He’s been shrouded in controversy over his debut video, arguably the most graphic in years. He’s had the Hip-Hop world fixated on his ‘Perscription’, and now they’re fiending for the ‘Refill.’ During my conversation with Pink City’s own, Pill, he opened up about a barrage of topics including:

*His family
*Growing up in an urban environment
*His first introduction to rapping and his influence

In a round about sense, he spoke about everything, way too much to sit here and attempt to list. You won’t want to miss this.

I had a chance to sit down with Witchita, Kansas, born rapper, Donovan Johnson, better known as XV. “The  kid with the green backpack”, who created a buzz strictly through his own hustle, opened up about on an array of topics including: his Kansas upbringing, his taste in music and production, how he first met DJ Enuff and future endeavors. XV is gearing up for the release of his next project, the highly anticipated “Everybody’s Nobody”, boasting features from Ne-Yo, Lil Wayne, Colin Munroe, Wiz Khalifa, Big Sean and more. The mixtape drops on July 31 and will be hosted by DJ Enuff and DJ Benzi.

Once again, I found myself in the same studio, where the Rhymefest & Curren$y interview took place, this time ‘The Introduction’ brings you Roc Nations first signee J Cole. I heard about Mr. Jermaine Cole from BDot at RapRadar a few months back, he went on and on about how he was the next big thing. I did some research on J, and was able to find a few things aboout him, via nahright. After listening to “Grown Simba,” I was hooked!  J Cole & I discuss his deal, college life, music, twitter and everything in between. He also gives us a first listen to “Dollar & Dream” which will be released on his mixtape, coming out next month.  The verdict is already in on him, and he is definitely someone to look out for in 2009. If you havent realized it’s lightskin season! Make sure you check out the other inductees into ‘The Introduction“

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvUa7-2zN_A&hl=en&fs=1

Success in the music industry is notoriously difficult. Whether it be the obstacle of not having the backing of a major label, or the lack of respect and support from superstar rappers and fans alike, the road to stardom is far from easy. Many people have fallen at the hands of these hardships. One man who has thrived in these conditions is California rapper Roccett.  His talent and drive caught the attention of Get Your Green Up Entertainment in 2004, and his partnership with the company, which has worked with notables like Usher and Tupac, has produced a sizable buzz. Having already worked with established stars like Young Jeezy, Fabolous, Killer Mike, Knoc’turn’al and other rappers like Young Buck and Akon at this young stage of his career, as well as having critically acclaimed mixtapes under his belt, Roccett’s talent is clear. With so many dues paid, his industry knowledge and the groundwork set, Roccett is poised to make lasting impression on hip-hop. Roccett is the newest “inductee” to The Introduction.  Learn more about this Cali native as KarenCivil.com takes a ride through New York City with a G.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwwjMyBPVZ4

You already know what it is. From the way he greets you, to the words that he speaks. The uniform he wears is bold, aggressive and absolutely intimidating. He’s authentic – the offspring of the West Coast’s most celebrated talent – yet and still a novelty all his own. In an industry that’s fallen victim to bubble gum lyrics and erroneous dance fads to match, he’s the spokesperson the block wants for. He’s the sociopolitical outrage of Ice Cube and N.W.A. He’s Snoop Dogg before you knew his name and Ice T after an unexpected knock at 6 o’clock in the morning. He’s the very definition of Slauson & Crenshaw – a self-inspired movement and a name you can trust. He is Nipsey Hussle. Nipsey gives you a break down on touring with Game & Jay Rock, his new album and his new mixtape “Bullets Aint got No Name Vol III’. I got a chance to hear one of the records, Nipsey doesn’t disappoint.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHh5_u_jEc4&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0×999999

My homie Curren$y was in New York doing some recording, so I caught up with him to talk favorite rappers, XXL cover, new Mixtape and much more.  Expect to see plenty more features on Curren$y on my blog, he is added to the list of rappers to look out for in 09!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx5cdOfTmFM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0×99999

I was in South Beach, Miami this weekend and met up with Young Money artist Mack Maine. Mack is a 20 enough (as he would like to call it) year old rapper, from the Hollygrove area of New Orleans. Mack who is now  being pushed to the forefront by his Young Money Ent Label. With a feature on the first single on Lil Wayne’s album titled “Got Money”, with a much anticipated  mixtape dropping next week titled “This is Just a mixtape” hosted by DJ Cannon he is sure to be a 09 favorite. Mack says “people gonna ask why this aint on your album.” His first solo LP  titled “Timeless Music” which is slated for a feb 09 release thru Young Money/Soothe Your Soul records. Mack who also manages Wayne, helps run Young Money Ent Label and just launched his own label “soothe your Soul Records”. Mack briefly spoke about his relationship with Lil Wayne saying “We don’t look at each other as friends, we brothers, We’ve known each other since we were 6 yrs old, same hood, we family”…Till the tape drops, if you haven’t Familiarized yourself with Mack Mizzy, get familiar and check out the recent joints he’s featured on below. “Young Maine for President, I’d probably paint the white house black if it was my residents…”- Mack Mizzy

Download:

‘Lil wayne ft Mack Maine, Willie the Kid, & La the Da Darkman – Da Art of Storytellin’ 4 freestyle

