticipation of Chris Miles’ Birth of Cool EP, which releases December 15th. The EP’s first single, “Time”, produced by Jake One, dropped earlier this month.
Greg “Frenchie” Hogan’s journey as a recording artist consists of several pivotal maneuvers in his career. The rapper began his run of writing lyrics at the age of 10 years old, but it was his relocation from his native neighborhood of South Jamaica Queens to Atlanta that ignited his course in the business. It was in the Georgia city that Frenchie linked with his aunt Mizay Entertainment founder Debra Antney and a rising rapper named Gucci Mane.
The Southern transplant played a significant role in the construction of Gucci’s So Icey Entertainment which would later birth 1017 Brick Squad Records and Brick Squad Monopoly – label home to Frenchie’s cousin Waka Flocka Flame. With strong connections to both the NYC and ATL markets, Frenchie embarked on creating his own street mixtapes such as New Atlanta, Concrete Jungle, and Long Overdue.
In September, Frenchie dropped his latest collection Fukk Fame. The uploading of the 10-track project to the internet coincided with the announcement of another big move this year for the performer. That same month he helped launch Protekted Records.
Frenchie is now prepping to drop his studio album in 2015. His official debut LP is set to feature Gucci, Waka, Yo Gotti, Migos, and more. He prefaced the release with the single “Ain’t Goin Nowhere” with B.o.B. and Chanel West Coast.
AllHipHop.com spoke with Frenchie to get the BSM affiliate’s take on past problems within Brick Squad, Nicki Minaj’s former connection to the crew, dealing with negative social media comments, and what the future holds.
You have a lot of family ties to the music industry. Was being a recording artist something you always knew you wanted to pursue?
Yes, it was like music was thrown on me from my family members.
What age did you start recording?
I started recording when I was 19 years old. The first record I recorded in an actual good studio was with Gucci Mane. I took my shirt off. That was in ‘09.
You came up under the So Icy/Brick Squad brand. Did you ever feel any sense of pressure having to follow the success of Gucci and Waka Flocka?
No, because me and Wooh Da Kid were Gucci Mane’s first artists. Waka wasn’t even rapping, so when he started rapping and blew it out of the water it was beautiful. You have to understand he’s still my blood cousin, so we’re not in competition with each other. We’re not battling each other.
Are you still officially connected with Brick Squad?
I made Brick Squad. I’m one of the fathers, main players of the squad. You got Waka, Wooh, Gucci, OJ [Da Juiceman], and Frenchie. So even if I said I wanted to leave Brick Squad, I can’t leave because I made it.
Don’t get it twisted I’m standing on my on two with this one, but Brick Squad will always be a part of my veins. It will always be in my blood. It’s just with this one I’m doing my own thing.
Gucci Mane + Frenchie (via Instagram)
How did the Protekted Records situation come together?
[Protekted Records President] John [Gornbein], who used to be the drummer for Kid Rock, and my uncle DJ Hurricane, who was the Beastie Boys’ DJ, were working together. I got in contact with [Gornbein] through Cane.
You recently dropped the single “Ain’t Going Nowhere,” and it features B.o.B. and Chanel West Coast. Both of those artists are known for having a pop appeal. Why did you decide to connect with Bobby and Chanel for that particular track?
Actually, I like the pop sound. I feel like that’s a good route to go, because I want to elevate my music. I’m getting older. I’m tired of just doing “gang banging music.” It’s time for me to make music for everybody, to be universal.
You released your recent mixtape Fukk Fame earlier this year. One of the standout tracks was “Birds and Keys”. What inspired you to write that particular track?
It was my life. I was just in my feelings when I wrote that. That’s how I felt.
Unfortunately, you lost your cousin KayO Redd last year. As a result, your aunt Debra Antney started her “No Reckless Internet Posting” anti-cyber bullying campaign. As a public figure, how do you handle dealing with negative social media posts or blog comments?
