a weekend

I will be getting back to parts 3 through 5 of "Watch for it..." starting tomorrow. This weekend I was busy at the Independent Film Festival of Boston for the premiere of my former teacher, Chico Colvard's stunning documentary, Family Affair. 


Chico contacted me for some music for the final cut of the movie which will be aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network and had me open up his premiere with a performance of my song "A Love" from the upcoming mixtape the Young and the Restless.

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Family Affair @ Independent Film Festival Boston


If you will be in the Boston area tomorrow evening, be sure to come through to the Independent Film Festival of Boston's screening of Chico Colvard's documentary, Family Affair. I will be opening up the screening of the film with a live performance the song "A Love" which will be featured on the telivision version. You'll hear more about that later. There are still tickets left for tomorrow's screening of the film so don't miss out on this.

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Watch for it... (Part 2)

Day 2 Ladies and gentlemen. I sure hope you all are payin attention. Everybody you see featured here is destined for big things. You think I'm playin? Just watch for it..

Number 6.

Name: Illiam Savant
Age: 20
Hometown: Boston, MA
Genre
: Hip Hop

Illy Sav, I been rollin with this dude since middle school. The die-hards in the Bean (Boston) will probably remember him from the Reality Click when my dude went by Tres. For the past month, myself, Ray Leon, and Ill, been at work on our different projects and we will be taking over for the Summer. Don't say nobody told you though.. Check for him on his myspace, twitter, and facebook.

7.
Name: OTO
Age: 24
Hometown: Roxbury, MA
Genre: Hip-Hop

OTO (Overtime Often) of the Prime Suspects is from the same neighborhood as me (Roxbury, Eggy all day!!). Him and the PS click been doin it in the Bean for at least a few years and were some of the first young cats I saw doing music videos courtesy of Mr. Dante Luna. With not only raw lyrics and crafty delivery but a grind and work ethic that hasn't been seen in quite a while, I'm certain you'll be hearing from O and PS sooner rather than later. Give this gutter anthem, "Good Guys Neva Win" a listen, and watch for my cameo..



8.

Name: Chilla Jones
Age: 24
Hometown: Dorchester, MA
Genre: Hip Hop

Another street-savy wordsmith with some things to say, Chilla and I got acquainted, once again, through, Sofia Snow and also Uno the Prophet. As much as MCs (especially in this city) love to hate on one another, I can't front on dude right here. The mixtape, Timebomb is solid and definitely somethin to check for. Him and I also been gettin consistent airtime on the Tito and Talib show at Emerson, hosted by somebody else that I listed here, (see if you can guess who).

One thing I feel obliged to make mention of here, despite the reputation my city has of artists not supporting, is that the next generation of artist to come up will, in fact, support, acknowledge and promote one another's work. Lets get to the next artist.. #watchforit

9.
Name: Sofia Snow
Age: 21
Hometown: Roslindale, MA
Genre: Spoken Word / Poetry / Hip Hop

Anybody and I mean anybody who's seen Sofia Snow perform or heard her poetry has been moved by it. No exaggeration, Sofia's words are inspirational, healing, and truly uplifting. Currently attending the First Wave program at the University of Wisconsin, Sofia remains as committed to the community as she is to her art, organizing and volunteering in her spare time. I recently got the pleasure of being in the studio for the recording of her first Hip Hop cut and the joint is fire! Here go her video of the poem, 3 Witnesses.


Three Witnesses from Rene Dongo on Vimeo.

10.
Name: Starchild
Age: 22
Hometown: DC, Maryland, Virginia / Egypt
Genre: Hip Hop

Wake up and smell the gunsmoke.. All my conscious, Pan-African, Pro-Black, Revolutionary heads have got to check for this cat right here. I found this dude on myspace a couple years ago and immediately wanted to work with him. He's featured on Hip-Hop 4 Black Unity's Conscious Artist Database and his mixtape, Lion of the Desert is no joke. Lookout for the Catch Wreck/Starchild colab comin real soon. But in the meantime cop the mixtape and support the movement. #hollablack

And that does it for today folks. Tomorrow, 5 more young artists to watch for. Stay tuned.

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Watch for it... (Part 1)

So for the next 5 days, I will be sharing with you all 25 artists under the age of 25 that you need to know about. With the release of the Young & the Restless just around the corner, I figure now's a good time to highlight a little bit of the work some of my peers are putting in. Lets get into it...

