This is how an EP is done. Not only does it showcase the artist’s different spectrum of musical delivery, but it also encompasses a concept as to the motivation behind the music… In case you don’t know who Chris Classic is, he’s a musician who has written music for a lot of movies and television shows. His most recent work includes tracks for the movie Just Wright, starring Queen Latifah and Common (in theaters now). He’s film/television composition for about 10 years, and is just now putting out his first EP. And after a quick listen, I like it; “NY Go Go” is definitely a favorite… Its a 5 track EP, and a video clip is included… check it out.

“#Life is an amazing journey on which every traveler must find his own path. The Life Anthology represents all of the emotions, issues, high & lows any one person can go through in one day and sets them to a beat. Hip Hop has been omitted from contention when it comes to defining the average American life. This travesty has unfortunately alienated many rap/ hip hop fans who seek more than just doing a catchy dance or repeating a pathetically slurred chorus. In business, it has also distanced popular brands from really reaching the core of the hip hop community.”

[Download Here]

If you do not know who Big Sean is, it is obvious that you have been sleeping under a rock. I was fortunate enough to get to interview this 2010 XXL Freshman. This young lyricist is nothing to mess with. Hailing from Detroit, been rapping since he was 12, now 21, and is ready for domination. This was a great interview.

How’d you connect with Kanye West and GOOD Music?
Ah, that’s the greatest story… when i was in high school, Kanye was in Detroit, he was promoting his album Late Registration, and he was at the Radio 1 station, and I had a good relationship w/ the radio station when I was in high school, because every Friday I used to go down there and rap at the show called the Friday Night Cipher. And its a show where all the rappers, well, a lot of the city’s rappers would come and we would battle each other and the ones who would win the battles would get to rap on air for free. So, I did that when I was in high school. It was me and my best friend, Pat, Pat Pierce… And we did that for like a year straight, and it gave us a great relationship with the radio station.

So, one day Kanye was down here promoting Late Registration, it was on a Saturday, and I had done that show the day before. So, I basically ended up at the radio station and I pretended like I left something there the day before, but really I was just trying to like meet Kanye, and maybe rap for him or something… So I had cds that I was selling in high school at the time… So, you know, I was talking to one of the DJs there, and I remember the DJ telling me that Kanye was right down that hall, and that I should go rap for him. And you know, I ain’t never met no celebrity ever, so, my heart was beating out my chest, like I was nervous as I ever been,… But I ended up talking to him like, “yo, whats up man, I’m an aspiring emcee, I do this show here every Friday”… and he was like, “Oh, good job, keep it up”, and he started walking away. and I remember my boy saying, “Man, you better run for him man, what the fuck..” and I was like “you right..”. So, I tapped him again as he was walking out, and right before his body guard slammed me, he was like “yo, whats up?”, and I was like, “Man… can I spit for you real quick?”… and he was like, “Nah, I don’t have time.. I’m in a rush man, I gotta go”… I was like “Please man! You my hero!”.. He was like “Man, alright man.. but, you gotta spit while we walking out the radio station.. and you only got 16 bars so go.” So I started rapping, and ummm…. as we were walking out the station, basically he stopped walking, and he started just looking at me and listening to me, and instead of 16 bars, I ended up rapping for like 10 minutes and like 100 bars… So, that’s what got his attention. When I was done there was a big crowd wrapped around at the radio station and it was a real big moment.