I don’t even bother myself with negative energy. I pray everyday. That’s how I defeat negative energy. I pray and give out a positive energy. It totals out all the negative energy. I pray to block that out.
I’m sure there are a lot of young people that follow you that have to deal with that every day.
I feel like a lot of kids should be more spiritual. I feel like they should call to God more. They should pray more and never give up.
Everybody knows Waka and Gucci had their issues, but Waka announced they had squashed it earlier this year. He sent out a tweet with a picture of him and Gucci saying the beef was over. What was that moment like for you?
You have to understand the media eats everything up and just make it how they want it to be. They’re brothers at the end of the day. We were brothers before all this media putting bulls**t in the air. No matter what… Gucci has been in my life for like 8 or 9 years. Arguments don’t determine friendships.
The media blew up everything, and made it have to be like that. I always knew it was going to be squashed. It was never gonna keep on going. The only reason people was thinking it was gonna keep going is because the media does not know the relationship of Waka and Gucci.
In fairness, they did make it public. It’s not like they kept it between themselves.
If you notice it was stuff that they said and then they erased it. People are loving these people so much, they’re taking snapshots. [Gucci and Waka] didn’t keep it up there, they were angry at each other. The people took a hold to it and made it bigger than it was.
If they meant it, they would have kept what they said online. They didn’t keep what they said online. All of them erased their things. The people who snapshot it kept it going.
I hear what you’re saying, but if you’re an artist and you put that information out there, then of course people are going to be attracted to it.
Sometimes they don’t know how powerful they are. But other than that they’re brothers, and I knew it was going to be squashed.
You did an interview with The Breakfast Club where you talked about how you introduced Nicki Minaj’s music to your aunt Deb Antney. Nicki’s former manager Fendi did an interview with The Breakfast Club where he talked about that situation. He made it seem like Deb stole Nicki away from him, but from what you said it wasn’t like that. Can you clear that situation up?
No, Deb didn’t steal Nicki away. Whatever Nicki wanted to do she did it on her own. Nicki came done there, because Nicki knew where her career was heading. And she knew what she wanted her career to be. She knew she had to grab the down south fan base, so she did exactly what she was supposed to do.
Is that part of the reason why you moved down south as well?
I been moved down south. I actually went down south for a family reunion, and it just ended up like that.
What do you have planned for 2015?
I expect the world to see me more on TV shows, MTV Jams, VH1, anything dealing with music. Prepare yourself to see me a lot.
During his LOUD MUSIC college tour trip to the US back in April, London Mc Ikes jumped in the lab with Brooklyn’s own, Wordsmiff, over some production courtesy of German duo The Cratez.
After premiering at the Sundance Next Fest back in August, the visual to Kendrick Lamar’s debut album good kid, m.A.A.d city will be released for the public’s viewing pleasure. Unfortunately, only TDE stans that live in LA will get to see it.
The short documentary, titled m.A.A.d, will be shown at the Museum for Contemporary Art in LA in 2015 from Mar. 21st to Jul. 27th.
The 14-minute doc, which was directed by Khalil Joseph with help from Flying Lotus, is depicted as “a lush portrait of contemporary Los Angeles.”
Read the synopsis for the film below.
“From barbershops to marching bands, from homeboys drinking in the streets to the iconic carpet of shimmering lights, the camera in m.A.A.d sinuously glides through predominantly African American neighborhoods in Los Angeles catching a dizzying array of quotidian moments suffused with creativity, joy, and sadness. Joseph’s film is accompanied by a thick booming soundtrack provided by emerging hip-hop star Kendrick Lamar and indeed m.A.A.d is part of the title of Lamar’s highly acclaimed second album good kid, m.A.A.d. city.”
(AllHipHop News) J. Cole is making a risky move with the release of his third studio album 2014 Forest Hills Drive. The Fayetteville, North Carolina emcee is putting the project out with any singles or major marketing plan.