First up...

Name: Ray Leon
Age: 19
Hometown: Boston, MA
Genre: Hip-Hop

Already a war veteran at only 19, Rey Leon, has quite a story to tell. His debut EP, "The Pledge", dropping this Spring, will offer listeners a glimpse of some of that story. The first single, "I Still Love Her" borrows the instrumental from the classic Common Sense record.



2.
Name: Rafael Casal
Age: 24 (just made it)
Hometown: Bay Area, CA
Genre: Hip Hop / Spoken Word

Though we were both featured on George Watsky's album, and I had heard things about this artist here and there, I must admit I've been sleeping. It wasn't until just last week that I gave his album, Monster (click to download), a serious listen. I'm sure glad I did though. I'm rarely moved by an entire project but this one deserves it. Fire all the way through. Giant is a song any man who's been in a disfunctional relationship should have no trouble relating to. What you think?



3.
Name: Blizz Cartel
Age: 22
Hometown: Roxbury, MA
Genre: Hip Hop

One of the nastiest producers in the Boston area. When it comes to fire, Blizz Cartel got more to offer than a little bit. Currently at work on his debut project, Blizz has provided beats for the likes of myself, Illiam Savant (Tres), J. Nolan, Gridlock Entertainment and many others for years. Listen to the tracks he got up on soundclick as well some of the blazing sh*t we've worked together on (Hotter, A Love, Fight Back...and a whole bunch more on this Young & The Restless. ya heard?)

4.
Name: Safia Elhillo
Age: 19
Hometown: Khartoum, Sudan
Genre: Spoken Word / Poetry

I was in love with this sister before I even met her. Gotta thank my dude, Uno the Prophet for the introduction. Safia is no joke. A brilliant writer and multi-talented artist, I watched her perform a poem a couple weeks ago at CUPSI that gave me chills. Do yourself a favor and get hip..
Check out her blog

And the last one for today....


Name: Rene Dongo
Age: 21
Hometown: Roslindale, MA
Genre: Film

Rene Dongo is the director I work exclusively with for all my joints. He did the one you see above for Rey Leon as well as countless others. I got connected to him through Sofia Snow, who you'll read about later, but when you watch this man's Demo real, pay close attention to his eye for dope visuals...


Demo Reel from Rene Dongo on Vimeo.

Join me tomorrow when I give you the next 5 to watch 4...
Holla Black!!

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Damn


Hate wakin up to bad news. Guru is a hometown Hip Hop hero and will always be remembered as such. RIP.

Pen and Sword Political Pirates Blog: R.I.P. Guru Stickers

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Can't sleep..

So I watch movies. Documentaries mostly. Last night I watched two in particular that caught my interest that I wanted to share with yall.



Dig: The story of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols



The Carter: The the unauthorized documentary of Hip Hop superstar, Lil Wayne


If you're as fascinated with music as I am you'll be sure not to sleep on these either.

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All the Way Turned Up Freestyle

The good news is this: The mixtape is all but complete(and some of the hottest sh*t your going to hear) and we are.. ALLLLLLL THE WAY TURNT UP!! I'm listenin to the music on the radio out there. The beats is crazy but the content lacks substance so I had to fill in the blank. The All the Way Turnt Up Freestyle (Remake of "All the Way Turned Up" by Travis Porter, Roscoe Dash and YT featuring Soulja Boy) is the newest release off the upcoming mixtape "The Young & The Restless," set to drop in May. 



Holla Black!!
#Dontgetwrecked
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Been a Long time..

..I shouldn't leave you, without some strong blogs to read through. I know I keep saying I'ma get better at keeping this updated but it doesn't seem to have worked thus far. With a million and one things currently on my plate its been difficult but I haven't forgotten the many loyal readers who frequent this blog.

Its been utter chaos the past couple weeks and I have some good and also some very unfortunate news. Beginning with the bad news I am saddened to share that yet another young black male was shot and killed by Boston Police last weekend. 19 year old Manuel DaVeiga was at a memorial for his friend who was recently killed before police chased and eventually shot and killed him, making him the 17th victim of Boston Police gunfire since 1995. My thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family, as well as the entire city of Boston as we gear up for what we all hope to be a peaceful Summer.

For updates on the situation check the Blackstonian and VOL.

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