RapStation

Fake Four Records founder Ceschi Ramos called Factor "the Prince Paul of Canada" and Myka 9 of Freestyle Fellowship won’t work with anyone else lately. The Canadian producer has been at the helm of Myka's projects since 2008. Their first song together was "Smokey" for Factor's album, Chandelier. That album also marked the first time working with Fake Four. He has completed a dozen solo projects, a prelude and an instrumental EP. A new solo concept album drops in July, which Factor is "extremely hyped about." (Although, with his Canadian accent, "about" probably sounded more like "abbot"). The motley duo heads to Austin next week to spread its love of chilled out, classic hip-hop. Factor took about 45 seconds to complete this interview. –Kyle Eustice RAPstation: When did y

Rising New York emcee, Josiah The Gift teams up with producer Sassoon to release a new video, "Legend," to celebrate the debut of their collaborative mixtape entitled The Mandelbrot Set which was just released. The video can be viewed here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCn6v6ZC_po and please visit http://www.datpiff.com/mixtapes-detail.php?id=462721 to download The Mandelbrot Set mixtape now. The official tracklist for the project, which is entirely produced by Sassoon, can be viewed below. 1.Josiah The Gift - Intro 2.Josiah The Gift - Deadly Melody 3.Josiah The Gift - Started In BK 4.Josiah The Gift - Traffic 5.Josiah The Gift - One Day 6.Josiah The Gift - Serial Killer 7.Josiah The Gift - The Fugitive 8.Josiah The Gift - Life Wounds 9.Josiah The Gift - Then & Now 10

Next up on RAPstation’s SXSW coverage is Canadian hip-hop collective, Sweatshop Union. Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, the group formed in 2000 through a mutual love of musical expression. Comprised of Mos Eisley, Metty the Dertmerchant, Conscience, Dusty Melo, Marmalade, and Ray Black, Sweatshop Union are on their seventh studio release (and 5th LP), the first since 2008’s critically acclaimed Water Street. Infinite hits stores May 7. Mos Eisley took a few minutes out of his hectic tour schedule to give us the low down. –Kyle Eustice When did you fall in love with hip-hop and why?   Mo: I fell in love with hip-hop when I saw graffiti and breakdancing at the same time I started to hear rap around the buildings my cousins grew up in. I liked that it was a f

SP1200 producer Gensu Dean and Cali-Microphone legend Planet Asia have just released their new album Abrasions. The hard hitting album is 17 tracks deep with no filler. Featuring Grammy Award Winner David Banner as well as the Gold Chain Military, Tristate, Killa Kali, Shawn Pen, Twin Gambino, Tragedy Khadafi, and more, Abrasions is one of the hardest hitting new records of the year. Please visit https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/abrasions/id589221462 to purchase and support Abrasions now!

It's that time of year again when musicians, publicists, managers and fans head down to Austin, Texas to experience one of the music industry largest festivals, SXSW. In honor of this tradition, Rap Station interviewed dozens of hip-hop artists headed south this year to talk about hip-hop and what makes the festival important for them. First up, The Chicharones have been making people laugh since 2001 with its humor-infused brand of hip-hop. Comprised of Sleep (Oldominion) and Josh Martinez, The Chicharones actually met at SXSW. The rest is history. The duo’s last album, 2012’s Swine Flew, is further evidence of its uncanny ability to transcend genres and write ridiculously witty rhymes. According to Spin Magazine, The Chicharones are "the best bar band in America, delivering an

Brooklyn's Joey Bada$$ stretched his wings on A$ap Rocky's recent posse cut "1 Train," skilfully rapping over a beat that should have been out of his comfort zone. The 18-year-old can be considered one the premium young rappers out there right now, perhaps only behind Kendrick Lamar and Rocky himself in terms of recognizability, but he can certainly count Rocky, Kendrick, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson and Big K.R.I.T (all of whom also appear on "1 Train") as his contemporaries, despite all of the above having more releases under their belt and Joey forging a very different sonic path. For many, the guest spot will have been the first exposure of the young rapper who occupies a very different space in New York's new wave of artists being tipped to bring hip-hop supremacy back