Basically, that is just how I got his attention. He didn’t want to sign me like right after that at all. We just kept in contact, and I was sending music back and forth over the years, really… and then when he was working on his album Graduation, he invited me to come work with him. I was in LA, just like to take me under his wing. He really showed me how an album was made, all sorts of different types of stuff. And then he signed me shortly after to just GOOD Music, like in 200-, like the end of 2008. Then I got signed to Def Jam later on that year. And then I’ve been working on my album since then. So, I’m about to come out with my album this year…. that’s like the short version, because there was a whole bunch of madness going on. [laughs]
How does it feel to be one of XXL Freshman of 2010?
Aw man… a relief, a blessing. You know, I thought I should have been on it last year, but its even better timing that I’m on it this year. So, everything happens for a reason. Its an honor. You know when you like a young-… when you a kid or any aspiring rapper; All rappers want to be signed or get a record deal with Def Jam or something like that. Or be on the cover of XXL or some type of big magazine, so, for that to happen, its an honor. For that to be my first magazine cover, man, its more than a blessing. Can’t thank XXL enough for that…. My mom was really proud.
Whats one thing that you bring to the table that other rappers don’t?
One thing I know a lot of rappers forget to bring is a sense of themselves on the record and originality. Besides that, I think I just bring a combination of lyricism mixed with something people can relate to. I want my music to be the soundtrack to peoples lives. And my music isn’t all serious, I have a lot of fun in my music, just like people my age have a lot of fun. Going through different issues people go through from like young relationships to young love, or if you going through and just partying all the time, going through different phases, going through being broke, going through being young and starting to live that dream… It is all these different concepts that I incorporate in my music. One thing Kanye taught me to do is do it in a certain way. Keep it a certain level of lyricism, meaning a certain level of conceptual idea. I think that is one thing that I embody in my music, and I can’t wait for everybody to hear it.
When can we expect a finished project from you?
Definitely coming this year 2010. We’re trying to gage it to see if its going to come before or after Kanye’s album. It’s probably going to come before… I say probably around the end of summer. We’re going to drop a couple of singles and stuff..
Do you ever get star struck when working with people?
Hell yeah! Man, I met Beyonce.. I remember the first time I met Jay… Well, really man, the first time I met Kanye was my first time being star struck. The second time was when Kanye had me in a meeting with Jay-Z and I was star struck as hell, and then, the third time I got star struck was when I met Beyonce. Shoot… who else… Man… Yeah, I get star struck all the time man. Like when I met Pharrell the first time, I was star struck. And now these guys are my friends, and they cool with me, so it’s all good.
Do you have time for personal life?
Yeah man, you know.. You always gotta make time to live and have a personal life. It definitely gets sacrificed sometimes but, its all for the better. Whenever you on your job, or even if in school, or doing work, you’ve got to sacrifice your personal life too sometimes. Its nothing outside the regular really. I just have a different type of job than regular people.
Whats your favorite song of all time?
One of my favorite songs of all time, its going to sound cliche and shit because I’m like signed to Kanye.. But, the song on College Dropout, way before I knew Kanye, “Last Call”, and its the last song on The College Dropout. That was one of the songs, I think, that most changed my life. It gave me the most inspiration a song has ever given me.. and, really like, it gave me the motivation to keep going even on them days where I didn’t want to rap no more.
Whats your personal best? (the best track you’ve put out)?
Well, my favorite track, no body’s heard yet, I recorded it. It’s a song called “Celebrity”. And we’re thinking about putting a video out to it, and like putting it on the radio and everything. Its real dope. Its different though, but its dope as hell. Yeah, its one of my favorites. The thing is, when you decide to put out a song, you have to decide if you want to go the regular cliche way and put out an easy radio song or do you want to go against the grain a little bit. And that’s what it is. The song is undeniably good, well, to me it is. And not just because I’m on it, but because the production is flawless. Its great.
Who produced it?
My homie Filthy Rockwell. He’s from Detroit. And he’s a real heavy producer. He produced some records for Slaughter House, Royce Da 5′ 9″, for like D12.. and he’s been putting work on my album, its crazy.
So, aside from rapping, what do you do for fun? Or is that all you have time for?
Nah, no no, hell no. That’d be whack if that’s all I had time for. I like to watch movies, because I feel like, no matter what you got going on in life, when you look at a movie it seems like you just forget about all the shit you got going on and focus on that movie. Really good movies can make your problems go away for an hour and a half or two hours. I really love chilling and just relaxing with my girl or a girl or something like that…
Do you have a girlfriend?
[laugh] Yeah, well, you know… I feel like everybody got to have someone special but, I am young too, so, I always keep that in mind.
What advice would you give someone who wants to pursue rap?
Simply that, you have to be prepared. You have to have a good sense of whats good and whats not good, and what people aren’t going to like. And then you have to visualize it. You know, nobody can see your vision like you so, if people hate on you, or can’t understand what you’re doing, don’t let that discourage you, just use that as motivation. And I feel like, if you really believe in something, and truly want to do something that you’ll get your shot. At least you’ll get one shot. So, just keep it going, and do anything you can to like further your success or what ever you’re trying to do. For me it was rapping at the radio station every Friday, when I was in high school. And that gave me connections with the radio station, and that connected me with Kanye, and that connected me with a record deal.
Well, those are all the questions I have for you… Thank you so much for doing this interview.
No problem, I appreciate you. Take care.

