You Are Now Driving 88

By Gary Lee

I would be a liar if I told you I've been listening to this artist for awhile but I'm not that kind of journalist. Before I wrote this, I downloaded Driving 88, after hearing that Chicago up and coming rapper Rockie Fresh had signed with Rick Ross's MMG. By Track 7, I was a big fan already. Ross made a good decision to sign the young rapper.

Rockie

Personally, I thought the next rapper to sign with Ross would be West Coast rappers Nipsey Hussle or Dom Kennedy, but before I even finished "Driving 88" I saw why Rockie was the next up. The Chicago rap game is blowing up these days with Chief Keef getting a co-sign from Kanye West, another Chicago rapper and King Louie getting signed to Epic Records it was only right for Ross to cash in on the windy city hype and jump on this opportunity. I've heard of Rockie awhile ago but never got around to downloading his music and now I see he has crazy bars. As a journalist, I can't wait to see what the future holds for Rockie but for now all I have to say is Welcome to the #PowerCircle Rockie.

The Boss, Rockie

Download Driving 88

#FLIGHT

Always Strive And Prosper

By Gary Lee

 Always Strive And Prosper, that’s what ASAP means in A$AP Rocky's mind. Born in Harlem and named after rapper Rakim, Rocky has burst on the scene of hip-hop with a different style of New York rap with a Houston sound to it. He and his crew, who also have ASAP in there names, such as ASAP Ferg and ASAP Nast, all grew up in New York and wanted to be different from other people in the city, so they dressed different, hung out in different places, and as Rocky said in a past interview "We f*ck different b*itches"

Dropping his famous mixtape LIVE/LOVEA$AP, Rocky gained the attention of Hip-Hop's big star Drake and has earned a spot on his Club Paradise tour.

Rocky has dropped music videos and has directed all of them, the most famous being Peso. After dropping the video, buzz stuck around Rocky and brought him attention. Thus gaining him a chance to sign a 3 million dollar deal with Sony/RCA records. With the deal Rocky has gone even harder in the entertainment business, also being more involved in fashion. Complex noticed the young up and coming rapper and wanted him to share the cover of their magazine with fashion legend Jeremy Scott. Rocky has been known to call himself a “Pretty Muthaf*cka” and being on Complex magazine with one of the prettiest (pause) has proven that he really is pretty.

Complex hasn’t been the only magazine to notice Rocky, XXL magazine has also noticed him. He is one of the 40 up and coming stars in hip-hop to be in the running of XXL’s Freshmen ten 2012 list. I know who I voted for. That list has pushed many rappers to the next level such as Curren$y, Nipsey Hussle, Big Sean, and B.O.B. I believe Rocky is the next big thing in hip-hop, already working with legend producers like David Banner, Pharrell, and The Olympicks. He is also working with artists like Bun B, School Boy Q, fellow NY head Lloyd Banks and 2 Chainz. I believe that by the end of 2012 hip-hop will be full of “Pretty Muthaf*ckas”

Download his mixtape Live/LoveA$AP at www.liveloveasap.com