While other acts like Beyoncé, The Lox, and Kid Cudi have tried this approach in recent months, an artist choosing not to promote their work before it hits stores could affect the album’s sales numbers. Or that “no promo” tactic could actually be an effective promotional idea.
Cole may not be doing a lot of press over the next few weeks, but he did conduct an interview with Complex. The Q&A included the Roc Nation signee talking about various subjects. Read some of J. Cole’s quotes below.
I always wanted to be f**king Berry Gordy. I wanted to have a production platform. But now I realize that, even if I never produce a record for someone who’s signed to me, the real pleasure of having a label is watching somebody start from ground zero and get to level one, two, and three. These dudes are trying to get to 100. It’s mad rewarding for me to see.
On criticism he is a boring artist:
I’m an introverted person, especially with problems. I feel like I can deal with s**t on my own and I don’t need to express it. I put up a great front because I don’t want to show [that something bothers me], which is why I respect Wale. I’ve always loved that he says it and he says it right away, like, “Yo, I don’t feel this. Them n***as ain’t showing me no respect.” In a way, that’s therapeutic. To keep it in and suppress it makes it worse. That kind of expressiveness is not prevalent in my music, but you’ll find lines. That s**t affected me so much that I had to write a line about it. I can tell you five or six lines where it was addressed. That’s the danger of giving a f**k about what people say in an age where you can see what people say so easily. It’s about getting over that, like, “Man, I don’t give a f**k. I love me. I love this s### I just made. If you like it, f**king great. If you don’t like it, cool. I hope you find some other s**t you like.” On my best day that’s how I feel.
On Jay Z and Roc Nation now believing in him as an artist:
They definitely believe in me more now. But first of all, Jay Z believed in me enough to sign me, and for that I am forever grateful. Thank God he heard “Lights Please” and those songs I played for him the first meeting. Thank God he signed me off of those. After that, I can’t front. If we asked him honestly, I’m sure he would say he wasn’t sure what I would turn out to be in the grand scheme of things, in terms of commercial success.
(AllHipHop News) Comedian Chris Rock and The Roots drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson are doing the media rounds to promote the upcoming Rock-directed, Quest-scored movie Top Five. The pair appeared on Juan Epstein and a few interesting topics from Hip Hop history came up.
Quest reflected back on the issues between The Notorious B.I.G. and The Roots. Before Biggie’s death, the Philadelphia band released the video “What They Do” which some viewers saw as a dig at the Bad Boy emcee. Quest stated that Big was initially a big fan of The Roots, but the video changed the NYC native’s view of the group.
“Biggie was like our biggest champion… he put Brooklyn onto The Roots,'” said Questlove. “We told the [“What They Do”] director we didn’t want to do a direct reference to someone’s video. We’re just talking about the impending, lurking of this new, at the time what seemed like this new Apartheid – the have nots versus the haves.”
According to Quest, the group did not know the visuals were a direct reference to Biggie’s “One More Chance” video during filming. It was not until seeing the final cut of the video that The Roots realized the association. Biggie later sent shots at The Roots in an interview with The Source, but unfortunately Quest was not able to settle their problems before Biggie was killed.
Juan Ep’s other guest, Chris Rock, discussed his longstanding connection to Hip Hop as well. The legendary comic spoke on his cult classic CB4 and his contribution to Kanye West’s “Blame Game” off My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
“Greatest Hip Hop album of all time,” declared Rock about Ye’s 2010 LP. “Kanye West is a genius… I want to say I was in the booth for about two hours… He was just throwing s**t at me, ‘try this, try that’… He snapped it all together.”
Rock believes Twisted Fantasy is better than other classic albums like Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Prince’s Purple Rain. He calls Kanye’s project “the best album of the last 50 years.”
Its been a minute since we heard something from A$AP Rocky BUT don’t get excited yet. because the only thing new your gonna get from him isn’t music, but maybe a magazine spread.
According to reports, the Harlem rapper just landed a modeling deal Salavotore Ferragamo. He’s going to be featured in an ad campaign titled, ‘A Man’s Story,’ which is a part of Ferragamo’s spring/summer 2015 collection.
