Checking up on the old site, I came across this EXTREMELY ACCURATE article I wrote back in January about Meek and K. Dot being the best of their freshman class. Fast forward 8 months and look who knew some shit…this is a MUST READ.
Originally posted on Madetoorderphilly.com on Weds Jan. 12th, 2011
Funny how time flies…
Win Awards – Future Stars
This next award is actually one that I came up with towards the end of my process and selections. I thought it was important to recognize some new artists that hadn’t quite reached their “professional status” yet but were well on their way. The two artists I selected for this are prime examples of how controlling your market can expand your movement.
In rap music the industry co-sign is more important than in any other genre. Through their hard work both of these artist have taken over their local areas and connected with people who truly MATTER in this game. They are from two different sides of the map but have similar stories and hopefully similar paths to glory.
The first Future Stars winner is one who is close to me in proximity and someone who’s buzz I saw start about 3.5 years ago. Meek Mill is the epitome of an artist who puts on for his city. He has single-handedly been the biggest rapper in Philly for the past 2 years and one who has been able to bounce back from some incredible pitfalls that could have ended his career prematurely. His ability to write incredible club records has been noticed by two of the biggest artists in the game: Ti and Rick Ross who have both worked with him to cultivate and perfect his talent.
His most recently developed relationship with The Boss started via Twitter when Rick Ross visited Philly on a promo run for Teflon Don and has resulted in multiple collabos and a pending deal with Maybach Music Group. He has a total of over 100K mixtapes sold over the past two years and all his records are in heavy rotation on Philly radio. All this without any major label backing to speak of. Meek Mill is a man of the people and they have embraced him unlike any Philly artist I have seen since Beanie Sigel. 2011 will be Meek’s year to break out nationally and make everyone take notice of Mr. Philadelphia.
The second Future Stars winner is from the left coast and someone I just got put onto recently but his body of work is INCREDIBLE! Kendrick Lamar, the artist formerly known as K-Dot is from Compton, CA. Home of Eazy-E, Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. He’s down with Top Dawg Entertainment and this lil nigga can SPIT! Kendrick is one of the few rappers in recent years who is really saying something and literally gives me chills when I hear him rap.
His September 2010 FreEP “Overly Dedicated” is what put him over the top for me. This 16 track disc was literally too good to give away, but Kendrick is so dedicated to his craft that he did so anyway. The standouts on this disc are “Alien Girl” “Michael Jordan” and “P&P 1.5″ but no song is a clunker. The ability he displays on this album is equal or better than a lot of A-list rappers who are currently dominating Top 40.
It was this disc along with his myriad of freestyles that got the attention of Dr. Dre and landed Kendrick on Detox as an independent artist. The plan for 2011 is that Kendrick will be signed and release his first album, ideally on Aftermath/Interscope which is where he has said he would prefer to be. If not, then I am sure there are numerous others vying for him to bring his talents to their label. J. Cole, Murs and Dre have all sung his praises, its officially time for the rest of the world to get in tuned with Kendrick Lamar.
-The Win
http://madetoorderphilly.com/v2/blog/2011/01/12/win-awards-future-stars/
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