DAMN HOMIE!!!
Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell signed the execution warrant yesterday (Jan. 9) for former Philadelphia rapper Christopher "Cool C" Roney. Roney, 36, is currently an inmate at Pennsylvania's State Correctional Institution at Greene and is set to die by lethal injection on March 9 ("The day the music died"- R.I.P. Notorious B.I.G. ). In October 1996, Roney was found guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Philadelphia police officer Lauretha Vaird during a botched Jan. 1996 bank robbery that included rap partner Warren "Steady B" McGlone and a third man. Roney was a member of rap crew The Hilltop Hustlers in the late 1980s and helped put Philly rappers on the map with singles such as 1989's "Glamorous Life."

A member of Philadelphia's Hilltop Hustlers crew, Cool C's (Christopher Roney) laid-back and stoned rhymes are best heard on the 1989 singles "I Gotta Habit" and "Glamorous Life" -- the latter of which liberally sampled Sheila E.'s song of the same title. His 1987 debut single gained him a good amount of attention and caught a lot of ears: "Juice Crew Dis" took aim at the New York-based crew run by influential producer Marley Marl (a group that included heavyweights Kool G. Rap and Big Daddy Kane). A pair of 1988 singles for Hilltop and City Beat landed him a contract with Atlantic, where he released his two full-length solo records, 1989's I Gotta Habit and 1990s Life in the Ghetto. A couple years later, he put his solo career aside to join C.E.B. with Ultimate Eaze and Steady B. The trio released 1993's Countin' Endless Bank on Ruffhouse. ~ Andy Kellman

C.E.B.:(Steady B (Warren Sabir McGlone), DJ Ultimate Eaze (E. Ponder) & Cool C)

Juice Crew Dis: (Hilltop Records - 1987)

Down To the Grissle: (Hilltop Records - 1988)

C Is Cool: (City Beat - 1988)

Glamorous Life: (Atlantic - 1989)

I Gotta Habit: (Atlantic - 1989)

Life In the Ghetto: (Atlantic - 1990)I

f You Really Love Me: (Atlantic - 1991)

I gotta Habit

Life In The Ghetto

what are your thoughts? It is my hope that we can get to the meat and potatoes of what each of us is not doing to improve our local music scene and what each of us can do to assist each other.

My qoute for the day: YOU must be the change you want to see in the world- Ghandi

Support comes in many different forms. To me, showing up to giving my last $5 or $10 does not constitute support. Support comes from people being genuinely attracted to you. I am willing to hand out flyers, sell tickets (if I can get a cut), give your CDs to people that are in positions to offer you opportunities for shows*, post events on my blog (which is really coming along nicely-Thank you!).....whatever.... so until you've asked everyone for help ...you haven't exhausted all of your resources. If you want help...you need to ask for it specifically.

I am asking for help to figure out how we can get more ppl to come to shows...what are your suggestions? Let's come up with a collective plan for 06...let's all become Baltimore Hip Hop's Street Team. The number #1 inhibitor alot of time is PRICE. Rock groups give $3 shows b/c they are more interested in being heard. People here want to use shows to fund their European tours....that is hillarious! There is not a lot of money to be made by an unknown local act playing in front of people that could care less. How do you make people care?

There is nothing wrong with starting with a small venue with low over head and build your way up to a bigger venue. $10-$15 (shit, $20 in some cases ) to get into an event where a good time is not guaranteed is not my ideal Saturday night. I like hip hop...so imagine how do you think the people who think its all garbage are gonna react when they hear about an expensive local show. I think people are a little too ambitious and count their hip hop chickens before they hatch. The emphasis in 2006 should be more about filling the spot. Give away 25-50 free tix...get ppl in the door. Allow artists to sell tix....this has worked wonderful with SW. We try to make people feel like SW is a community event. Everyone can eat off of it- not just the promoters and performers either. People have a vested interest in the success of the event. I have ppl that are mad at me if I don't give them flyers to give out. Word of mouth is the most effective marketing tool and it costs nothing but time. In the meantime, got to be out there spreading your message. Hip Hop Lives! I can see it, why can so many of you? Gimme your 2 cent!

I recently put my neck on the line and said that D.O.G.'s mixtape was the best Baltimore Mixtape I'd EVER heard. Alot of people got caught up on the EVER word. Don't take that personally ....its just that The Prequel was a CD that I could bump from start to finish. Even the gangsta tracks. That is so rare. Plus the sound quality was far superior to much of what I get on a daily basis. Whenever you get some time....check out his Myspace page www.myspace.com/theinvisibleset Also, be on the lookout.....I wrote a piece on him that should appear in the STREETZ magazine after next. The next one is the issue that has the piece I wrote on Boss man and Mully Man!

Here is his song Hello
This is my joint!