Rocky’s real big on fashion so this doesn’t come as a surprise, wonder if his ex Chanel Iman had to say about his new gig.
Nicki Minaj upset a few reporters on the American Music Awards red carpet a few days back. Page Six reports:
“”A source tells Page Six Minaj was “very rude” to press on the red carpet at Sunday night’s awards show.
We’re told Minaj, 31, got especially heated when reporters brought up her rumored foe, Iggy Azalea. The “Anaconda” rapper and Azalea, 24, reportedly have beef stemming from Minaj’s BET Awards speech being seen as a dig against Azalea’s work.”
One disgruntled reporter in particular, Liz Hernandez popped off about her run-in with Minaj via Twitter:
(AllHipHop News) Rick Ross’ new album Hood Billionaire includes the Timbaland produced track “Movin’ Bass” with Jay Z, but Timbo rocked the Internet when he previewed a version of the song featuring his new artist Tink.
Many began to ask why Ross decided not to release the Tink edition. In a Google Hangout interview with Sway Calloway, the Maybach Music Group boss explained the album version of “Movin’ Bass” was the original, and in his opinion Timbo should not have dropped the second track.
Ross said:
Timbaland released his version that I was real disappointed in hearing. Me and Jay created the original version. That’s one of the records we vibed up when he had a couple of sessions. Of course Timbaland produced it and had the production on it for a little while. I went by the studio before, and he played me the version. I was like, “I see what you did, but chill on that. We’re doing our thing on that.” I was disappointed with homie on that.
When asked to speak on the fact that his version was created first, Ross stated:
That’s one of the things that was disappointing in homie. I felt like we’re bigger than that. We’re bosses. I expect homie to clarify that whenever he makes his rounds. Most definitely, me and Jay did that record.
Ross goes on to add that he spoke to the producer about the matter and it is “all love,” but the Miami rapper says Tim needs to “fix that problem.”
(AllHipHop News) The story of Migos member Quavo’s chain being snatched and reportedly passed among rappers and DC residents has been unfolding for over a week. Quavo had touched on the matter in social media posts, but the Atlanta-based entertainer has now addressed the situation in the new track “Tha Truth.”
In the video clip released with Quavo’s track, Maybach Music Group artist Fat Trel is mentioned as possibly having the missing jewelry at one point. Trel had previously stated in a Twitter post that he was not involved in the situation. He returned to Twitter yesterday to offer another message about people telling the truth.
STOP PUTTIN MY NAME IN DAT MIGO'z SHYT….SB DONT ROB WE KILL!!!
GBE member Capo has been one of the Migos’ rivals closely connected to the chain snatching. The Chicago native reposted a picture to Instagram of what seems to be the cover of a response track from suspected chain snatcher Donno. The artwork features the image of Quavo’s “QC” chain. Donno mentioned on his own IG post that a video is coming soon.
(AllHipHop News) Officer Darren Wilson finally spoke publicly about the shooting of Ferguson, Missouri teenager Michael Brown. Wilson gave an interview to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos providing his version of what happened on August 9 when Brown was killed.
Wilson stated that he was “in fear of his life” during the exchange in the street with Brown. In the clip that was broadcast yesterday (November 26) Wilson was able to explain his reasoning for shooting Brown, but Stephanopoulos did not challenge the officer on many of the discrepancies Brown supporters have pointed out in Wilson’s story.
Stephanopoulos did not ask why the photos of Wilson’s face taken after the shooting were not consistent with Wilson’s claim that Brown repeatedly punched him in the face. Stephanopoulos also did not question why the Ferguson police department chose not to file an incident report on Brown’s killing.
There were also no questions about the supposed audio recording of the shooting which presented that there was a rapid fire of shots and not several breaks in the gunfire like Wilson claimed.
Wilson did add that he was sorry that Brown’s parents lost a son, but he would not have done anything different that day.
