Meda Blaq is a 24 year old artist from Hampton, Virgina who on his project, Bruce Wayne, gives listeners a deeper look into the multiple aspects of his persona as an artist .
On this project, Blaq shows listeners a different side of himself as an artist throughout the different songs on the project. On “How It Go” and “Get Enough”, the artist displays a brash, hardcore style. However, on “Show Em”, Blaq contrasts the previously displayed hardcore style by becoming more transparent and relatable as he discusses his hardships and struggles he faces On “I Can”, Blaq gives his version of a motivational message and tells of his ambition and determination to succeed become successful by any means necessary.
A notable feature of this tape is, of course, the beats produced by Virginia favorites Treez Lowkey and Ready Rock James and also how cohesively Blaq blends his different styles and flows on each track. Our Favorite Songs – Figures, Got Me
The end of the year is always an interesting time for music. With a little under two months left in the year, its always interesting to see what tricks artists have up their sleeve to close the year out. Recently, artist G RIEL has shown signs of closing the year out strong with the release of his new visual for his track “Sum Slight”
On the track the Winchester based artist delivers diverse flows in an extremely cohesive manner over the intricacies of the beat (produced by Cxdy & Wxlfstealth). From G RIELs brash delivery to his witty (sarcastic, even) punchlines, there is just something about G RIELs presentation on this track that screams “banger”.
Check out the visual (shot and edited by Markeyy Markk) here!
Recently DMV artist GRXZZLY has dropped his “GoldMxnd Freestyle” Visual which proves to hip hop fans that lyricism is still alive.
The visual begins with a recording of a phone call of someone explaining to GRXZZLY how the scene has become oversaturated with rappers who are producing a lot of less than great music and how unimpressive this music is. The person on the phone then tells GRXZZLY to give the people something serious to listen to, and with this freestyle that is exactly what he does. With this freestyle, GRXZZLY gives amazing delivery paired with witty punchlines that will resonate with true hip hop fans. GRXZZLY stated that “this is a representation of his penmanship and mindset as of right now. Some people claim that lyricism is dead in the DMV, well I disagree 100 %”
This summer was a pretty big deal when it came to the music scene in the 757. From releases to events to tours to festivals, the 757 was buzzing with excitement and productivity all summer 2018. Here is a list of some of the most game changing events that took place in music in the Hampton Roads area this summer.
EDL Fest
Niyah Nel, curator and owner of Everyday Dope Life, has for the second time put together what is probably the biggest event in 757 music culture for the second time in a row. EDL Fest is a 1 day music festival that is held at Oconnors Brewing Co. in Norfolk VA. The event featured an informative panel consisting of many successful creatives from the 757 area such as Xavious (owner of Pacers) and Sulay (Visual artist of AWGE). The event also featured a cypher featuring local artists such as JBDaPilot and Fishskale Rabble. The event also had several games for guests to enjoy as well as local food and clothing vendors that guests could purchase from as well. The day ended with a show featuring performances by Hot Gumbo Brass Band, Al Doms, Doeski, Alondo Jackson, Treez Lowkey and KEY! as the headliner. Check out our vlog from the event here!
2. Young Crazy Is On Tour
Young Crazy is making his transition from a hometown favorite to a nationally respected recording artist and in the 757 we all get the pleasure of watching it happen first hand. In addition to dropping joint project “This A Crazy Era” earlier this summer with Era Hardaway, this summer Young Crazy has been on tour with Ski Mask The Slump God and Bandhunta Izzy on the Ski Meets World Tour. He also dropped the visual for “Different Now” the first song off of the collaboration project with Era (check it out here ) Lastly, the artist got to perform at Rolling Loud and in doing so got to meet one of the artists he looks up to most, Gucci Mane.
