What’s Going On – 9/18

Due to his classic hip hop style, flow, and lyrical content, Fashawn has received a number of comparisons to a young Nasir Jones. These comparisons became even more rampant after the Fresno California native released his debut album, Boy Meets World, which featured album artwork similar to Nas’ Illmatic.

The success of Boy Meets World helped Fashawn grace the cover of XXL Magazine this spring as one of 2010’s artists to watch. Most recently, he re-worked Nas’ classic Illmatic, giving it a West Coast feel in Ode To Illmatic.

After being kicked out of college and discharged from the military, Freddie Gibbs found his home in gangsta rap. The Gary, Indiana native uses his lyrics to vividly portray stories of his home town's crime infested streets. This talent was quickly noticed by Interscope, who signed Gibbs to a record deal within his first year of rapping. Despite showing him early love, Interscope kept Freddie Gibbs' music shelved for years.

Now that Freddie Gibbs has been released from that contract, he's already dropped two of 2009's best mixtapes in The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs and Midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuisk and is prepping for 2010's Str8 Killa, No Filla release. It's only a matter of time before the labels come knocking on Gibbs' door.

Pill’s music is refreshing, as he paints a portrait of the streets in a very natural and real way, effectively shaming all the artists who pretend to be from his part of town. The XXL Magazine Freshman turned heads with his debut video for "Trap Goin' Ham," directed by Motion Family, as it graphically portrayed the poverty taking place in Pink City, five minutes away from a police precinct and seven minutes away from the state capital.

So far all of Pill's releases have been named after the various locations in which he grew up. 4180: The Prescription refers back to the Kimberly Court Projects on 4180 Cant Street and 4075: The Refill refers to the address of Pill’s aunt’s house. His next release, hosted by DJ Drama, should be a major turning point in his career as he's sure to be exposed to a wide fan base. Gangsta Grillz 1140: The Overdose is set to drop on June 1st.

Travis Porter, made up of Quez, Strap, and Ali, announced their record deal with Jive on November 29th. Prior to their major deal, the group had made themselves the hottest independent rap group in the country with over forty five million Youtube views, multiple singles reaching the Billboard charts, concerts overseas, and music videos in rotation on MTV Jams.

It'll be interesting to see what the boys do while under the major label umbrella, as they've already accomplished more than a number of artists who are signed!