Crawl out from under that rock and recognize greatness. If you don’t have it, get his “UKnowBigSean” Mixtape (2009) [here]. This dude is dope but, don’t take my word for it, find out for yourself. Follow him on twitter @Big_Sean. And check out his site UknowBigSean.com. I expect big things from him this year.

First and foremost, this fresh kid is nothing to mess, and no one to sleep on. Yes, he is the son of the infamous Rev. Run, and his uncle is Russell Simmons, but he’s got a grind all his own. He’s 14 and already has a clothing line in the works, thousands of blog stans, and dropped his first mixtape back in December. His ‘tape, The First Flight, has been getting madd recognition, and I knew I had to talk to the kid. Fortunately via my connection with Cathryn Marie, I was able to get an phone interview with Diggy…

MD: Word on the street is, you’re just 14, is that true?
D: Yes, yes… born in 1995. ’95 was my year..
MD: Wow, so young… but in listening to your flow its pretty mature, how’d you get it that way?
D: Oh man, I’ve never heard that before,… uhm, I’m just me. I focus on being me, whether its me on the fashion end or rhyming, I just focus on doing me. I’ve been doing this for a little bit so I guess I’m just me.
MD: Tha’ts whats up… So, when did you start rapping?
D: I first started rapping when I was 5… did that for a couple of years and then I stopped for a while, and didn’t really start back up until like last summer..
MD: So, where do you want this to go, is rapping just a hobby?
D: This is what I want to do. People always look at me, and they see my family… Like they see my dad and my uncle, and think that oh his uncle is just gonna sign him and his dad will be on the project, but no, that is not the case, this is an independent project, and this is something that I am doing for myself…
MD: Being the independent artist that you are, how do you think you can pull away from your family’s shadow?
D: Keep being me, keep doing what I do. Sometimes its almost like people persecute me because of what I was born into. Like they look at my house, wait, its not even my house, because I did not work for it. I’ve just got to keep doing me..
MD: What inspires you? How do you get a concept for a new song?
D: Life, girls, school.. things I went through, things I’m going throught… stuff like that, its all inspiring
MD: Speaking of girls…. do you have a girlfriend?
D: No, ladies… I’m single. [laughs]
MD: [laughs]… well, I bet there are a lot of teenage girls excited about that. So your mixtape was hot, rave reviews on Fly Away and Laid Back.. what were your fave tracks?
D: My favorite tracks? Hmmm… I’m looking at the track list on my itunes right now… It’d have to be Fly Away and Point To Prove… My mixtape came out in December, so my newer favorite track is Set Me Free, its a single I dropped last week…. but, definitely Fly Away, Point To Prove, and Set Me Free…
MD: With this mixtape, do you feel as though you have a “point to prove”?
D: Yes, most definitely… People look at me and expect me to be rapping for fun, and this is something I want to do, I’m not what you think I’m going to be and do what you think I’ll do. I definitely proving myself to everyone…
MD: Thats real…. so if you were to compare yourself to an artist who would it be?
D: What do you mean..?
MD: Like Ye’ compared himself to the new Slick Rick… you would be?
D: I don’t remember him saying that… wait, he said… [raps] “hey young world, i’m the new Slick Rick, they say I move to quick”… Ummmm.. I don’t know. I’m me. I’m Diggy.
MD: Thats real… but, what artist do you like or influence you?
D: Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, Jay Electronica, J.cole, Andre 3000, Mos Def, Lykke Li… and many more.
MD: If you could collab with any artist, who would it be?
D: Man,… Thats a hard one, there’s just too many…
MD: If you could give advice to someone trying to get the same buzz you have, what would it be?
D: Keep working until you get noticed… Like I had my blog [Life of a Jet Setter], and people started to pay attention to my fashion, and then I did some music, and now there’s twitter. Twitter is like your own PR. And you just put your music out there. For me, some people didn’t even know I did music until sites like 2DopeBoyz posted me, and then I started getting recognition from that…So, just keep grinding…
MD: That’s real, so true… Thanks for doing this interview, definitely appreciated it… make sure to come back when you drop that album!
D: Of course, no problem… I will whenever, just hit up Cathryn.

