Its been a busy 72 hours for your boy.. Between traveling, performing, teaching, and filming, I been gettin it in! So I wanted to share some photos and some stories from my many adventures over the weekend.

"I love myself because I swear their life is just not as fun.."

-Drake

So lets start from the top..
When you arrive in NYC on megabus, it drops you somewhere near here..



NYC's Fashion Institute of Technology. I snapped a photo because when I go back in a couple weeks, I'm hopin to go check it out with a couple of my comrades from Scope Urban Apparel. Although I saw a lot of fly women going in and out of the building, we would be going there for strictly research purposes...and maybe a little networking ;)
From there I walked up towards Times Square passed Fuse TV and Madison Square Garden. I had time to kill before gettin up with Igor Buckets in the East Village so I decided to search for something to eat.



Now for a city as expensive as New York, I was pretty impressed with the slice of pizza, garlic bread, and beer I got for only $6. Sorry yall I forgot the name of the spot.. Its somewhere in Manhattan.. as if that helps at all..




On the way to Igor Buckets' crib I walked passed Forbes Magazine. I always imagined it being located in one of those really tall skyscrapers or something but it was right there on 12th and 5th.. almost discreetly hidden.



When I got to Igor's crib, he played me some of the most amazing beats. If you aint heard Waitin yet, your sleeping.. And wait till we hit you in the head with this newness.. The beats I listened to over there, I can't even describe to yall but trust we bout to hit yall with some heat! After Igor's crib I rushed over to Brooklyn to have dinner with Sasha from Beyond the Radar.

Almost forgot to tell yall about the ad I saw on the train. It must be the New World Order.. Spike Lee got a vodka out with Absolut?? How do you spell hypocrisy again??  Well anyways back to my adventures..

Sasha and I had intended to go to Habana Outpost which is supposed to be a real famous spot with delicious Cuban food, however with the line practically out the door, we opted for Ethiopian instead. And I'm glad we did...


The Lamb was off the chain!! From there we checked out the MXGM sponsored, She's So Dope event, which was just a little further into Brooklyn. Got their late of course, but the last of the performances were dope and it was good to see my dude K-Swift up there again, whom I haven't seen since the Last Zulu Anniversary I attended. From there we intended to hit up the Nuyorican.. But of course never made it.. typical Bostonians getting lost in NYC. After that I was beat and ready to call it a night.. Plus my performance at Roxbury film festival was the next day so i jumped on the Greyhound and made my way back to the Bean.


With less than a nap I made it down to MassArt just in time to open up for the showing of Chico Colvard's documentary Family Affair. Rene Dongo, the genius behind the majority of my music videos came through as well..

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.

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

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...

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.
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?



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.
Check out her blog

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!!