It's been a while, hasn't it Hip Hop? (Part 2)

Dear Hip Hop,

I'm back with Part 2 of my letter to you! We last left off talking about AP, and how that wasn't meant to be...how I decided to embark on this musical journey alone. Let's jump back into it!

After AP split up, I decided to come out with an album. I must have been 18 or 19 years old at the time. I decided to name my debut album "The Catalyst". I wanted to name it that because I felt that it could be the start of a new era of music...we would change the game Hip Hop! In order to build up to the release of "The Catalyst", I decided to do a Hip Hop Weekly series.

The Hip Hop Weekly series was not my idea. The first person to do a Hip Hop Weekly series was my rap idol Crooked I (now known as Kxng Crooked). I remember first hearing about Crooked on the Sway and Tech show years ago. He had started doing his first HHW series back in 2007. I remember reaching out to him on MySpace and asking if it was okay if I made my own HHW series, and he said yes Hip Hop! While we were chatting I also asked him to be a guest on "The Catalyst" album and he agreed. That was the first time that we were able to work together!

I started my HHW series in 2007 and it helped me grow a following on MySpace! (LOL MySpace) My goal was to record 13 HHWs in a row and then release a mixtape. 13 tracks x 4 mixtapes = 52 tracks to build up to "The Catalyst". After recording the first 13, I decided to drop a mixtape!

My wonderful graphic designer, Pashii, introduced me to DJ V-DUB, a Violator All Star DJ who was also a WGCI Show Host and DJ. We linked up at a party and the rest is history! We made the mixtape and we had the Hip Hop Weekly Mixtape Release Party on Leap Year of 2008! 

Networking with DJ V-DUB at Parrish Lewis Studios back in the day.

The official cover for the Hip Hop Weekly Mixtape Volume 1! Shout out to Pashii for the design work and Parrish for the photo!

My name on the poster outside of the Fiesta Cantina before the HHW Mixtape Show!

The show was a great success! And it was on Leap Year 2008, a truly special date!

Flyer Front Design

Flyer Back Design

The show was a great success! I remember always trying to get on other people's shows in the past Hip Hop, but I was either too young or not established enough to get on those shows. So instead of trying to get on other people's shows, I made my own! "If you build it, they will come." The show was great, the mixtape was loved by many, but now is when the REAL WORK began Hip Hop. Now it was time to finish "The Catalyst" album....

And that's what we'll talk about next week! See you soon Hip Hop!

​-RD