I was asked to judge the Madame of Murdaland Female MC Battle [part 2] coming up at the 5 Seasons on Monday, March 27, 2006. This should be very exciting. I've never done the whole judging thing....so if you don't hear from me on the 28th....go and hunt down Sonny Brown or Mr. Wilson. They will at least be able to tell you who I got to beefin with. The last "M of M" competition [re] introduced Ms. Stress to the Baltimore Hip Hop scene. Several weeks of on air battles between Stress and other females finally resulted in *Ms. Stress and Symph of the Plague* having to duke it out at the finals [held @ the Black Door]. Stress came out the winner and will defend her title on the 27th. *(This battle is available on the Street Dreams DVD. Please holla@ Ahk on Fridays btw 12:00 - 5:00 AM 410-319-8888)*
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D.O.G. is gearing up for the release of his debut album, CHAMPAGNE DREAMS. I am not at liberty to divulge specifics, but STAY TUNED......... They are gonna do it real BIG. I was invited to a private listening party the other night and man o man - THIS CD is gonna really make people stop and take notice of Baltimore. So much of Baltimore Hip Hop is a lot of BOOM BOOM BOOM (808)...sometimes too much base (for my tastes)...overly simple two-step rhythm....coupled with dumb ass hooks and glorification of violence and drugs....no real substance [a good majority of it]. This dude has guitars & strings and freakin' harps in his music...LOL! He even has something for the ladies. It's obvious he recognizes who actually wears the music buying pants round hurr. Im trippin, but dead ass! LOL! It's still very street...don't get me wrong, but you can most definitely tell that real musicians had a hand in crafting his sound. Heard a track with nothing but strings and freaked it on some gansta ish. The track with Raheem Davaughn is amazing. I finally got to hear it. They've been acting so top secret.

While there we really got into a heated discussion about the popularity of the "RYDA GYRL" song. I never saw this one coming, but like Pop told me early on, "This ain't for you"...LOL! [I admit I was wrong, but then that is why you are the boss] Its the #1 requested song on the radio right now - Did you know that? I was messing with D.O.G. about the part in the song when he says something about, "putting his boat in her ocean"...LOL! That line is hilarious! Its so silly, cute...yet so very sexy at the same time. I wish I could find me a boat right about now...LOL! "Boat" just makes my imagination run wild. The man does have a way with words. Mo Banks added his lil special touches to it radio version of the song..."grind me, grind me, gr, gr, gr, grind me baby!" I love it!! Check out D.O.G.s MYSPACE page if you haven't heard the song already. Big ups to Mo Banks for actually fusing club with hip hop in a way that both pays tribute [or should I say recognizes] our home grown sound, but that also showcases how a RAPPER should spit over a club track. There is a difference. Need clarification on that- holla @ me. I think that its wack (edit: ill advised) for a rapper to make a "Baltimore club" song. Like Karlito (from the Kartel) pointed out, [im paraphrasing] "Are we trying to take club music global or are we trying to put Baltimore Hip Hop on the map?" Plus, the song's vocals can stand on their own without the Blaq Starr track. I'm not gonna lie....the track was already hot....yall just [in the words of my fave chef, Emiril Agassi] KICKED IT UP A NOTCH! BAM!
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Its so nice to be in the loop.....I can't wait for the REMIX! REMIX! REMIX! It's gonna mess some heads up!!!!

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