On November 22, Adidas Originals took over Los Angeles as they held the #ZXFLUX Experience! in order to debut their new “LA ZX FLUX” three-print collection which featured the “LA Lakers,” “LA Clippers” and “LA City” specialty sneakers.
Held at The Well in Downtown LA, the impressive exhibition was kicked off by Sirius XM Radio personalities LA Leakers, who were joined by surprise guests Kid Ink, Quincy Combsand Skrillex who stopped by to grab their own pairs and lend their support.
Following the event was the increasingly popular “Respect the West” private showcase, which featured performances from YG, Nipsey Hussle, Hit Boy, Audio Push, BJ The Chicago Kid, Thurz, R.J. and Raven Felix as they rocked the stage in front of packed house.
#InCaseYouMissedIt: Check out the video and event pictures below
Villz has been quietly making a name for himself as the next alt-R&B vocalist to pay attention to. With his focus rooted in lost love, the moody, melodic music of Villz is driven by pensive confessions, sexual innuendos, and notions of escapism. While relying on heartbreak as his muse, the Haitian, Florida-bred singer/songwriter weaves soul, synth, and electric guitar with addictive downbeats and an unadulterated delivery. After captivating his audience with the standout singles “4:20 AM” and “Appreciation”, Villz finally releases his long-awaited 8 track debut album in full, which includes production from the likes of Mike Ewing, Sage Tune, William Wolf, Ducko McFli and Syksense. Stream below or purchase from iTunes.
Tone Trump spoke with Mikey T The Movie Star recently about his early days in hip hop and working with Mike Knox of G-Unit Philly. He also touches on how 50 Cent was interested in putting the Philadelphia Hip Hop Culture into Reality TV.
I am going to share something with you that is incredibly embarrassing at this point in my life. And, revealing it, I know that I will probably be clowned, ridiculed, and maybe called names I don’t want to be called.
Once upon a time, I thought we would be able to kill racism in our lifetime. Let me explain. In my younger years, Hip-Hop looked and sounded a lot different. It was the soundtrack to our lives in some form or fashion. I gravitated to all of Hip-Hop (hence the site name), but I had a real love for the rap music that represented uplifting people – particularly Black people. My favorites were (and still are) Public Enemy, KRS-One & Boogie Down Productions, X-Clan and, among others, Lakim Shabazz and Poor Righteous Teachers. Then there were others like, say, N.W.A. or Rakim, that represented their unique brands of consciousness.
At that time, Young White America was seemingly on board, and the old guard hated us, doing whatever they could to prevent this movement. But, our youthful teen spirit was all that we needed. The dinosaurs were lingering from the ’60s and earlier – you know, the J. Edgar Hoover’s of the world. The sad reality is, there’s a new crop of Hoovers these days.
Mike Brown was shot dead in the street by a White man that came up during part of the same Hip-Hop era I was reared in. One might think, because of this exposure, that he possesses some cultural progression or advanced thinking. To the contrary, and to me personally, Wilson is just another cog in a gigantic, ever-churning machine that is hell-bent on treating people of color as if their lives are meaningless. So, my dreams about the death of racism actually died before the beast itself, and the scourge of racism only grows ever more beastly. I thought Hip-Hop could do it. In our heyday, we thought Hip-Hop was stronger than the beast, but it wasn’t. We were once the force of the youth, but that voice has since been hijacked and pumped back out as some beige, muted, apathetic, ignorant life form.
In its purest form, Hip-Hop represents the most dangerous genre and counter-culture to America’s racism. It speaks truth to power, it has a back against the wall – ready to fight back. And, at its best, it continues to be the voice of the voiceless. Still, we must contend with the plaguing issue of the vultures and outsiders who dictate what is relevant, what is hip, and what voices are worth listening to…another piece of the dream that has died.
The voices of new are dying, too.
There are many, many Hip-Hop heads out here that are unwavering truth-tellers, but they cannot get a fair shake in the world. Not even by their own people. The distractions are simply too great to overcome.