3. Glasxx TVs “Best Of Summer 2018 List”
If there was an award for most controversial VA blog, it would definitely belong to Glasxx TV (@glasxx.tv on Instagram). Glasxx, owner and main curator for the blog, is no stranger to participating in antics that shake the table. This summer the blogger decided to put out a list of artists who he felt was the best in VA at the time and by doing that he caused quite the uproar. Just by taking a glance at the comment section you can see that the public had a lot to say about the list. Some stated that the list was biased, others felt that the list was simply a joke, there were some artists such as YSN Capo who simply didn’t care about the list at all.
When asked about the list, Glasxx stated that once he put the list out, it inspired change in the music scene. He felt that everyone who was upset about not making the list started working harder. Making the list, no matter how accurate or inaccurate, was his way of pushing the culture.
4. G.O.D.S. Music Group Proves They Are A Force To Be Reckoned With
If there was ever a time to pay attention to G.O.D.S. Music Group (@godsmusicgroupp on instagram), its now. This diverse collective is taking tremendous strides toward showing that they are the on the way to becoming VA greats. For a long time this group has been putting in the work when it comes to music, however it wasn’t until recently when they put together their “Apollo” showcase at Shakas this summer that people really started paying attention and seeing this collective as the dope creatives that they are. The showcase was in celebration of the release of their project “Apollo” which does a beautiful job of combining lyricism and talent with relevancy resulting in a one of a kind sound. In addition to doing there thing as a group, the members all have been making noise as individuals as well. Earlier this summer group member R. Locko released his highly anticipated project “Star Of Lion” and KJ The Gawd released “Going Against The Worlds Demons” which we covered here. G.O.D.S. Music Group utilized this summer to make believers out of all of us and with that being said, we can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
5. Shows Shows and More Shows
From our “Off The Wall” Showcase to IIIDAZEs “To The Grave” the 757 music scene had plenty of showcases going on all summer long. Events from more established brands such as Traptastics “Higher Learning” event presented a chill vibe and included artists Lacree, Opal,JBDaPilot and Skuzii. We also had events put on by creatives who are newer to the scene such as LoserKevs ( @loserkev on IG ) “The Retrograde” which was a very high energy event and catered to the younger crowd with artists such as Yung Young and Rodeo Glo. There were shows put on by artists themselves such as IIIDAZE “To The Grave” (covered here ) as well as BreezeParks concert which we covered here. Lastly, Wrek Shop Ent. put together the Free Gwalla showcase in honor of Foreign Gwalla, a local artist who was recently locked up. With all of these events going on, there was literally something for everyone to do. Thanks to all of the creatives and curators of the 757, it was beyond impossible for anyone to be bored in the 757 this summer.
Summer 2018 was full of exciting events, awesome music releases and magical moments. What was your favorite 2018 Summer memory? Comment below.
Def Corp artist Rari, who is arguably one of the best lyricists in VA, shocked us all with his lyrical abilities months ago on his song “Rari Effect” is now back with a new release entitled “The Realest”.
The song is produced by Blasian Beats and gives a deeper look into the artists struggle, how he overcame obstacles and his determination to make it in the game. Rari is one of many creatives who is a part of the Def Corp collective which is led by High Def Razjah, the mastermind behind songs such as “Take It Or Leave It” by Rae Sremmurd as well as “Let It Go” by ASAP Ferg. The collective is planning many things for the upcoming months, the release of “The Realest” being the first.
Recently Breezepark has released their newest project “Bloom”, which invites listeners to go on a journey with the group to surpass the normal limits of society and to challenge the status quo. The highly anticipated project promotes ideas of positivity, progression and pushing ones self beyond personal limits and the limits society has in place.
The project, which was released just in time for summer, has a very clean, unique sound that in top quality. The production on the album was done by Virginia greats such Michael Seven and HighDefRazjah who hails from the Def Corp collective, a group that is no stranger to the Virginia music scene and who also has a lot in store for the summer. The project also has some extremely notable features from artists Boris The Lucid, Rozwell Fitzroy and Norfolks very own “God Of All Traps”, Young Crazy.