Definitely check Diggy out on his blog at Life of a Jet Setter, and his twitter is @Diggy_Simmons… A real fresh kid on the rise.
- Miss Dimplez

The New Era Femme Fatales; Volume 1. Femme fatale is French for “deadly female”. The term describes an independent woman who is a threat to tradition female gender roles. Corianna and Brianna Dotson, better known as Coco and Breezy epitomize that description. These femme fatales came out of the womb grinding. They are fashion designers, dancers and freelance models.. With their electric eyewear line “Gemela Amor”, French for twin love, they are taking over the world, one pair of shades at a time.

MD: Tell us a little bit about yourself…
We are Coco and Breezy… identical twins, originally from Minnesota. We’ve lived in New York for over 5 months. When we moved here our lives changed. We‘re eyewear fashion designers, young entrepreneurs… and we’re just here to inspire young people and to show that you can do it. That‘s why we work so hard… We’re just trying to show that all it takes is commitment and hard work.
MD: When did you realize that fashion designing was you niche?
We’ve always been into fashion, since we were younger… We really didn’t realize that we would be making a living off of this until designing until about last year… We’ve always designed but we never thought “oh, I’m going to be a designer when I get older..”… We just designed and our line just blew up.. But, its definitely a passion.
MD: What was the first thing you ever designed?
When we were younger, like really really young, we’d take our mom’s sheets and make them into dresses..
MD: How old are you now?
We’re only 19, we’re young… but that’s why you want to start younger, we’re young and we started young and some people think that you have to be old to follow your dreams but we didn’t wait for nobody we just went for it.
MD: Do you feel like what you’re doing is important?
Yes, I do actually… I believe everything that me and Coco do is very important. We don’t do it for the money, but solely to inspire younger people… We’re young entrepreneurs, and we’re showing that you can be young and black in the fashion industry, even though it’s tough, you can do it. Everything is possible.
MD: What makes “Coco and Breezy”?
We’re crazy like… we don’t care, we’re very different. We could care less about what people think about us, our style is very out of this world… We’re very open minded, and we just do whatever we want… We set goals, and we don’t care how hard its going to be to reach them, or how much sleep we’re not going to get, we just do it up. And remain very humble. What makes us different from other designers or people who are also in the industry is that they may be cocky, but us you would never know.
MD: How important do you think it is to stay humble?
I think it’s very important, because we want to stay close to our friends and supporters… We want to be able to give advice. See, the people that don’t remain humble are the people who want to be icons, we don’t want to be icons, we want to be inspirations to people. I don’t want to be someone’s icon, I want to be someone’s inspiration. I don’t want to be a bad example, I want to be a good example..
MD: What your inspirations/motivations? What keeps you ladies going?
What keeps us going is the fact that so many people hit us up everyday telling us how what we’re doing has inspired them, and that makes us work even harder. That really means a lot to us that we inspire other people. And almost everyday, a couple blogs recognize us, so seeing our name get bigger and bigger, makes us not want to be comfortable, but work even harder to get even bigger.
MD: What’s the hardest thing you’ve had to face while being in the fashion industry?
Seeing other people copy our designs, instead of making their own… And it keeps happening, so we’re switching it up.
MD: Do you have words of encouragement or advice for people trying to get to where you are?
Definitely…. Work hard, don’t wait for anybody. A lot of people try to wait on that one person that said they were going to get them to the place, or put them on… But, where we’re at now, we had no help, no publicist, no management, no nothing… we did it all on our own. And make sure you set a goal. It doesn’t matter how long its going to take or how hard its going to be just go for it.

