Performing at SOBs in New York last week, Chris Ries a.k.a. Young Chris suffered a seizure, collapsed onstage, and was rushed to a nearby hospital. Days later, Chris took to his Twitter to thank fans for their well wishes and explain the cause of the unfortunate occurrence — the stress of the grind. Read the rest of this entry »

“It’s the fresh prince of the city, no Carlton in here, Soulchild of the music (Musiq), it’s the home of The Roots, Living life like it’s golden, bumpin’ Jill in the coupe.”

New shit here, “Philly Shit” to be right & exact. Read the rest of this entry »

Mr. Thanksgiving and the producers who do it better the 2nd time, Cookin Soul, come through with another freebie on this glorious Tuesday to make your iPod smile. When is the last time you heard a compilation mixtape that was worthy of constant spins? More than likely it was a CS presentation. And with Drama giving his Gangsta Grillz stamp, it seems like they could be invincible. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s 2010 and Chris and Neef are back being friends or at least partners in rhyme for this Don Cannon-hosted Back To Business mixtape. 15 tracks and a handful of features along with promise of what’s to come perhaps. Read the rest of this entry »

Well well, what do we have here? We have the Young Gunz back together again, at least long enough to drop a Back To Business mixtape on July 23rd. And to show their rediscovered cohesive nature, they’ve incorporated the word “we” into both song titles. Read the rest of this entry »

From time to time, I try give The Network 2 some spins. Why? I’ll spare you the belief that the Gunna is underrated and has been the victim of circumstance because of a fallen empire and forgotten alliances. But that is true though. Regardless, Chris is still putting out music and I’m continuing to do my duty as a fan to listen, appreciate and document. Read the rest of this entry »

The difference in hungry artists with apparent chemistry convening on the track is glaring compared to associates e-mailing verses in on wax. The general pop usually doesn’t notice until one smacks them upside the face but it does happen every so often. In this instance, Peedi Peedi and Young Chris give Meek Millz the ‘ole 76er alley-oop. Read the rest of this entry »

Backstage footage of portions of the State Prop chain gang together again, this time for Philly’s Summer Jam. Chris and Free hit the stage and are joined by Oschino, who I haven’t heard about in a month of Sundays. Filmed by Jimmy Giambrone. Read the rest of this entry »

Still quite young and restless, C. Gunna debuts another one. As usual, the track features his scorching flow and rhymes brimming with confidence. Read the rest of this entry »

“This is forever music right here…”

It’s a shame Wale’s heartfelt, Ronson-produced letter to Obama and Pac didn’t make the final cut of Attention Deficit, as it surely would’ve added at least half a Cig or so to the album’s rating. But Young Chris uses the opportunity to resurrect his former Allido brethren’s loosie for his own personal reflection on forgotten love and family, providing further proof of his expanding lyrical boundaries. Read the rest of this entry »

Those who’ve been keeping tabs on Chris the past few years know that his skills on the mic have never wavered, going all the way back to his early promise. A lingering question, however, was whether homey could speak on anything other than the Roc or the kind of street sh#t so prevalent in North Philly.

“The Edge” puts the criticism to rest, as the Gunna waxes poetic about heartbreak and the economic crisis, with a heavy dose of spirituality underlining it all. Read the rest of this entry »

Back with another installment of his quarterly series, Skillz took his confessional show on the road to NYC for part five.  And who can blame him?  As the epicenter of our beloved culture, the city that never sleeps has to be full of people wanting to clear their conscience.  In an effort to provide the greatest catharsis possible Skillz targeted those who’ve had a considerable amount of contact with good ‘ol Lucifer over the years.  Featuring hitmen past & present; Deric “D. Dot” Angelettie, Sean C, LV & Young Chris (thrown in for good measure) all seek the restorative powers from the VA journeyman.

Every time one of these come out, there’s always one story that stands a cut above the rest.  This time that honor goes to D. Dot.  Anytime you can combine Diddy, Ma$e, a hit record & a wager for publishing all in one tale, then your destined to win.  Sean C’s also is pretty interesting… mainly due to the fact that it involves one the other participants, which makes for nice ‘lil double whammy.

Credit has to be given to Skillz for keeping this series going.  Although he’s not flooding the block with new ones in frequent fashion, whenever one does appear, it’s always well worth the time to go through the whole video.

See y’all sometime in July.

Skillz presents: Hip-Hop Confessions ep. 5 from Visually Inklined

Let’s think this one through for a second. If you were a key member of a dynasty that reached many plateaus, yet your skills weren’t necessarily depleted from the low points as you didn’t get your chance to excel in the limelight, you would have a lot of pent-up energy to spare for your future endeavors, right? Read the rest of this entry »

This is the type of magic you get when a couple of urban lyrical wizards pass the Roc back and forth. Young Chris networks with Fayetteville’s finest, J. Cole, to discuss the throwing of diamonds–old and new. Chris even manages to give The Notorious One a shoutout for his March 9th memorial day. Read the rest of this entry »

“I can’t let the game get the best of me/And I know I’m destined to win nigga – definitely/Destined to make it to my final destination…”

Chris borrows one of Wayne’s  tracks as he prepares to unleash the second installment in his The Network series.  Faced with the fact that time only moves forward, never backwards, Chris continues to try and break through the glass ceiling that’s kept him bubbling underneath the surface for some time now.  Sure the product is there, it’s always been.  He’s just looking for his back account to reflect it as well.  And since he’s now put it in the Lord’s hand, Chris will continue on his merry way and let the chips fall where they may.

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Download — Young Chris – “Before I Die”

Hosted by Don Cannon, Young Chris’ The Network 2 is on the way.