Music has such an influence on ones outlook on life and with all the negative messages circulating in music today, music that has a captivating, unique sound and motivates listeners to challenge themselves to go beyond the normal is a breath of fresh air. With its pristine sound and positive message, “Bloom” is definitely an album you will want to add to your summer playlist. Check out exclusive footage of the album being made here (shot by DefCorpMedia) and listen to “Bloom” at the links below!
$inbad is Virginia underground artist from Fredericksburg, Virginia who is one of the most noteworthy artists to come from his area. The artist, who recently had the opportunity to open for Yung Pinch, took time to chat with us for #MeetTheArtistMondays and gives us a little background on who he is as a creative. Check it out!
Q. Where are you from?
A: I’m from Fredericksburg, Virginia. Born/raised and will probably never leave.
Q. When and How did you discover that you had a passion for music?
A: I guess you could say I was about 13 when I found my passion for it, except I never really perused it. My oldest brother Michael AKA “Millz” (rip to the realest) used to make music in my parents basement, I would sit around and watch him and friends write rhymes and search beat pages and YouTube to record over, it always made me wanna go for it but being so young I was stupid and wanted to go out with friends instead.
Q. Who do you consider to be your biggest influences?
A: Slim shady ofcourse is my main influence, but besides that, I take influence from bones, pouya, germ, Black Smurf, Xavier wulf, Chris Travis, a lot of underground legends in my eyes. I could go on forever really. Music is just an influence in general.
Q. What has been the hardest thing for you to overcome as a creative?
A: Strictly worrying about myself. That’s a hard thing to do when there’s no many other creatives around you. The more I gained in music, i really started to relax about it and stopped giving a fuck.
Q. What do you think is your biggest accomplishment thus far?
A: Definitely working with some of my favorite artists, in example; Chuuwee, Black Smurf. Also opening for some of my favorite artists and continuing to do so. I’ve opened for Chris Travis, Xavier wulf, Yung Pinch, I was supposed to open for Jgrxxn and Omenxiii but the show kinda went south, so next time on that one, But yeah I think those are some of my biggest accomplishments, also being in the “industry” for maybe a little over a year, and gaining well over 100k plays on soundcloud, gaining close to 1k fans, and just watching my progression, when I stepped in to this “game” I didn’t ease into it, I took the steps others didn’t take for years.
Q. What upcoming projects do you have in store for this year?
Q: I have a main project I’m working on, not speaking on that quite yet. Other than that, I’ll have another EP dropping this year, and also a project with a good homie of mine and a rad artist known as VOHRTEX. So yeah keep a lookout, I dropped an ep earlier this year called PITCH BLACK. So ima just keep it going heavy.
Q. How do you feel about the underground scene? Do you feel as if it is too oversaturated and unoriginal?
A: If anything, I think in the music industry as a whole, the underground is the only original thing we have anymore. I keep up with underground artists more than tmz keeps up with Kim K. Lol
There’s a few that I think are unoriginal, that bite other smaller artists style because they have a higher “clout” but I just ignore em. Can’t get away from clout chasers in 2018, gotta look past em.
8. What qualities about yourself do you feel separates you from other artists?
A: My drive to work hard, and to try and perfect every single syllable I say. Artists now a days will be lazy on a song just because they see other artists get away with it. In my opinion, I’m trying to bring my “mainstream” lyrical sound to the underground and show the underground it doesn’t have to be all about layers and vocal pitches and weird voices to sound cool. BUT IM NOT HATING, I LOVE WEIRD VOICES AND LAYERS IT JUST AINT FOR ME TO TRY haha most of the artist I listen too are what I just described lmao
9. What was your biggest failure as an artist and how did you over come it?
A: Straight up only L I’ve seen myself take so far was getting scammed on a verse by another underground artist that I really fucked with, i won’t say no names, but they know what’s up. I don’t take many Ls tho, I try and stay low key.
Q. What advice do you have to upcoming artists who want to make a name for themselves?
A: Enjoy what you make, cause if you don’t enjoy it; then what makes you think someone else will? Gotta show that you’re passionate. That’s really it.
Keep up with Sinbad on his social media at the links and handles below.