These femmes are very inspirational and are poised for a dominant 2010, but don’t take my word for it, find out for yourself. Check out their blog and see sneak peaks of their new line 20/20 shades @ cocoandbreezy.blogspot.com, also, follow them on twitter @CocoandBreezy.

Donell Jones is epic. I have experienced make ups and break ups to his music, so getting this interview was truly a blessing. Donell Jones has hits, after hits, after hits…. from “U Know What’s Up” to “Where I Wanna Be” to “I’ll Go”… all hits. He’s making a comeback, just released a e-CD “The Lost Files”; available only on iTunes. The joint is super refreshing to the so-called r&b we hear on the radio. He’s also currently in and out of the studio finishing up an album, which is gonna be released later on this spring, but is currently untitled. Thanks to Madeline, Donell’s wonderful manager, I was able to chat with Donell on the telephone for a bit… A Miss Dimplez exclusive!

MD: So, I got a few questions for you, some are from fans some are from random people on twitter, uhm, the number one question I did get in though is where have you been since ’06?
DJ: Pretty much just relaxing, uhm just waiting to get off Jive Records really, that’s basically in a nut shell what I’ve been doing, just trying to get off of that contract…
MD: So, what are you gonna do now that you’re out the contract?
DJ: Oh, I’m going to Disney World [laughs].. nah actually uhm, I just started my own label, so now you know, I put out The Lost Files, which is out right now, and also you know, my new album will be complete soon.
MD: Do you think r&b or the art of r&b is dead?
DJ: Nah, I don’t think its dead, I just think everybody has their own style of r&b.. I think what’s happening right now, is that, there’s so many cats out there doing the same thing, there’s just no variety anymore… You know, uhm, when I was in the game, everybody had their own style. You know when you heard a Baby Face record you knew this was Baby Face, when you heard a Stevie Wonder song, you knew it was Stevie Wonder.. Like so many artists had different styles of r&b… and I think that a lot of artist are going to the same producers and everything is starting to sound the same. Its kinda like one big song on the radio.. And, you know, i think the variety of different styles has diminished.
MD: Okay… That’s real… So how do you think, with your new cd The Lost Files out on iTunes, how do you think that you can change the current state of r&b?
DJ: Oh, I definitely know I can change it. I have a great, great, pool of fans, that have supported me since the beginning.. And as far as my fans, I know I can definitely change the way they feel about r&b… You know, I always try to talk about love, and relationships, make ups and break ups… putting substance of the music, and the nature of the story of what we going through… and I think that’s what’s missing in r&b now-a-days, the lack of love or things about relationships… and cats these days just talk about how much money they got, or how much chicks they done hit… and to me that’s, that really not it…
MD: Okay, okay… so uhm, when and why did you start singing?
DJ: I started singing when I was 5 years old… Why? I think it was a gift from God… See, my mother and father also sang as well, they just didn’t do it professionally… and it just, you know, watching the award shows, and listening to music… my mom played a lot of music, uhm, I think that’s what made me really want to sing.. and when I got older my mom bought me a keyboard, i learned how to play it myself… it just kept getting better and better for me, until that was all i wanted to do.
MD: That’s what’s up… that’s whats up… so what inspires you, as a artist, because I know you write your own music, so what inspires you? And do you ever feel like giving up?
DJ: Writing songs, and being able to go on stage, and seeing people react to those songs, that’s what really turns me on. I think at some point we all feel like giving up, but to be honest with you, I’ll never give up, I love music so much… and personal experience, that’s what really inspires me. And then growing up in a musical era, where there was so much great music, I just want to take it and share with everybody else… so much great music growing up.
MD: Right…. so, you right your own music, how long does it take for you to come up with a new concept?
DJ: Not long at all… I could be on the phone talking to you right now, and you might say something funny that would be a concept for a song… and basically, most of my songs come from personal experiences, that I’ve been through, with a little bit of added fiction to make the stories a little bit more believable…
MD: MmmmHmmm… so if you could chose one song, that you sang in your entire career to be remember with, what would it be and why?
DJ: Oh, that’s easy, that would be “Where I Wanna Be”… I think that is the song that I would mostly be remembered by, because a lot of people really felt that song, and they felt the emotion that I had when I was singing that song, because it was a true story, and I think a lot of people at the time was going through that… and the funny thing about it is, it still happens today… Its one of those songs that will always make people know who I am…
MD: That’s real… what can we expect next?
DJ: Definitely tours, I’m going everywhere, and as far as collabos, we’ll probably do those on the remixes, I don’t like to do those on my album, because you go on tour and they always expect to see you and that person together and that doesn’t always happen… so you know, I like to keep myself for my album, and the remixes for re-releases…
MD: Is there anything you’d like to add before we close… Anything you want fans to know about “Donell Jones”?
DJ: Definitely, I just want to let all my fans know that I really appreciate them supporting me through the years, and this a new album that I have coming out and its gonna be hits from top to bottom, and if they follow my career they know that when I make an album its really not about the singles its about the whole project. So, when you put this particular album on, and you get in your head that this is all purpose music. Get your groove on, drive to it, love to it, this is all purpose music, and I’m gonna continue to do that. And if they want to reach me, they can hit me up on www.twitter.com/donelljones96, www.facebook.com/donelljones96, www.myspace.com/donelljones [www.youtube.com/donelljonestv]
MD: Thank you once again…
DJ: No problem, you have a good day…
MD: You too…

