Star Mic is becoming a rising star. His witty lyricism coupled with a sick flow over dope beats also proves why he was the 2013 ASCAP freestyle contest winner.
— DJ V.I.P., hiphopsince1987.com
They say everyone has the ability to be a genius, born with a gift, or not. Michael Ashby “Star Mic” was born in Jamaica Hospital, Queens, New York as an only child. A quiet, yet commanding presence speaks to his aura. A beacon radiantly screaming a bright star the minute you hear Star Mic rhyme. Mic began rapping before he was 13, 11 years old to be exact. He didn’t take it seriously at the time until he put out his first project ‘From Queens To Everywhere’ in 2010. Many might ask when Mic first fell in love with Hip Hop and an interesting story was when, New York Radio Hot 97 dj and car fanatic Funk Master Flex introduced Star Mic to the world by calling him every day on his popular evening segment called “Air it out”. Star Mic daily activity intrigued Funk Master Flex so much that Star became a regular on the segment every night. Ironically a few years later Star Mic won Hot 97 Dj Monsee’s talent competition in New York. Beating out artists twice his age with a commanding stage presence, Star Mic captivates audiences when he performs. Showcasing an ability to make songs, records, rhymes better, and high powered at an age when most artist are just touching their talent surface. Star Mic has released three critically acclaimed mix-tapes; ‘From Queens To Everywhere’ parts 1 & 2, ‘Teenage Romance Love Story’ & his latest project ‘TEAR$ Over Diamonds’ which will be out soon! Star Mic appeared on the “Scream Tour” in 2011. Performing alongside some of today’s most promising up and coming young stars such as; “Mindless Behavior”, “Diggy Simmons” “Jacob Latimore”, “Juwan Harris”, and others. Star Mic has so far been on a journey to follow his dreams, and showing progress.
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“…Eugenius Neutron is the perfect blend of dope storytelling and well thought out rhyme schemes… Many rappers talk about similar subjects but Eugenics sets himself apart from the pack with clever lines… a well deserved 5 stars.”
— Concrete Magazine
Eugenius has been sharing his hip hop doctrine from the tender age of nine. The tone of his music began to change once he began high school and started venturing into the city. Eager to flood the streets with his music and taking a note from MP, a legend in Birmingham who created a street buzz with his self-marketing techniques, Eugenius released multiple mixtapes and flooded the streets selling his CD’s and performed all throughout the Birmingham metroplex.
With money saved from working at nightclubs and profit from his CD’s, Eugenius put himself in college at Alabama A&M in Huntsville. Without a booming hip hop community in the college town, he joined the poetry society and began creating music that was less mainstream, more conscious and relatable. The BET Black College Tour gave him an outlet to showcase his incredible wordplay through their annual freestyle battle that Eugene won two years in a row. During the time, he began collaborating with his good friend and producer B-Flat Trax. Their song “Pass Me By” expanded his fan-base and became popular in the city of Huntsville.
“I stopped wanting to be like the artists who I looked up to while I was in high school and wanted to be myself and find my own voice,” remembers Eugenius. “The atmosphere in Huntsville was much more productive. I was able to be more creative. Birmingham is a tough place to live and develop. Huntsville gave me that space and opportunity.”
After mastering mixtapes, in 2011 Eugenius decided to release his first studio recording with all original music. “The Brainstorm”, spawned two singles, “Pass Me By” and “Searching for my Zen”. The project was sold on iTunes but was available for a free download on sites such as Datpiff and Bandcamp. The following year, he released the mixtape “Million Dollar Dreams”, which was given a five star rating by Concrete Magazine. In the following year, expanding his musical boundaries Eugenius elected to offer his fans a jazz influenced project. He documented his past experiences and interactions with the nightlife he was accustomed to in “The Roaring 2000’s: Beauties and the Beast”. The collection showcased a tale of a modern day bachelor and gentleman. Four of the songs were regularly featured in the Alabama Now segment on 95.7 Jamz in Birmingham.
His upcoming release “Euniversal Understanding” is an evolution of a young kid who dedicated his life to music for the love of hip hop. His story is a coming of age tale that shows the impact of music on a young man destined to share his stories and enlighten the world through song.
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Modern day hip hop has become a battleground where binged out messiahs of materialism have often gained the upper hand, but MCs OSI and IseQold of the Regiment are the positive force for change in music.
OSI and Ise define the Regiment as “a number of people fighting for a common cause.” When the cause is something as vast as Hip Hop culture there are no individuals that can get the job done alone. OSI and IseQold now lead The Regiment and legions of music lovers wanting quality work are willing to join the battle. Dealing with the everyday struggles of trying to make it in an often brutal world, The Regiment leaves the gold plated fantasies to others. Taking cues from artists as diverse as KRS-1 and J-Dilla, the crew mixes the uplifting with the painfully truthful alongside production reminiscent of the days when people of all ages could listen and enjoy musical truth.
