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AUTOMatic hail from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and bring with them a group of loyal fans. As far as their influences go, they cite Arrested Development, De La Soul, Herbie Hancock, J Dilla, Big Daddy Kane, and a multitude of others as their top influences. In terms of stage chemistry, they look to DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince since they can “make it acceptable to kids and adults alike, without making it corny.” As far as inspiration and writing goes, the process is more organic than you might expect. They employ the Biggie style of writing and “try not to physically write it down until it’s perfect. Once it’s on paper, it’s concrete.” When it comes to putting their lyrics on paper, it all comes together “like a jigsaw puzzle” and they don’t f

Eshraque Mughal, better known as iSHi, was born on February 12,1981 and hails from Stockholm, Sweden. His career started in high school when he began playing piano and drums; piano he started at the age of 15 and drums when he was 11. Growing up, he listened to hip-hop, R&B, and dance-pop. In 2009, he signed singer Eric Turner to his label, 2Stripes Music, and later that same year he met British rapper, Tinie Tempah. Tinie had just started work on his album Disc-Overy, and flew to Sweden to work with iSHi. Their very first song together was “Written In The Stars”, featuring Eric Turner. The song even went on to become a worldwide hit, selling platinum in multiple countries including the United States. iSHi also produced Tinie Tempah's 2013 single "Children Of The Sun" feat

Seattle rappers iLL Chris and Mogli turn all the way up in the visuals for “Pull Up,” the high powered single set to appear on Chris’ forthcoming project, Honor Thy Father. The Wiggy-directed video centers on all-out mayhem from the two Emerald City residents, who both stunt in every which way. It’s only fitting, of course, given the track’s massive production value, which is supplied by BlackKeyCartel. And here, it sets the tone for scenes filled with blinged-out bikes, bottles upon bottles of Henny, and more partying than any weekend warrior could handle. Not one to overlook reality though,the video opens with a dedication to Chris’ late friend, Nils Felix Goodwin, who tragically passed away this past December, following the making of this video. Check out t

When VH-1 premiered The Breaks, writer and executive producer Dan Charnas had no idea what was going to happen. To his pleasant surprise, the 95-minute film reeled in a 2.6 million viewers on night of January 4, 2016. Based on the lives of three friends—Nikki, David and Deevee—who’s love of hip-hop culture permeates every facet of their beings, The Breaks sends the viewer in a time machine back to 1990 New York City, where hip-hop was proving to be big business. With a soundtrack boasting artists like Queen Latifah, Audio Two, De La Soul, and Jungle Brothers, The Breaks’authenticity is a feat in itself. From the hair and street slang to the pop culture references and art on the wall, it stays true to the time period. Cameos include artists like Prince Pau

Look for the upcoming REKS album, The Greatest X, (pronounced The Greatest Unknown) in summer 2016 on Brick Records. It will feature production from Large Professor, The Alchemist, Evidence, Statik Selektah, Nottz, Apollo Brown, Black Milk, MoSS, Buckwild and Streetrunner. Guest appearances will include R.A. The Rugged Man, Slaine, Termanology, Planet Asia, Rasco, Phat Kat, Guilty Simpson, Akrobatik, Reef the Lost Cauze, Dutch Rebelle, Edo G and others. REKS explains the motivation for the song "Hands Up” (Wink Wink) was made as a wake up call to those tuned out to our realities and engaged by societal distractions. “In essence, I believe when a class of citizens are oppressed for an extended period of time, there is a point where they have little choice but to awaken. In today

Hip-hop essentially began in Jamaica. Kingston-native Kool Herc grew up hearing the sounds of the Jamaican neighborhoods, which included lively dancehall parties and “toasting,” the DJ’s accompanying speech to their music. In 1967, he emigrated to the Bronx, New York and took that style with him to 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. Toasting became emceeing and, of course, the rest is history. It’s only natural that reggae and hip-hop are mentioned in the same breath.  Reggae artist Nesbeth grew up in Trench Town, West Kingston on the island of Jamaica, an area often referred to as “The Concrete Jungle” due to the high crime rates and constant economic struggles. Music was the one bright spot in his life, and soon he began to experiment with recording his own voice and carving out his o