#NewMusic: Hassani Kwess ‘Ruthless’ Mixtape [DOWNLOAD]

The one man tribe called Kwess, personally sent me the link on Twitter to this new mixtape entitled “Ruthless.” This project features production from Chuck Inglish, DJ Black Diamond, Blended Babies, J Dave*, Big Duke, Chuck Bein, Kenny Keys, and Kwess himself.

Don’t sleep on this mixtape, especially if you’re driving to it in the whip! Although Kwess isn’t the biggest artist in your Twitter timeline, the buzz is steadily growing about the DC emcee. For more on this artist, stay tuned…

Download Ruthless Mixtape Here

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DJWillieShakes

#NewMusic: Rockie Fresh x Phil Ade “Where I Wanna Be”

Rockie Fresh is one of the newer artists hailing from Chicago. With less than three years in the game, he has already established a presence in hip-hop that seems to only be getting stronger. If you’re an early adopter, you’ve checked Fresh out at SXSW and AC3 and can vouch that homie has been putting in work.

The Midwest emcee teams up with his partner from DC, Phil Ade, whom has contributed on joint records in the past. This specific collaboration is off of Rockie’s most recent project, “Driving 88.” On “Where I Wanna Be,” the two go back and forth about being at peace with their decision to follow their aspirations. This ain’t no Donnell Jones record!
[PEEP] after the [JUMP]

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DJWillieShakes

#NewMusic: Phil Ade “PhilAdeFriday2″ [MIXTAPE]

As recent as New Year’s Eve, while you were preparing resolutions for 2012, Phil Ade (Feel A Day) was still living out his 2011 commitments. The DC-bred emcee released the 2nd installment of PhilAdeFriday, which is dope by the way, through various online music platforms. Don’t hesitate to FOLLOW one of the leaders of DC hip-hop on Twitter, @PHILADE301.

If listening to the highest grade of spoken word w/ with a beat is on your list of to-do’s this year as is mine, you’ve already won (in my Publisher’s Clearing House voice). Thank God it’s PhilAdeFriday, again!

[DOWNLOAD] “PhilAdeFriday2″ HERE

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DJWillieShakes

Tyreek Amir Jacobs Killed For Concord Jordans

 UPDATE: THIS STORY APPEARS TO BE A HOAX. WE’LL LET YOU KNOW MORE AS WE GET MORE INFO.

The more I think that times have changed, the more I am made aware that some things never change. I wonder how Michael Jordan first learned to cope with the fact teens in the inner city were being slain for a pair of his sneakers that really cost nothing to make. If I could, I’d talk to MJ and ask “How come they just don’t make enough? People will still buy them, Mike! It’s not as if you’re going to have to go back to the drawing board and figure out a brand new marketing plan. Just make the shoe and it’ll sell itself.”

What’s even crazier is that people aren’t starting riots and making a scene because they’re too expensive. There just isn’t enough to go around. This has been the case for years.

I’m assuming the 17-year old Tyreek Amir Jacobs from Washington DC got his early. He was pronounced dead over Facebook and Twitter yesterday. A fan page was created and has 6,000+ likes already. The story grew with the help of a bunch of tweets from DC residents and Jordan fanatics. Now the excitement and buzz around the infamous Concord XI sneaker will be overshadowed by the uproar from a community that is disgusted by the shoe fetish that has cost a young man his life. This isn’t a new story but an all too familiar one. #BreakTheCycle

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DJWillieShakes

Youth Unemployment in D.C. Higher than National Rate

With the dramatic shift in the economy in the past few years, we are starting to notice that the youth of America are suffering as well. More surprisingly, youth in areas surrounded by businesses are finding it incredibly hard to find stable jobs.

From The Washington Post:

“Nearly one in three low-income young adults without a four-year college degree in the District was unemployed and not in school in 2009, far higher than the national rate, according to a report released Wednesday by the Brookings Institution.

Using census data, the report examined 28,000 low-income 16-to-24-year-olds in Washington who had not earned a bachelor’s degree. Of those, nearly 9,000 were unemployed and not in school.”

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Posted by:

Terin