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“Once you take a listen to this, you figure out quickly why AF THE NAYSAYER is quickly becoming a big deal. It’s bold yet basic, simplistic without sounding thin, and lush but not cluttered. In the end, he’s created his own sound while gently nodding the soul and the funk of those who came before him.”
— Houston Free Press
An up-and-coming voice in the electronic music and instrumental hip-hop scene, the South’s own AF THE NAYSAYER is a Louisiana-based, Los Angeles-bred producer. AF cites g-funk producer DJ Battlecat and legendary video game composer Yuji Takenouchi as his biggest influences. Iman Omari, Los Angeles producer and singer-songwriter, describes AF’s first EP as, “Electrifying soul-hop with a splash of purple rain; full of vibes!”
AF’s debut EP, the Autodidact Instrumentals Vol. 1, is a masterful postmodern blend of 80’s R&B and 90’s West Coast hip-hop that has served as the backdrop for many BMX web edits for FITBIKECO, DAN’S COMP, and ESPN. His collaborations in New Orleans have led him to co-curate producer Jneiro Jarel’s “Viberian Experience” music series, as well as the creation and hosting of the Dolo Jazz Suite showcase. AF is also currently the New Orleans ambassador for Red Bull Music Academy.
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“I love to have this type of music playing when my friends come over just so I can have something fresh to introduce to them. I like to think of RMVBM as the guys who birthed oxygen… let that soak in.”
— Fresh Plug
A breath of fresh air with an air of competition, RMVBM (Hop and Crash) is a pair of mask donning emcees based at Auburn University. Aside from rapping, RMVBM is capable of producing, engineering audio, drawing, painting, and scratching turntables. That, along with Hop being from Atlanta and Crash being from Brooklyn, presents a unique dynamic that is unparalleled. Although newly formed in July 2013, RMVBM has already shared the stage with acts such as Pen Pals, DJ Mafioso, DJ Rashido, Boog Brown, and Yamin Semali. They recently released their self-produced debut album, Rocket Man vs. Better Man.
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In an internet age where information is coming to us at light speed, how does one bridge the gap between real life and our pixelated version? Stay Tuned to find out.
One of the few live acts to successfully marry the concept of Audio and Visual – and quite possibly the only live Hip-Hop act to do so – Stay Tuned was the most fitting name for the outfit, based initially on their love for all “sub-genres” of Hip-Hop and music as a whole, and the influence those styles have had on them. This was first reflected in the recorded music made, taking Boom-Bap, Dubstep/Electro, Hardcore, Downtempo…righteously, whatever moved them at the moment, and crafting live sets as such. Boston MC, Akrobatik pointed out to the duo that he admired how they’d bounce around sonically in their live sets, which was also metaphoric for the ups and downs that were faced in the industry itself. The light bulb flashed. MC Mane Rok figured “Stay Tuned” would perfectly describe the musical path taken-of which grew when the live set coupled itself with the visual portion, leaving the group’s then DJ-DeeJay Tense- as the program director controlling a live video feed with his turntables. This continued to grow and began to come full circle, influencing how overall ideas and themes for albums came to fruition. The first being the fictional story of a serial killer (with an underlying theme questioning media practices) in the form of “Murder He Wrote: A Love Story.”
The Stay Tuned moniker would allow the group to have interchangeable parts. Akin to the idea of channel surfing, letting them invite special guest performers, making each show unique. The channel surfing idea has now come to full bloom in their self titled EP released 1/24/15 (simply take a listen to understand), which was also the official introduction of the groups new DJ, DJ AWHAT!! (formerly of The Pirate Signal,) and the change itself begs the listener to…well…Stay Tuned.
**NEWS FLASH** Another update has come the way of Stay Tuned in that they’ve officially added frequent collaborator and long time fellow L.I.F.E. Crew member Ichiban in to the fold. The trio officially released “After This Break”(5/2/15), a mixtape only found in physical format at live shows as well as having begun to work on a new 7 song EP. Stay Tuned.
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C1UB:A.M. is a hip-hop collective hailing from Birmingham, AL and consisting of 3 members — Love N Sin, WhoSaine Jett, and ChriStyle. While still under the radar, their aggressive performances at open mic nights has landed the C1UB some opening show slots for big name artists such as Curren$y, Big Krit, Hopsin, Bubba Sparxxx, Mod Sun and more.
ChriStyle and Love N Sin formed the group in November of 2011 with Jett joining shortly after its birth based on common interests. C1UB AM’s sound varies between many styles of hip-hop, from North to South. You can expect drum driven production topped off with melodic encounters and in house production. Lyricism is a primary focus, and the C1UB is commited to getting their point across by delivering their lyrics with energy and focus. Wake up to the tune of the C1UB:A.M.!
