Nas The Don, Why Hasn't He Won??...Seriously

As a collective, award ceremonies like 'The Grammy's' and 'Oscars' are held to high esteem for music artists and those in the film industry. What sucks about these Award Shows is that sometimes the fan favorites walk away with no recognition. Take for instance, Leonardo Dicaprio.. This guy is a spectacular actor and has never disappointed with any role that he was given. However, with 25 years in the game, he has been nominated 4 times and walked away with no Oscars. 

On the music end, our underrated hero seems to be Nas, The Don. With 20 years in the game, 8 multi-platinum albums, 18 Grammy nominations and Nas has yet to walk away with a win.

However, when you see his name on any 'Hip Hop Best' list you will more than likely see his name at the top. Why? Simple, he's one of THE BEST! Don't think so? Well let us paint a picture of why we believe Nas to be not only a perfect nominee, but a Grammy winner.

• Classic Signature Flow: Nas is a poet who cleverly paints pictures, with metaphors, and internal rhyme schemes that many are still threatened by. You can count on Nas to take you on a lyrical journey by simply using logic. Now granted not many can keep up, but if you sit back and take a listen you'll find why he's literally one of the BEST Lyricist in the game.
• Ether: Commercially ..Jay-Z has definitely surpassed Nas, but lyrically who will you take? Ether will go down in rap history as the best rap battle song. Everyone expected it to be over after Hov's 'Takeover' but then Nas came with the 'Ether'(literally), placing himself respectfully on a mantle to this day. Believe us, it's probably your rappers favorite diss song.
• Overall Music: Nas musically is refreshing with every album he releases. Giving us that Ghetto Gospel, he has a unique sound that sets him as a trendsetter. You can see many influences from Jazz, Soul, Blues, R & B and even a little rock. Nas has a diverse music palette and it shows through his production, making him an all around great artist to vibe to. 

Still not convinced? Listen to our favorite songs from Nas and tell us he isn't sick with it. You have to admit, he deserves some sort of high recognition for his contribution to the Hip Hop culture.

(No specific order)

1. "If I ruled the World"

2. Life's A Bitch

3. Ether

4. Made You Look

5. One Mic

6. You Can Hate Me Now

7. NY State of Mind

8. It Ain't Hard to Tell

9. I can

10. Oochie Wally 

"Look who crept in with automatic weapons, Reppin QB till the death of him, That nigga that inspired lyrical tyrants like Kanye and Em. Track Record goes back to "The Essence". Smack adolescents who ask who the best is, I'm nasty like gas from a fat man, attested, I pass it, You gaspin for breath and you die fast, Gut em' like a gastric bypass" 

-NAS, 'Outro', The Carter IV

& on that note.. The Lab3L out

Cozzy: 'Man of His City'

With only 6 years in the game, Hip-Hop artist Cozzy has already been signed to a record label and even had his first mixtape 'Calm Before The Storm' nominated for 'Best Rap Album of the Year'  by the Independent Music Awards. He held his own among one of Hip Hop's favorite indie artist, Killer Mike who won the award for R.A.P Music.

Download Cozzy's current album, 'The Storm'

Hailing from the south, Pensacola, Florida to be exact, Cozzy's love for music seems to be deeply rooted. In Elementary School, he played the piano and transitioned right over to alto saxophone once he reached Middle School. By the time he made it to High School, he was on to writing and recording. 

Years later, and Cozzy is making a name for himself as well as putting his hometown on the map. Even though he resides in Charlotte, North Carolina, you can tell by his 'Fresh by Nature' tees, he is always repping Pensacola.

Click Tee to Purchase

                                     
His latest video, 'Gibberish' is another smooth joint from his newest project 'The Storm'. Cozzy has been releasing some pretty nice visuals since the release of the album, so we are pretty sure he won't dissapoint. Now sit back, turn up the volume and enjoy this cool video. 

For more music off of Cozzy's latest album 'The Storm'you can stream and download below:

Find out more about Cozzy at:

MTV Artists

CozzyBlog.Com

And Follow him:

 Instagram  @Cozzy_FBN

Twitter @Cozzy

Countdown to Coachella!

Weekend one of Coachella is only 86 days away so we've decided to highlight artists you may or may not know of until then! Where else will you be able to see Outkast, Nas, Kid Cudi, Pharrell, Lana Del Rey, and many more amazing artists all in one weekend?! Coachella is always making the impossible happen and we cannot wait to experience it. Last year Snoop was able to perform with a Tupac hologram and this year we're getting a much needed Outkast reunion. It just keeps getting better and better.

In light of this, we wanted to promote one of our favorite "Coachella Collabs" from Big Boi and Swedish Trip Hop band, Little Dragon. 