Tracklist:

What a great way to end Thanksgiving, and make it that much more memorable with the anticipated release of Lupe Fiasco’s new mixtape titled Enemy Of The State: A Love Story! Download the entire mixtape here or here. Both links work &+ are virus free. I just downloaded them and I’m taking my listen right now… let me what tracks YOU THINK are hot or not… tweet me @MissDimplez or drop a comment. I know I’ve got high Lupe-tations… t’hehe… hope you had a happy Thanksgiving….
- Miss Dimplez

“I need everyone to know! Wales song ‘Letter’ was mine! He and whoever else took it rapped on the beat used my title and theme and leaked it. The song ‘Letter’ was originally slated for my J Records El Che release. I was planning to use it for my upcoming March album release. The track was Originally produced by Animal House and Mark Ronson replayed it and we put John Mayer on it. Wale just jacked it…. I’m not looking for rapper beef. I just thought yall should know when you hear his it ain’t really his.” – Rhymefest
“Letter” by Rhymefest ft. John Mayer

I guess the ‘confusion spurred from both Rhymefest and Wale working out of Allido studios, so both of their music was accessible by each other. So I wondered, did Wale know that he was jacking someone’s song? He had to have known that the track belonged to someone else, and even if he didn’t, he should have been concerned when he realized the concept of the song was already in place… especially when Wale’s been claiming his entire cd was original.

Rhymefest said, “I asked Wale about it, called him up personally. His reply was basically I ain’t know you were using it Mark gave it to me….”

Kudos to ‘Fest for not trying to start beef. I’m sick and tired of rappers beefing, but I am disappointed in transaction that occurred. Wale, I am disappointed.
- Miss Dimplez