I know we want to accommodate everybody, but let’s keep it real for a moment. Rap music and Hip-Hop culture started out as an artistic expression of Black and Brown youth. It was unapologetically rebellious and inherently political as it rose through prominence in the muck of the Reaganomics during the cracked-out, AIDS infested ’80s. We were out there on our own. Then a few Blacks burst into the Middle Class and thought they had made it, not realizing it was all an illusion. Most of us didn’t make it, and those short term, feel good gains would be snatched back a couple of years later. Doesn’t this sound familiar to you, Hip-Hop? Isn’t this where we find ourselves again, some 20 years later? We have to keep the eye on the real prize and keep a foot on the gas. “All we got is us,” to quote Onyx.
Other groups of people have representation in government or authority working on their behalf. They have money, power, respect – “what you need in life.”. We represent trillions of dollars in buying power, contain fires raging within our collective psyches, and bear ownership to the most powerful, indigenous music form ever created…and yet we are seemingly powerless? We don’t even use what we already have at our disposal – simple weapons like the right to vote or to mobilize peacefully. Only a choice few will step up and protect Black Life, and yet. as an illustration, the majority 67% Black population in Ferguson is governed by a small minority of White constituents. So what are we to do?
We have to go back to the basics, augment some of the tactics, and bring them to the here and now.
Support the young leaders. I love and respect the Dream Defenders, the Lost Voices, Hands Up United, Black Lives Matter, and all the people down there working for Justice, Freedom, and Equality. These are real people, not faceless looters the media contorts into animals. Biko, Autumn, Ashley, Tef, Tory, Malik, Justin, The Brown family and more have faced bullets whizzing by, snipers on roofs, and a police force that isn’t really trying to keep the peace. In the end, they’re standing for the fact that Mike Brown was a real person, an unarmed boy. This is why I will never be convinced that Officer Darren Wilson was in the right for slaying him in the street the way he did. NEVER. I don’t care now many times you tweet me, you racist trolls.
I am also “sober” enough in reality now to gather that racism will never die either. When most dreams pass on, it is normally cause for mourning, but this time, I feel better. We continue the fight for progressive action and thoughts, but we also must look inward. Teach children about their worth. Take care of yourself and others. Buy from Black businesses and companies that respect your dollar. Support those that give back. Learn how to make your money work. Vote. Make a unified plan. Raise leaders. Become a leader.
The only way to attempt to end racism is to become the power. Today represents opportunity.
The death of Mike Brown almost broke my spirit, but I still have faith in the strength of Black people, who continue to survive despite having the worst conditions thrust upon them, century after century. My early dreams may have died, but I still believe you, Hip-Hop.
The time now is the do a gut check and ask ourselves:
Are we powerful or powerless?
Are we for people or “power”?
Are we lovers or haters of self?
Are we soldiers and protectors for our families and communities?
Jordin Sparks steps back into the music scene and gives us a mixtape titled #ByeFelicia. This 9-track project is filled with some awesome sounds from the songstress. Give it a listen.
“On The Road 2 Spaghetti Junction” is 6 tracks in length and features Killer Mike, Trouble, Rich The Kid and Peezy. The EP serves as the perfect precursor to the album, which stands at 17 tracks, featuring 2 bonus tracks and guest appearances from Bun B, IamSu, B.o.B., Starlito, Doe B, Young Dolph and more!
Allhiphop host Valerie Lora And Dash Polanco from TV show Orange Is The New Black, are going to the Dominican Republic to bring sneakers to kids that really need them. They need your help!
Devious returns with a hot new remix of “You Sleep Out Here” featuring Kevin Gates produced by BlaqNMild. The remix will be available on his iTunes EP on January 1, 2015. Devious’ new mixtape, Life Is What You Make It drops 12-3-14.
I am going to share something with you that is incredibly embarrassing at this point in my life. And, revealing it, I know that I will probably be clowned, ridiculed, and maybe called names I don’t want to be called.