Big Boi and Little Dragon

Their collaboration took place in 2012 on Big Boi's solo album 'Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors'. With this latest album we were extremely happy to find Little Dragon featured on not just one, but 3 melodic tracks:

'Thom Petite' a bass heavy joint christened by lead singer, Yukimi's unique voice, exemplifies why Little Dragon continues to be a favorite band to collaborate with. 

'High Res' is a poppy, melodic tune that has enough boom to complement the versatile flow of Big Boi.

'Descending' is more of a airy, soft and heartfelt track that nicely blends guitar melodies and bass creating the perfect canvas for soulful verses from Big Boi and Yukimi. 

The dreamy band would have racked up 4 tracks on the album but 'Mama Told Me' which features Kelly Rowland couldn't be finalized for business reasons that remain unknown. However, it was nothing personal so we can look forward to seeing future collaborations. Who knows we may even see an Oukast and Little Dragon collaboration in the near future, fingers crossed! 

Big Boi and Yukimi 

Either way we can not wait to see both AMAZING groups and many more Artists, bring down the house at Cochella 2014! 

See Little Dragon and Big Boi perform 'Mama Told Me' for Fader Magazine in Austin,Texas. 

Diggin' Underground: Red Kiva X L.F. Entertainment presents...

Last night we had the pleasure of attending L.F. Entertainment Radio's 5 year Anniversary Event at Red Kiva. L.F. Ent Radio, prides themselves on being legendary entertainment that bring you new music and real talk from underground artists, producers, DJ's and actors from across the nation. 

  

Red Kiva, located in Chicago’s West Loop, is a music venue and lounge with a unique, laid back atmosphere that provide a comfortable setting for any type of occasion.

Mixing the Red Kiva atmosphere with the great musical talents chosen by L.F. Ent; the event was truly a wonderful experience. We were delighted to score couch seats placing us front and center of all the action. These seats were not only comfortable, but provided great entertainment during audience participation segments of artist sets.

Some of the local artist who performed included:

[Click Links to be directed to Artists Music]

Fare Games (@FareGames)

C. Rich (@CRichalchemist) 

Ace da Vinci(@MrSmartMouf)

Don Perrion(@ItsDonPerrion)

A.M. Abstract Mind (@AbstrakMind) 

Hellabeard (@hellabeard)

D2G (2GMakeAMove)

Jon Content (@joncontent)

Vic Spencer (@VicSpencer)

and our homie from Chicago's FYI, Few(@FewCobb).

While we wish we had footage of every artist from last night, we only caught one act. However, every single musician that performed is extremely talented and is worth the research. For now, here is a snippet from one of the great performances last night. 

Fare Games ft. Few 'Trill Young Nigg**' 

Stay tuned on the release of the full song, as well as more music from these artists.

#SupportChicagoArtists!

#MusicMonday 'Confident' Justin Beiber ft Chance The Rapper

We can not 'beliebe' #MusicMondays are now over, but we are glad Beiber and Chance got together to bring us this new banger 'Confident'. With 10 weeks of nothing but silky smooth slow jams, Beibz linked with Chicago's golden child, Chance the Rapper and turned it all the way up on his finale.

Chance, has  proved he can capture mainstream audiences with his collaborations with Lil Wayne as well as James Blake; and now we see him step confidently into cross over heaven with this newest collaboration. 

While Justin Beiber on the other hand has been spending the last few months shedding his good boy image, and stepping into grownman's land. 

Checkout some of the sexy lyrics below:

“Then she started dancing, sexual romancingNasty but she fancy, lipstick on my satin sheetsWhat's your nationality? I wonder if there's more of youShe's got my attention, she's confident,” 

So yes our little JB is making that move into the grown man swag and we are definitely Beliebers! 

Hear JB's last #MusicMondays below. Tweet us, let us know what you think #TheLab3L

Tune In Tuesday: Vic Mensa Blows into the Spotlight

Now that you know Chicago has mad talent, let us dedicate today's 'Tune in Tuesday' to some of our favorite rising stars. 

Vic Mensa is primarily known to be the main MC in the group, Kids These Days. Currently he's said to be next-to-blow from our Windy City, Chicago. While the world is still getting familiar, we aren't surprise that this 20 year old rapper is quickly becoming a crowd favorite as he gains stardom opening for Hip Hop stars J. Cole and Wale for the 'What Dreams May Come Tour'. 

Check out his latest video, 'Egyptian Cotton' a multi layered song produced by Clams Casino, sponsored by HP & directed by YouTube users. Now that's one crazy collaboration, are you feeling it? 

Get familiar & stream his latest mixtape 'INNANETAPE' below: