"Hillmatic" Showcase in Chapel Hill

When it comes to the HipHop History of North Carolina, Chapel Hill is one of the foundation landmarks. With venues such as The Local 506, Cats Cradle and the now closed Jack Sprat, the town is rich with monumental events. In the forefront of this history is Kevin "Kaze" Thomas, as one of the few OGs still pushing and repping the HipHop Culture of this predominately college run town. 

The 1st Annual "Hillmatic" Showcase promises to deliver a peek into the past, present & future of Chapel Hill's talent.  20+ years of HipHop in the Hill! Most emcees I've met and/or worked with reminisce about "Microphone Mondays", the legendary beat battles with Apple Juice Kid, Erv Ford, Khrysis and Skaz, the HipHop Nation TV show and Sunday Night Sessions. Everybody who was anybody emerging from North Carolina's Underground scene came through the Hill at some point in time... J.Cole, TYFU, King Mez, Jozeemo, JGunn, K-Hill, 9th Wonder, Little Brother, Kaze and many more. This "Hillmatic" event promises to deliver a major celebratory night of good music, undeniable talent and unforgettable history. Performers include JSwiss, No9to5, Well$, Fluent, Kaze, and special performances by SkyBlew & The Digidestined Band and J Rowdy & The Nightshift band.

In the words of Kaze:

Wow. The city with so many contributions, hosted moments, and talent instrumental in the Carolina#HipHop Movement its unreal. UNC HipHopNation. TYFU. Sankofa. Haxoba. Underbrush. Dj Pez. Birthplace of the ORIGINAL Apple Chill.The many shows Shaw and Uzi did at Cats Cradle that brought stars within reach. They put us on those shows. L in Japanese. Phonetic. A Typical. LowKey. The MC battles w/ me, Phonte, JGunn, and Jozeemo. HipHopNationTV. Microphone Monday. The legendary Beat Battles. Who gonna win? Erv, Slack, Apple Juice, Dirty, Khrysis or Skaz? Dj Flash and Izzy Nice killing shit. 9th was there. BigDaddyKane. ButtaTeam too. Fayettenam and Durham in the house. But they'll let you know that for sure. Cole was there. So was Nerv. SundayNightSessions. Mez was there. We all were. Every week. Bishop holding it down. Big Darrian at the door. Dr. Katz establishing HipHop curriculum at UNC-CH. Freestyling in The Pit continues til this day. Pierce Freelon and Apple Juice taking BeatLab worldwide. Damn homie I could keep going on and on. But that's what AUG. 22 is for. #HILLMATIC. 

Don't miss out on is looking to be a yearly festival of North Carolina's music history!

FOLLOW

Tickets for Hillmatic

@kaze4letters (IG)

@rowdylife (IG)

@jswisshere (IG)

@retro_flu (IG)

@SkyBlewMusic (IG)

JSwiss "Monopoly"

The evolution of HipHop would be in safe hands if we could hear more rappers like JSwiss...a true lyricists with a heavy influence of the 90s prevalent in his rhymes. JSwiss is a native of New York but spent a few years in North Carolina while furthering his education. While in North Carolina, he helped build a team of young emcee's known to us as "No9to5" and I became a fan after catching them on stage together numerous times. As solo emcee's, each member has his own unique style and flow, but when they come together on the stage, their presence is felt by the need to jump around with them. 

"Monopoly" is a single for an upcoming compilation project by OK-Tho.com titled "Nostalgia", but here's a taste of what you will hear when you hit play...

"Mind power, I get lauded for honestly in my messages...Shouldn't get points for the truth, should be expecting it...Effortless, you think I'm goin in, this is me on some sedatives...Gambled with my Grandma as a kid, I'm competitive..."

"Dare you to question my skill and watch the answer hurt you in the heart, I'm lightyears ahead and here to bring truth to the dark..."

Follow JSwiss
Facebook Fan Page
@jswisshere
Website

1UP...Rap Star

So, I'm always excited when I hear about a new artist in the area, even more so if I can catch them at a show and they kill the stage. Exactly what happened Friday night at Cat's Cradle Benefit Show for P.O.S. During JSwiss's set, he brought out his new crew that he's been rocking with, known as "No9to5". 

"A hip hop collective created in the dorm rooms of UNC-Chapel Hill"... Cayso , Rowdy, JSwiss, Optimus Rhymes, P-Rob and Topiq the Smooth Prophet make up the collection of artists in "No9to5" and they all have the same goal...to not be restrained to a 9 to 5 job/lifestyle and to "make it" in the world by pursuing their dream...Music! 

I'm sure this is just my first feature on these artists, so check out the video by Rowdy and Cayso (also known together as 1UP)...Rap Star! This caught my attention because of the creativeness in the visuals...it's not your average video. There's a little bit of everything! 

Follow No9to5:

www.no9to5music.com

Facebook

Audiomack

@jswisshere

@RowdyLife

@incaseyousayso

@No9to5Music

@_Topiq_

@OptimusRhymesNC

@jrocthemuzik

@theBeowolfe

JSwiss...Out Of State Intuition Part 2: Leave Me A Loan

New York native, North Carolina resident, Julian (JSwiss) Caldwell, has been putting in work this year with two projects dropping weeks apart. The newest being his album, cleverly titled, "Out of State Intuition Part 2: Leave Me A Loan". The album is sponsored by Thrill City Clothing and Prime Time Media. Production credits go out to Ace Dizzy Flow, K-Hill, Foolery of Kooley High, JSwiss himself and others. Free download is available on AudioMack or support your local artist and pay the $2 to download it on Bandcamp (He is a college student so help a brother out!). 

Follow JSwiss:
Facebook
Bandcamp
2WordsTheTop
@JSwisshere

Intelligent Design: 2WordsTheTop & Famco Clothing Compilation

I'm always happy to see when different "teams" work together and put dope projects out for us. The "Intelligent Design Mixtape Compilation" is one of these said projects. This is a collection of Hip Hop artists exclusive tracks gathered by 2WordsTheTop.com and FamCo Clothing with sponsoring by DJBooth.net and RefinedHype blog sites. Take the time to download and listen!

Artists featured on the project are JSwiss, K-Hill, SkyBlew, SK4MC, RoQ'y TyRaid, Buck, S.Gold, Mondega, Blax, Malicious, FSM, Charmingly Ghetto and other artists featured within their tracks. 

Find the Mixtape Here:

DJBooth.net