Interview with Hassani Kwess

This is a short interview I did with Maryland-native Hassani Kwess, who spent part of the summer making tracks with the likes of Chuck Inglish and Odd Couple. Here's the exclusive video:

Album Review: SUBMiT- Distance To Infinity

Coming from the southern state of Georgia, SUBMiT has seen a fair amount of talent run through his area. The likes of OutKast, Ludacris, T.I., and Danger Mouse all made it through the ATL hip hop scene. SUBMiT hopes to be next in line after the drop of his mixtape, Distance To Infinity.

From top to bottom, the production on the tracks are stellar, and SUBMiT only adds to the quality with his knack for writing catchy hooks, especially on the tracks "We On Our Way" and "Life of the Party".

SUBMiT also shows the range of topics of he's willing to spit on tracks like "Getaway" and "Tumblr Chick". And to top it all off, he takes you on a ride in his "Victory Lap", which is quite a song for an outro.

With the Bombay Knox team supporting his every step, expect to hear a lot more from SUB in the future.

Video Release: Lester Jay- "Love Angel"

Lester Jay has been slowly gaining recognition as a powerful soul singer in the Chicago area over the past year. Keeping busy, he dropped a joint mixtape with another Chicago artist, rapper Tone Styles a little over a month ago. Now, the big fella is working on his solo act, with "Love Angel" being his first solo music video.

Don't let his large build fool you, though. As you will see in the video, he's a gentleman who will treat you right:

Get Messi

UGLYBoNES Personify Rock N' Roll Image

Last Thursday I decided to go see some friends of mine perform for the first time at the Tini Martini Ultra Lounge on the northwest side of Chicago. I was told there would be a couple of sets by some local punk bands before they would go on, so I showed up early to get accustomed to the scene.

After all was said and done, the only phrase I could use to describe the show was: Rock N' F***ing Roll!

UGLYBoNES is a punk rock band from the Vernon Hills area of the Chicago suburbs. I had heard their music online, but never in person.

To give you a glimpse of how the night went, here's a rundown of what happened once I arrived:

- I met up with the drummer, Eric, and the guitarist, Fil, who tell me that their bass player, Viaj, is passed out in the backseat of his car, wasted.

- Viaj eventually joined up with us, still drunk, claiming that he may need to throw up, but is ready to play.

- Their lead singer, Lev, came out wearing knee high socks and a mini skirt.

At this point I thought, What the hell is going on here? These guys are nuts!

Their music exploded out of the speakers with so much ferocity and energy that I thought they were going to get kicked out for being too reckless. After looking around the room, though, the only thing I saw were faces of curiosity.

And that's not even the best part. While I was reviewing some photos I took, I noticed something fly off the stage and out onto the venue floor. It was Eric's freaking snare drum. After popping through both sides, he decided it was fucked and wanted nothing to do with it, so he moved his floor tom over and kept on playing. Everyone in the room looked dumbfounded as the dodged the moving object.

And yet, it grabbed everyone's attention even more.

As Eric continued to play without a snare drum, Viaj was finally starting to sober up, and Lev nearly threw up on stage from drinking a beer that was not originally his.

And throughout it all, they were still enjoying the time they were having. It was the most real hard/punk rock show I have been to in years.

Over the past decade, the idea of the Rock N' Roll lifestyle and persona has dramatically softened, especially among high profile bands. Bands like the Kings of Leon and Maroon 5 put out solid music, but they live more like hipsters or divas than rock stars. The members of UGLYBoNES would say, "F*** that s***!" and throw you a middle finger.

It is that kind of image that is incredibly fun to watch on stage because you never know what's coming next.

To me, that is the personification of Rock N' Roll.

Uno Hype - Sense of Fulfillment

Giving out more love to Uno Hype with the release of his new song, "Sense of Fulfillment".

This is another collaboration with producer DJ Black Diamond, who has been on a tear over the past six months. Having produced for up-and-comers Logic, Young Sinatra, and growing star Mac Miller, Diamond is a producer who is gaining a lot of credit.

Hype and Diamond have an ongoing relationship that should produce many more collaborations in the future. With hits such as "Top Billin'" and "Eclipse" to go along with this new release, one can only imagine what they might create in the future, with the two having been rumored to be putting together an EP that could be released this fall.

With the backing of Hype's label, Bombay Knox, and support from both of their growing fan bases, these two will hopefully be killing tracks together for years to come.