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“Random’s proven he can excel in storytelling, punchlines, poignancy, freestyling and, well, pretty much any other way you can measure an MC.”
— LA Weekly
Random, aka Mega Ran, or Random Beats. Teacher, Rapper, Hero.
If you put video games, the 80’s, hip-hop, soul music, jazz and standup comedy into a blender and hit “puree,” you’d have something close to The Mega Ran Experience.
Before being chosen as LA Weekly’s “Rapper Most Likely To Be Big in 2014,” The Penn State graduate and self-proclaimed “TeacherRapperHero” made waves by going way left of his backpack roots by combining 8-bit video game sounds and hard hitting hip-hop tracks, and has become a trailblazer in the budding genres of chiptune and nerdcore hip-hop, while maintaining a career as a middle school teacher. Ran’s first album “The Call” was a critical success, featuring tracks with some of the underground’s most respected heads.
Ran cut his teeth in the city of Philadelphia as a moonlighting emcee and producer, performing, freestyle rapping, producing and later engineering at a studio. After relocating to Phoenix, competing in the Scribble Jam emcee battle championships and taking an early exit, Ran almost quit before he was even started, when a creative lightning bolt struck, and a fire was lit.
Retro video games were the catalyst. Random began the transformation into Mega Ran, his alter-ego, an ode to the classic video game character Mega Man. After creating a tribute album and receiving an unprecedented level of support and blessing from Capcom to continue, Ran was reborn and became a trailblazer in the budding “nerdcore” and chiptune subgenres, while coining his own term to describe what he had done, “Chip-Hop.”
Various video game developer co-signs and admiration from the genre’s toughest critics have led to placements in TV, movies, university coursework, and of course, games. Random’s music and story have been shared on stages across the world, on television (ABC/NBC News, ESPN, Portlandia, Tosh.O, WWE Wrestling) and in leading music, gaming and tech publications, print and online.
Today, Random is no longer a teacher by title, but maintains a rigorous touring and recording schedule, traveling the world to entertain and educate through the gift of rhyme. With 3 million YouTube views, over $50,000 raised on Kickstarter, and a legion of smart art fans he calls “Team Mega” beside him, the future looks brighter than ever.
Now that’s Random.
“Through his transparency, it was clear to me that Jabee is one of those people who gets it. He understands the world from a larger perspective, and his music and work reflect that understanding. He focuses on honesty within his music, and being authentic—and he encourages other artists to do the same.”
— Cellar Door Music Group
“Jabee’s music has the potential to change the world.” Chuck D personally said on air of his radio program and personal twitter. Jabee was outstanded to hear this from one of the most profound hip hop pioneers. Jabee is a rapper born and raised from Oklahoma City. While his Hometown is not Known for their hip hop culture, his accomplishments have topped locally and national attention. While on NBA lockout, Kevin Durant, had Jabee perform at his All star NBA game. Towards the end of 2013 Jabee was an opener for EL-P & Killer Mike on the “Run The Jewels Tour”. Following the RTJ tour Murs caught wind of Jabee and his music. He offered Jabee a one off LP deal on Mur’s label 316. Dropping in December of 2013 “Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt” was released. The album “Everything Was Beautiful And Nothing Hurt” debuted at #50 on the itunes charts and is still climbing with physical and digital sales. With national attention and europe attention Murs then asked Jabee to be the main supporting act on the Ice box Tour. For the latter of the 2014 Jabee has been on the road becoming one of the fastest rising stars. as of June 2014, Jabee has appeared in home and sports bars across the country during the 2014 NBA draft. Jabee was a vocal and focal point for a leading role in the new NIKE x Kevin Durant Commercial “The Baddest”. soon after the NIKE commercial, Jabee received some news. Jabee had been nominated by Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) for an Emmy, with funnel design group. Shortly after JABEE won a Emmy Award for his performance in “What if”. A solo commercial he wrote and styled for the Science Museum of Oklahoma. Most recently Jabee was invited to Shade 45 in NYC to be featured and interviewed by Sway of “Sway in The Morning”. While on air Jabee was able to show his musical talent but also his likeness, humility, and performance range to the public. All while gaining high praise from Sway and his team at Shade 45 and MTV.
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“He’s a guy with huge dreams and skills to match”
— Ryan Murphy
Cash Lansky (Label 316, Murs 316) is an independentartist from Tucson, Arizona. Cash was hand picked by the Living Legend himself, Murs, and asked to be an artist on Murs’ label, Label 316. Cash has toured with the likes of Murs, Jabee, Kosha Dillz, Curtiss King, Mayday, and Mursday. Cash has been a part of several music festivals such as Viva PHX and SXSW 2014, as well as featured on a “Team Back Pack Cypher” for 2015 Cash is gearing up for another mixtape and album release, as well as plans for a tour with some of his Label 316 label mates.
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