Alchemist ft. Mack Maine – My Money Is My Bitch

This weekend I got a chance to meet up with Aubrey Graham/Jimmy Brooks Drake who was in town for his 22nd birthday. We kicked it in starbucks on 42nd for awhile and talked hiphop, fashion and everything in between. If you aren’t to familiar with Drake, I suggest you get up to speed.  Drake has been on the Hit TV show “Degrassi” for about 8 years now, and with his music career on the rise, he is separating himself from that particular show.  We also talked about his pilot TV show he shot called “Us & Them“, it is based around him and his best friend who where trying to break into the acting business. We touched on the “Replacement Girl” single and how that callabo came about with Trey Songz. “I met him threw someone who was working with me at the time, I wrote the hook with Trey Songz in mind, I met him at his crib in ATL, he heard the record, went downstairs and recorded it. I have to say we have I one of the strongest friendships {Industry Wise}.” {Trey Songz happen to text/email as he was explainging} Hip-hop and Music lovers everywhere… YOU’RE WELCOME

Drake: My name is Drake and I’m a rapper/singer/actor/writer from Toronto, Canada. I started out acting for 8 years on a show called “Degrassi”, but I’ve always had a passion for music. Most recently in the past couple of years, however, I decided to pursue it more and it’s going great.

You had the single “Replacement Girl” with Trey Songz, which did well for you. However, over the last few months your records with Wayne hit the scene hard. Can you tell me how did that happen?

Drake: I met Wayne threw a friend of mine from Houston. Basically what happened is I was getting my haircut one day and I received this call. I picked up on some regular shit. It was Wayne and he was like ‘What’s up this Weezy, I’ve been listening to your CD. Can you get on a plane tonight?” So I jumped on a plane and went to Houston, and waited like eight or nine hours to even meet Wayne. When I met him he was getting the wings tat, the huge ones on his side that took forever. We all just kicked it, and he played me The Carter III. It was like almost instantly we had a connection about music and rap, lyrics and verses. We saw eye to eye on a lot of things. I ended up staying with him for like a week and half on the road, and one night we were at HOTBEATS in Atlanta. We recorded like three songs that night. After that he was like a mentor to me, we built from there; we do songs all the time. It was a great situation to meet Wayne and great for my whole buzz.

Explain your whole label situation to me. Some people say your own Interscope, but your MySpace says your independent.

Drake: Well my deal is in the works, so it’s still being negotiated. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but it’s going great though. I’ve got a great situation with Interscope, Cortez Bryant, who manages Wayne, and Gee Roberson, who manages Kanye West. It’s a great situation situation I hope goes through, knock on wood, by the end of this year.

Which artist(s) do you have on heavy rotation? What’s on your iPod?

Drake: Lately, I’ve been listening to all of Kanye’s new stuff, all the leaks that have been coming out. I’m a big, big Kanye West supporter. I don’t even want to say fan, I just appreciate and respect that man for what he does. I’ve been listening to Dwele’s album a lot. Rapper wise: I mean I like Gucci Mane, Andre 3000, obviously Wayne, my stuff. There is a lot of music I appreciate. I go on the blogs and try and keep up with new stuff that comes out. I’m a big fan of south rap, cause I’m always a fan from something I’m removed from. I love Gucci Mane because I could never do what he does.

So what are you working on now?

Drake: I have an album in the works tentatively titled Thank Me Later. The concept behind this title, like you said the reason we’re doing this interview, is I put in a lot of hard work, and because of my past as an actor or I necessarily don’t look like the typical rapper or whatever the typical rapper looks like. It may go over people’s head this first go ’round and they may not know who I am, so I know I’m about to create a timeless project. That’s the concept,. I have a mixtape called “So Far Gone” and it’s basically me getting to do everything that just too far for an album. I love singing, I love doing a lot of stuff that may not necessarily fit the slots for the album. “So Far Gone” will come out right before the album, and it will probably be a lot of stuff I did from my heart that won’t just get to make it this time, so I’m going to give people two projects to listen to.

Productions wise/feature wise?

Drake: I don’t like to talk about that. I work with a lot of people, so I don’t know what’s going to make the album. There are a lot of people I enjoyed working with.

What collabo have you don’t that you really liked or just stands out in your mind?

Drake: I like working with Justice League. I sat down with Polo and we talked about our approach on this album, so I look to forward with working with him. I got a chance to hop on a record with Chris Brown. It’s never going to come out, but I look forward to working with Chris on our own record. There’s a lot of people I’m looking forward to working with. They haven’t happened yet, but I know it will. Like Ye’, Pharell, DipLow, there a lot of producers in the game that’s very talented. At the come up stage they seem out of reach but you’ve got to look forward to it regardless. Without those guys,I have some great records for the album right now, so I can’t image when everything comes about.

Well this is “The Introduction”. You can leave them with a few words.

Drake: This is the introduction, so hopefully we will be seeing a lot more of each other in the future. Octobers Own, check us out on octobersveryown.blogspot.com. I’m looking forward to giving everyone some timeless material, which hopefully I can make the soundtrack to your life, because I know I’m making the soundtrack to mine.