RapStation

From poetry to hip-hop seems like a natural progression for many emcees. Joshua Evans is one of them. As front man of his high school band for four years, Evans decided to take the solo route, which turned out to be a pivotal move. Signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment sometime around 2012, Evans joined Atmosphere on the North of Hell Tour in 2014. Since then, he’s steadily gaining more momentum and becoming an integral part of the Rhymesayers family. Dem uses his musical experiences to explore different textures and sounds of music, ranging from folk and alt-rock to hip-hop. According to his bio, deM atlaS is “moved by art, friendship and spirituality” and "conveys through his music the duality between man and god, ignorance and brilliance, enlightenment and obscurity." On Friday,

P.O.S.  The RAPstation Interview By Kyle Eustice Anyone who has followed Doomtree's career knows that emcee P.O.S (real name Stefon Alexander) was having severe health issues that caused him to lay low for the better part of three years. The Minneapolis native and Rhymesayers signee had just released 2012's We Don't Even Live Here when he was forced to cancel a major national tour due to health concerns. Thankfully, that ordeal is over and he is now the proud owner of two new kidneys. Naturally, he's back to killing it. The Doomtree crew, which is comprised of Cecil Otter, Mike Mictlan, Sims, Lazerbeak, Paper Tiger, Dessa, and P.O.S., is getting ready to drop their third official full-length album, All Hands, January 27. As Doomtree preps for tour, P.O.S. popped his

An emcee, producer and studio engineer, Lord Hakim from Columbus, Ohio, is a Hip-Hop enthusiast to the fullest, but who like many of us, prefers his beats dirty and his lyricism enlightened. "My style of Hip Hop is grungy samples over boom bap percussion with razor sharp turntable techniques; now that's Hip Hop! When it comes to emceeing, I'm a thinker; it's all about vocabulary and being descriptive. The thing about Hip Hop is you actually get hear the novel within an orchestrated arrangement and it can set the mood for whatever chapter or track you're on" Hakim states. For the first leak, "Scripturez," from Lord Hakim's recently released debut project, Born With A Determined Idea, Hakim trades verses and wisdom with Planet Asia on the self produced track. Plea

Open Mike Eagle The RAPstation Interview By Kyle Eustice On Open Mike Eagle's new album, Dark Comedy, he gives a lot of suggestions on "Advice Raps," makes you want to sing along on "Very Much Money" and runs down a list of dance moves on "A History of Modern Dance." Needless to say, he covers a lot of ground on his first record with Mellow Music Group. Whatever he's doing, the Los Angeles resident is doing it right. Dark Comedy was recently mentioned as #38 on Rolling Stone’s Best 40 Rap Albums of 2014 list. Born Michael Eagle II, the 30-year-old emcee has been on rap's radar since he first got involved with the Project Blowed crew in L.A. Since then, he's released seven full-length albums, including 2010's Unapologetic Art Raps on Mush Records, 2011's

There isn't a stronger, more commanding voice in hip-hop right now louder than Karega Bailey's. Born in Brooklyn, Bailey's parents emigrated from Jamaica and relocated to Sacramento when he was a child. Now the award-winning spoken word poet, D.C. educator and politically minded emcee is just waiting to explode. Endorsed by Public Enemy's Chuck D on his RAPstation show "Songs That Mean Something," Bailey is on rap's radar. His forthcoming album, the Peace King EP, drops at the end of January 2015. In anticipation of the album, Bailey is proud to announce a new video for "Sunny Days," the 5th track on the record. Produced by EOM and directed by JaeSynth, it features California-based emcees Mark Knoxx and Chaycin Change with Malcolm Stokes on the trumpet. In perhaps one of the

California native and Doomtree emcee Mike Mictlan dropped his new video for "so so STRAYNGE" Thursday, January 8. The Adam Dunn-directed video was filmed in the deserts of Victorville, California and follows Mictlan as he roams the streets and abandoned apartment complexes nearby. The track comes from his latest album, HELLA FRREAL, which was released last October on Doomtree Records. HELLA FRREAL features Mictlan spitting introspective lyrics with solid conviction and larger-than-life production from Cecil Otter, RedVelvet Beats, 2% Muck, 1990, Mike Frey, JuanL, and Lazerbeak, with guests Greg Grease, Ceschi, and Aby Wolf. In addition to his solo performances in Minneapolis and Fargo, Mictlan hits the road with the rest of the Doomtree crew starting in late January to support thei