Philly Up-comer Asaad is making waves with his latest, Dirty Middle Class. This project which is a prelude to his EP entitled “006”, features an all-star cast of  production by Bink! (Jay-Z, Kanye West, Rick Ross), Nascent & QB (50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, L.E.P. Bogus Boys), Ritz Reynolds (Mac Miller, The Roots). Asaad shows his ass on soul pumped tracks like “Dirty White Leathers”, “Paint On The Fur”, and “Black Kids Dream”. On the Bink! produced “Black Kids Dream” he spazzes. The hook goes, “A couple ‘hunned in my wallet, Paid In Full on the screen/ I’m really living every Black Kids Dream/ Now throw your hands to the Heavens like, right now/ Here the Angels sing ( say it loud) I’m Black and I’m proud (5 times). It’s a  4:02 minute erupting volcano of emotion and swag.

At times his words are crude. He often uses swearing words that adds much more street candor to the overall experience. It feels like he really means what he says. You kinda get the feeling of this kid who was left in the house all day and drew all over the room’s walls with red crayons. On “Paint On The Fur” he tells the story of a rich “sugar mama” who buys him Lanvin and Balmain. Asaad’s previous projects including Flowers and Wednesday featured great rhyming capability but now that he’s paired with greater production, his true colors are starting to shine. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was currently being courted by major record labels.

One has to wonder how would the late great, DJ Screw feel about the spreading and thinning of the Houston Screw sound. After breakout stars like Drake and A$AP Rocky have obviously capitalized from the Houston Hip-Hop culture there has to be an underlying bittersweet feeling within the lone star state. Taking a look at the current tape from Houston bred rapper Kirko Bangz, The Progression, you can see that the Houston Screw sound could become a feature on a Katy Perry song very soon. It’s come a long way from Lil Troy’s “Wanna Be A Baller” and closer to Drake’s So Far Gone.

Houston Screw Culture, named after DJ Screw himself has been developing since the early 90’s and started reaching prominence globally around 2005. Local rappers would sell the mixes out of their trunks and Houston supported itself. Breakout artists from the Screwed up Click like Paul Wall, Lil Flip, Lil Keke and others were felt all over the globe. It’s practically popular culture. But what about outsiders flipping the sound? And what about the backlash Southern Hip-Hoppers used to receive when they traveled east? It seems like just yesterday when the east coast was calling southern rap music something other than rap and the late Pimp C decided that he would just call his take on the sound “Country Rap Tunes” instead.

UGK member, Bun B, has been a major ambassador for Houston’s Hip-Hop Culture. He’s also assisted in many burgeoning careers in Hip-Hop, by either gifting a verse or co-signing a movement. Both Drake and ASAP Rocky have benefited from his co-sign but how does the Houston Hip-Hop community react? The chopped and screwed effect has been used on almost every tape this year. Do they want their sound plastered all over pop tracks and made accessible to any artist?

Currently, we are living in a generation where rap has spread to each and every corner of the world and instead of embarking on new territories, the sound has began to clash and blend. A$AP Rocky seems humbled and pays homage to the southern roots where the style began. On the intro to his album, Palace, he raps, “Don’t remember as wanna be New Orleans nigga slash lean sippin’ tenessee nigga naw/ Influenced by Houston hear it in my music/ A trill nigga to the truest / Show you how to do this!” I’m guessing as long as someones paying homage to the forefathers there’s no harm, no foul.

No, I have never quite rode a concrete wave like the question posed in New York based songstress Kendra Morris’ breakout single, “Concrete Wave.”  In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Morris explained the metaphor of the song as,

The metaphor dawned on me.  It’s a comparison of riding a concrete wave as opposed to riding an ocean wave.  You do these crazy things from pavement to air and you are soaring but, if you fall you’re caught by the gavel and pebbles.  But it was so great for those few seconds in the air or gliding down that ramp.”

Despite having an already existing discography that includes her self-titled debut EP which you can view here.  Morris is gaining a pretty big buzz courtesy the original version of the song, “Concrete Waves,” as well as the remix version produced by the legendary DJ Premier.  Morris is set to release her full length debut in the Spring of 2012 via Wax Poetics Records.

Make sure to get familiar with Morris, ASAP and be sure to download both versions of “Concrete Wave,” here.

Concrete Waves – DJ Premier Remix by Kendra Morris

All Night by Kendra Morris

At first glance, Allen Stone isn’t the first person you’d expect to be singing soul songs. He looks more like a skater than anything, with long frazzled hair and eccentric styling. However, a couple of months ago, a live video recording of his single, “Unaware,” taped in his mother’s living room, went into viral overload. Suddenly, the thick framed sunglasses, cherry blossom hair, along with the delicate sultry voice all make sense.

His self-titled sophomore disc, Allen Stone, is powerful amidst the current backdrop of America i.e. Occupy Wall Street. “Unaware,”in particular, speaks to the political movement. The first line goes, “ Everyday the deficit grows/ You spend more than you own.”  He goes further to sing, “ Everyday, taxes increase. So, is this our land or is this our lease.” These quotes empathize with the rumbling stomachs of Americans and take shots at the people making the decisions.  The release is a healthy dosage of passionate  love and political themes.

Allen Stone,  reassures us that Soul Music is the truest genre in music right now. On songs like “Satisfaction,” and “Sleep,”one can almost see Stevie Wonder looking over Stone’s right shoulder as he croons.

Without a label, Allen Stone, has peaked at #2 on the Itunes Soul/R&B Charts and  hit #29 and #62 on the Billboard Heatseekers and R&B/Hip Hop Album charts. The young (24) singer has quite a career ahead of him.