Karim Diane does it again. Back to back smash songs in back to back weeks. I think by now ya’ll already know how I feel about his talent, If I had to put my money on one up and comer that will make it big in this industry, it’ll be him. His growth as an RnB singer over these past few months has been amazing.
This song is called “Socks On” and it’s FLAMES!!!!!! Produced and written by D.A. He has also done work for 2 Pistols. Make sure you check him out as well.
Yessir buddy. Joseph “Jumpoff” Budden is back with an album before the album. For those that don’t know, Joe Budden is probably my favorite rapper. Not just right now but of all time. His Mood Muzik series (pt 1-3) and his work on other peoples songs have turned me into a loyalist.
This mixtape is loaded with joints and features production from my people over at Mizfitz Sounds. They’re a great production group based out of Baltimore and 3 songs on a Joe Budden album is a great look for them.
This week’s artist is Karim Diane formally known as Kay.
I’ve had a vested interest in this kid since he first inquired about working with The Famous Firm about 6 months back. I was really impressed by the fact that at age 18 he was already balancing the behind the scenes work with the actual music. Not many up and comers can say they’ve had Stevie Wonder co-sign their talent, which led to an appearance in Complex magazine.
When I first met the singer, he was already being heavily courted by rapper Gravy (Biggie in the movie Notorious) and his management group. They saw and still see what everyone else sees in the young singer;an upside that rivals a late 90′s Usher.
Over the past 6 months, we’ve seen him go through a transformation highlighted by a name change (from Kay to Karim Diane) after encouragement from Ankh Rha, Diddy’s vocal trainer for Day 26 and Danity Kane. The best thing about Karim is his humility and the fact that despite already establishing a fan base he still seeks ways to improve upon his talent.
It’s a matter of time before the rest of the industry sees what I’ve seen in Karim since day 1; a star
This new song “You Got It” speaks for itself. This is my gym/running anthem for the rest of the month.
Download Link
Phollow Up:
You can keep up with Karim by adding him on his myspace.
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Tagged Am I The Only One Seeing This, Talent? Did Someone Say Talent?
Let me applaud Jadakiss, Fabolous and Juelz for rapping like its the 99-03 era again.
No slowed up Lil Wayne flow, no “i’m flyer than” talk, no taking two lines to explain your last punchline which wasn’t even that hot, no autotune. Just good old fashion spitting. Great job fellas.
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Tagged Secretly An Old Head, Talent? Did Someone Say Talent?
Talib Kweli+Phella+B.O.B
Phella (Croc Skin Creative) vs B.O.B. (Army Green Creative)
First off let me say this was one of the dopest shows I’ve been to all year. If you just like good live music, then this was the show for you. Here’s a recap of what went down.
I was actually on my way to the gym when Sickamore asked me to deliver Colin Munroe’s song to B.O.B who happened to be performing not too far from me. I get cleaned up, burn the cd and head over to the show.
The night starts off with a band called The Rhythm Roots All-Stars. They had the 10 piece on lock and they played for all 3 perfomers as well.
Next up was B.O.B. Most people probably know him from the “Haters” song but he’s actually got a lot more than that to offer. I heard the “Haters” record way before it came out and I thought it was a dope song but I also thought he would just be another artist chasing singles. This show proved me wrong. Imagine a younger Andre 3000 that can play the guitar. Yea I said Andre 3000, sue me. I know that’s high praise but if you were at the show you would co-sign. B.O.B ran through a set that included joints like “Mellow Fellow” and his new single “I’ll Be In The Sky”. He also let his man Playboy Tre run through some joints including an ill song called “Liquor Store Mascot”….lookout for him as well, I bumped his demo on the way home and he got music too.
Sidebar:My top 3 stageshows of 2008:1.Kanye West 2.Colin Munroe 3.B.O.B.
Him and Colin are similar in the sense that they both have tremendous range in their music. The collab should be one for the ages.
Like that wasn’t enough, Bob’s manager T.J. slides me backstage. Back there I kind of had an embarassing moment. Tabi Bonney was back there and it really really really looked like him but I wasn’t sure. So I kept looking like I should go say whats up, but you never wanna say whats up to the wrong person. I’m use to him having long hair, I didn’t know he cut his hair. Tabi Bonney is the first DC rapper, at least in my genration to get serious air play on MTV and VH1 and on national radio. He has his own style and his music is dope. I’ve been a fan for a while now, so Tab if you read this, accept my apology for not recognizing a pioneer.
After chopping it up for a bit, Talib Kweli walks into the room. I don’t get crazy excited anymore when I meet celebrities, but I do enjoy meeting people who do or have done great things. I’m big on acknowledging history and making history. Meeting Kweli was a true honor.
So I head over to the balcony and check out David Banner show. His show was dope too….he did classics like “Like A Pimp” and new joints like “Stuntin Is A Habit” and the Lil Wayne joint. My favorite had to be “Cadillacs On 22′s”…that song is bananas..especially live.
David Banner had the most energy. He’s drinking beers, handing out waters, jumping in and out of the crowd, all types of stuff. Then he gets off stage and he’s mad peaceful and humble. Shaking everyones hand and serving people orange juice backstage. Two different Banners on and off stage.
Then Kweli went up there and brought it home. “Hot Thing”, “Get By”, “Get Em High”, some Black Star joints and my personal favorite, “The Blast”. The crowd went crazy for Kweli. They chanted his name for like 10 mins after he got off stage…prompting him to return with the other acts and they freestyled over beats by The Rhythm Roots.
Dope night, dope show….now I’m mad inspired. As a talent rep, inspired that there’s still so much true talent out there. And as an artist, inspired that the people still embrace creativity that way.
Peace
Phell
Listen To Good Lovin Ft. Fabolous By Clicking Here
Album coming Nov 18th. A&R’d, orchestrated, masterminded by Sickamore Of The Famous Firm.
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Tagged Talent? Did Someone Say Talent?, The Industry's Good Side
The man is going to be a force to be reckoned with in 2009. Colin’s Myspace.
I like this chick a lot and I’ve been following her grind for a minute. She’s real talented and down to earth….eerily similar to Beyonce when she talks. I hope JD does good by her.
