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Hip-hop group On Point, which now consists of Flawless and Fo-Chief, formed back in 2004, but it really didn’t get noticed locally until when they released their album, D-Town Extravaganza, last year. Although the album was a little rough around the edges, it was good enough to get them some shows and create a little buzz around the local hip-hop scene -- buzz strong enough for the group to join respected Denver producer SP Double’s crew of artists called Boostwell in 2007.
As a collective they not only collaborated on music, but also hosted the Box State Battles, a weekly showcase that featured some of the state’s hungry battle emcees. But less than six months after Westword named Boostwell Denver’s Best Hip-Hop Crew, On Point and other artists left the crew.
“We ran together for a period of time, enabling me to meet people like Catch Lungs and finding emcees like Purpose from the Box State Battles and Kontrast,” Flawless says now. “All of us formed Boostwell at one point. But there was too much ego-driven attitudes getting in the way for Boostwell to be successful. On Point, Catch Lungs, Purpose, and Kontrast felt the best thing for us was to go our separate ways and we are now a current crew of artists running together with more success.”
Their collective, which also includes singer Crystal and DJ Skip Ripken, is now known as the Fresh Breath Committee. To get the crew off the ground, mixtapes from Catch Lungs, Purpose and On Point are now available, with hopes of giving hip-hop fans a taste of what’s to come from the crew.
“The album process can take awhile,” says Flawless. “Fo Chief and I really wanted to get a project out there, so we decided to do the mixtape. It's called One Nation Underground, which basically is a metaphor for how we wish that the nation's view of hip-hop was focused on the real hip-hop; meaning that underground, classic hip-hop. We’re not condemning the new wave in any way, but basically saying no matter what, keep it real with a voice that speaks the truth.”
The mixtape was hosted by California underground emcee Dirty Birdy and mixed by Skip Ripken. It's currently available at Angelo's CD’s and Tapes, Shoe Extreme and coming soon to Independent Records.
You can also check out On Point and the rest of the Fresh Breath Committee live on October 31 for the Urban Legends show at Western State College of Colorado in Gunnison. In the meantime, check out a couple of cuts from the mixtape:
Lil Wayne becomes a daddy, again This week Lil Wayne became a father again, after an unknown mother gave birth to Dwayne Carter III. Wayne’s rep confirmed to US Magazine that the baby was born on October 22 at the Christ Hospital in Cincinnati.
Lil Wayne is also celebrating his MVP of the Year award, which he won at the BET Hip-Hop Awards over the weekend. He’s also got seven nominations in the Online Hip-Hop Awards, slated to go down sometime next month.
Scarface gets political, backs Obama This election year is probably the most we’ve ever from hip-hop artists getting involved. The most recent is Scarface. In a recent interview with Allhiphop.com, the rapper dissed Bush and backed Obama -- but not because the latter is black.
“George W. Bush,” Face told Allhiphop. “It’s that f****** Texas education that got his mind screwed up. He put a whole nation in debt. [I’m voting for] Obama, but not because he’s black and s***, but because them Republicans got things f***** up. I think Obama speaks more for the Hip-Hop generation now.”
By the way, Scarface’s new album, Emeritus, drops on December 2 and will feature Lil Wayne and Bun B.
Common already planning new album Common’s new album, Universal Mind Control, isn’t even out yet, but he’s already talking about his next album. In an interview with MTV News, the rapper said he plans on releasing an album called The Believer, a title he’s mentioned before, in the very near future.
"The Believer is definitely gonna be an album," Com told MTV News. "It's gonna be the next album. I was ready to make The Believer, then I started working on an EP called Invincible Summer. Then I was like, 'OK, "Universal Mind Control" — that's the name of the single.' Like we said on the song, 'If you wanna dance, let's dance.' That's what that whole concept is like: Whatever you want the people to do, you create the music for them to do it." Universal Mind Control was mostly produced by the Neptunes, but Kanye West does make a few contributions. Look for the album to drop on December 9.
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Statik Selektah Stick 2 the Script
Q-Tip, Talib kweli, M.O.P., Bun B, Redman, C.L. Smooth and a bunch of other well-known emcees make appearances on Statik’s new album. We’re still not sure who he is, but apparently he’s got some pull to get these major artists on his album. It’s definitely worth checking out.
Lil Rob 1218, Pt. 2 Lil Ron hasn’t had a hit since 2005’s Summer Nights, but he’s trying to capture that magic again on his new album. With similar songs like “Leanin’ on the Weekend,” and “Just One of Those Days,” he may squeak one hit out regionally, but that’s about it.
Prodigy Product of the 80’s
Prodigy (of Mobb Deep) is currently on lockdown for the next few years but he’s somehow staying relevant in the hip-hop scene. He recorded so much when he found out he was getting locked that he’ll have album coming out for the next couple of years. This album is actually a collaboration project with P, Big Twins, and Un Pacino, but Prodigy’s style and sound is still the foundation. -- Quibian Salazar-Moreno