Uno Hype - Top Billin' (Official Video)

Dropping just last night, here's the new music video from Maryland hip hop artist Uno Hype.

Directed by BombayKnox CEO J.R. Rubin, this is Hype's second music video off his mixtape Ready For Takeoff. Having already openend for the likes of Chris Webby and Mac Miller, as well as recording at the Smokers Club studio in NYC, the 18-year-old is doing just that. Get ready because he's in the works to unleash a new mixtape that's rumored to be releasing this fall.

Uno Hype - BaSelord (Official Music Video)

Last fall he was an unknown, teenage rapper trying to get his foot in the door in the hip-hop community. His first mixtape, Ready For Takeoff, has slowly been gaining the Maryland native a respectable reputation on the east coast and in Chicago.

"BaSelord" is one of the shortest songs on Ready For Takeoff, but the chill beat and Uno's ability to blend with the music combined with the summer-themed video create an exceptional summer experience that should help propel the 18-year-old's already rising ascent.

Joining forces with BombayKnox Entertainment over the winter, Uno gearing up for the release of his second mixtape and the highly anticipated Separated At Birth album from the production duo Odd Couple.

With his star shining brighter by the day, I give you "BaSelord":

After Being Snubbed Throughout Their Careers, Dallas Players Finally Get Their Rings... With Class

As the clock ran down to zero and Dirk Nowitzki walked to the locker room to gather his thoughts, the rest of his Dallas Mavericks teammates were celebrating their accomplishment with class back on the court.

There was no running into the stands, players doing silly dances, or anything at all that made these Mavericks look less professional than how they carried themselves throughout the entire postseason. It was one of the classiest championship celebrations that has happened in recent sports history. The veteran-laced team never seemed to let their emotions get the better of them, even though they had played over 100 NBA seasons combined without one of them winning a championship.

As a fan, it was an absolute joy to see players like Peja Stojakovic, Shawn Marion, and Jason Kidd accomplish a goal that seemed to be a far reach at the beginning of the playoffs. They, along with Jason Terry and Dirk, had fallen short in their quest for the Larry O'Brien Trophy on multiple occasions in the past decade, thanks in most part to the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs.

With most players who fall short of winning an NBA Championship at the end of their prime years, the quest for winning a championship becomes a trail of underachieving role playing for teams that have legitimate shots at the title. Just ask Nick Van Exel, Glenn Robinson, Mitch Richmond, and Antoine Walker, who all won championships doing next to nothing for the Spurs, Lakers, and Heat.

Looking at the Dallas roster before the season, it looked like a cluster of underachieving ex-All-Stars. Only three players (Dirk, Jason Terry, and Kidd) had ever played in an NBA Finals. The rest of the bunch had histories of being injured, choking in big moments, or being apart of teams that didn't play on both ends of the floor. Mark Cuban had put together a roster unlike any other in tenure as the Mavs owner. It was a big risk to have a team heavily dependent on 30-something players, and they were fortunate with their health, unlike the Celtics and Lakers.

Through adversity, though, the Mavs' players showed that their playoff experiences could flourish in a system that relied on sharing the ball and utilizing Dirk's determination to never let his team lose.

It was a dream come true after years of falling short for these players:

Shawn Marion, who played for the run-and-gun Suns teams with Steve Nash, became a garbage basket hound with his knack for grabbing offensive boards, slashing to the rim for easy layups, and out-hustling everyone. Seriously, did he score a basket outside of 10-feet in the Finals?

Peja Stojakovic, who played on the Kings teams of the early 2000s, may not have been a factor in the Finals, but his clutch threes against the Lakers made him a vital part of this championship run. A bit of revenge, perhaps?

Jason Kidd, who single-handily carried the New Jersey Nets to two straight Finals appearances in the early 2000s, played some of the most brilliant and unselfish basketball of any point guard in recent Finals history. His contributions in guarding LeBron, setting up the Mavs offense, and hitting open threes was one of the main reasons the Mavs gelled so well together. His play is so under appreciated sometimes that we forget that he is one of the best point guards in the last 20 years, and he showed why in the Finals.

Which brings us back to the post game celebration. You would think that these three players, along with Cuban, Dirk, and Terry, would have been jumping off the walls after winning the one thing that always went to their rivals, the one thing that held back their legacies for over a decade, the one thing drove them to this point. Instead, they celebrated with a calm classiness that you just don't see in professional sports anymore. A classiness that let the world know, 'We finally did it.'