Veterans to the game, New York’s elite rhyming duo, M.O.P. recently dropped their ninth studio album, Sparta, and first with European production crew, the Snowgoons. Arranged thematically like the film 300, the album features Lil’ Fame and Billy Danze bringing their signature aggressive raps to a soundtrack that can only be described with one word: triumphant. Read the rest of this entry »

While not 100% versed in Murs catalog, I’m always impressed by it. Most rappers typically stick to their script and hold down one specific style of song, but this LA staple never refrains from genre jumping and makes sure to keep any instrumental he chooses lively as possibly. That same theory holds up on “Let’s Go!,” Read the rest of this entry »

I would type up all the names on our upcoming LivexDirect show but it’s pretty clear the October 9th show includes an extremely dope lineup and it’s being presented by Lovenoise x The Boom Bap x TSS. Read the rest of this entry »

Yelawolf Performs “I Wish” And “F.U.” Live @ A3C Perfect Attendance from The Smoking Section on Vimeo.

The art of stage performance has been an Achilles heal for many artists. From vets to rookies, the gleam of the lights on center stage have made some careers and broken others. Yelawolf is an artist who has made and will continue to make a name for himself in front of an audience. Read the rest of this entry »

If ever there was a Smoking Session that needn’t nary an introduction, this would be it. A living legend and mythical mononym, Rakim builds with TSS Crew’s TC about his forthcoming album The Seventh Seal and how a pioneer can still break new ground amongst an even newer generation. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo Credit: Honey Mag

Fayetteville’s own Jermaine Cole exploded on to the scene in 2009 and began climbing your favorite MC’s favorite new MC list. Everybody was surprised by the new kid making waves, his lyrical depth and cadence, and that refreshing sound he brought to the Interwebs and radio this year. In reality, J.Cole has been manhandling the microphone since his mid-teens in North Carolina. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, not exactly but it makes it sound riveting, doesn’t it?

The homie @ SMKA dropped off this three times dope A3C recap video shot by m!kedesigns of www.mdsgstudios.com. Read the rest of this entry »

Donny Goines Live @ A3C from The Smoking Section on Vimeo.

Donny Goines refuses to fail.

Success in Hip-Hop has become increasingly elusive. Whether one aims to attain critical acclaim, 15 minutes of fame or commercial success, it’s no longer as straightforward as it may have once been. Read the rest of this entry »

While trying to finish up & clean up A3C flicks & footage, I remembered this rough footage of Chip performing his verse on “Hyyerr,” the stone song off Man On The Moon. Read the rest of this entry »

While driving over to The Five Spot, Contra™ commented on the full moon that was on the horizon. It was at that point that we suspected the night had the potential to be magical or disastrous. And it was actually a little bit of both. The Crew disassembled from Voltron form for the last night and actually covered two events. It was at point that I learned I was to be the red cat… literally as I was thrown into video camera duties. Much respect to BK and The SP Agency, because I felt like I would need an arm transplant by the end of the night. But enough about me, on to the next one… Read the rest of this entry »

A3C Street Cypher @ Vinnie Styles from The Smoking Section on Vimeo.

Courtesy of Vinnie’s Styles & SMKA Productions

When we finally arrived at the J.Cole in-store at Vinnie’s Styles, the establishment was shoulder to shoulder with nothing but rappers, DJ’s and their managers. After briefly shaking hands and talking to the Roc Nation artist and his reps, Mike from SMKA walked up and said “Do you wanna set up a cypher outside?” Read the rest of this entry »

Mikkey Halsted Live @ A3C (full performance) from The Smoking Section on Vimeo.

Aiight, we’re starting to make our way through countless hours of video footage so you’ll be seeing more of the performances that we witnessed @ A3C. Read the rest of this entry »

As we finish rendering video of the performances from the last two nights @ the Five Spot, I figured sharing this would be a good placeholder. Saturday night, the crew was doing double-duty as part of us were @ The Five filming and snapping pics while myself, TC & the homie BK went down the street to the East Atlanta Ice House for Myspace’s The Release with Rakim as the headliner. Atlanta’s own Mike Bigga, The Artist Formerly Known As Killer, took the stage right before Ra and put on a set that was capped off by performing “God In The Building,” playing the perfect lead into Rakim’s entrance. Read the rest of this entry »

Just to reiterate what Gotty said yesterday, if you weren’t @ The Five Spot Friday night, it was your loss. It’s crazy what a difference a day can make, but the place was packed out. How packed? Full capacity packed for a couple of hours. Read the rest of this entry »

If you were in Atlanta but weren’t @ The Five Spot last night for Perfect Attendance, you missed out on a good start to what’s going to be a great weekend. Since I’m still groggy (yes, even in the afternoon my ears still feel clogged like I went swimming), I’ll keep the words short. Don’t worry, more pics, footage and words to come.

– I’m surprised there’s any updates on other sites because every “internet artist” you can think of was either @ The Five or nearby. I don’t mean that as a negative thing because the purpose of events like these is to expose those not in the know about who’s next. Read the rest of this entry »