The New Face Of The Renaissance ...

He seemed to be the type of artist that I simply wouldn't enjoy. I took pride in loving and understanding Hip Hop at a time when it meant something, before there were entire songs dedicated to jewelry or the like. This cat was young, fresh faced, clean cut ... does he sing? Yea I went there lol. However a couple of years after I dismissed this artist, without even taking the time to listen to his music, he was buzzin all over the net. I couldn't get online without seeing the name "ESSO" and although I was proud of the Harlem native for making a name for himself, I still refused to take a serious listen to his work. It wasn't until he was well into the process of making E-Day (his third installment of his mixtape trilogy) that I went to his Myspace page and was overwhelmed by what I heard. Simply put ESSO is a breath of fresh air ... he's a street wise, college educated, baseball player/model who can freestyle his face off, pour his heart out on a track and out perform some of your favorite mainstream artists. I downloaded everything I could possibly download with his name on it and I haven't been disappointed yet (trust me I was looking for the flaws lol) in fact his catalog consists of some of my favorite songs PERIOD! Lucky for you great readers you don't have to simply take my humble word for it. ESSO's music is free to download and his blog is witty and entertaining, go check him out for yourselves.Go to  ESSO's Blog   and ESSO's music you won't be disappointed

-Dina and I'm out!!

BlakRoc: Ain't Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo) Ft. Mos Def and Jim Jones

I've been a fan of the Black Keys since the release of "Rubber Factory" back in 2005 which is actually pretty late considering that their first album "The Big Come Up" was released in 2002. Their sound can be described as a bluesy soulful form of Rock music, which makes them palatable to even those who aren't into rock at all. As a person who is surrounded by artists of all genres, I come across new and interesting music all of the time and I've noticed the gap between my musician friends and my friends who live "normal 9 to 5 lives" . The gap has widened over the years leaving me in an awkward position when discussing music amongst friends. I'm assuming that Damon Dash came across the same issue when he decided to merge "The Black Keys" and Hip Hop music. The former Roc-A-Fella co- CEO has either knowingly or mistakenly given Hip Hop music the sound that it had been missing for so long. Which is ironic considering that he helped bring the genre to it's breaking point with the constant drug, money, hoes, clothes references by his former business partner and friend Sean Carter (Jay -Z). Mr. Dash has been instrumental in creating BlackRoc an album which consists of the band "The Black Keys" with notable Hip Hop Artists such as Mos Def, Jim Jones, Ludacris, Q-Tip and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard amongst a host of others. The beauty and soul of this album is amazing and although Rock and Hip Hop aren't quite strangers I think we all can agree that it's time for them to get reacquainted.

If you enjoy this album, stay tuned because they are currently working on a follow up with The Cool Kids and Jay Electronica amongst others. Enjoy the video... Deuces

-Dina and I'm out!!