It seems as though the power rankings for ’09 have for the most part, played out the way we thought it… Mike Posner went hard this year with his mixtape A Matter of Time, and Big Sean continues to impress us with his versatility and metaphorical lyrical scheme on UKNOWBIGSEAN. KiD CuDi and Asher Roth’s freshman releases rocked the charts, and truly showed the raw talent coming out of this class… But where did we go wrong? The answer lies with New York musician Charles Hamilton. We interviewed him a while back, under circumstances that really were not ideal or normal for us, seeing as we did the interview in a freestyle sort of way, and in that interview, he revealed his whole idea for an upcoming album which would be entitled, This Perfect Life.
Where we went wrong was placing him on the 2009 Incoming Freshman list. It is truly sad to see an MC take his career down by being immature and unable to put out this “album” of his on time. The problem with his album was that he planned on distributing and getting the word out through his online blog, but he took a break from that which in turn, led to less promotion, and the album never dropped on his expected June 23rd release date. Also, he has definitely got some issues that need to be resolved, and I still think he has a lot of raw talent, and with time, will hopefully be crafted into something special. His track, “Brooklyn Girls” is something that you won’t find on anyone else’s mixtape, the beat, the lyrical flow, and the way he went about doing the track was phenomenal. Mr. Hamilton has only replicated that greatness on one other tape, and that was his, Well Isn’t This Awkward. I hate to do this to what was once a young promising musical career, but I am officially taking Hamilton off the incoming freshman class, and replacing him with two musicians who deserve to take over his spot. If Hamilton can straighten out his act, regain his form, and begin making solid music again, there may be a chance he can get back onto that list again! Maybe he will re-appear on the 2010 list, one can only hope this young man can get his form back.
On a more positive note, J. Cole has been taking over the music industry like it’s his job. He released The Warm Up this year, and has been recognized by many as just an all-around great mixtape. It seems as though the majority of musicians now a day live and die by the mixtape, so when you put one out, you need to make sure that you go hard, and do it right. Unlike Hamilton, J. Cole seems to be going places, and has already been able to open the door for his musical career. As opposed to Hamiltons numerous mixtape releases, J. Cole’s one release has already landed him a spot on one of raps biggest names album. Cole was featured on Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3, on the track “A Star Is Born”. Many people out there more then likely have been keeping an eye on Mr. Cole, especially after his appearance on Hov’s most recent album (which was dynamite, and you can be expecting a review on that soon!). Recently, his single, “Lights Please” has been gaining a ton of attention through the internet, and it would appear as though a star has been born, and is developing right in front of our eyes. His single was one of the tracks that ended with Jay-Z putting him on BP3. Unlike Hamilton, J. Cole seems well on his way to doing it big in ’10, and will more then likely be taking over the music industry in the very near future!
Our second musician to take over Hamilton’s once coveted spot on the Incoming Class of ’09 list is XV. Vizzy (as he sometimes goes by) put together a real solid mixtape which really showed his versatility as a musician and as a lyricist. His tape, Everybody’s Nobody really showed his true talent, and shows that he definitely has what it takes to become a big-time musician in the music industry. On the tape, he features some big names such as Big Sean, Colin Munroe, Ne-Yo, & Wiz Khalifa, names of some people who have already gotten some recognition for their work! I don’t know why, but not THAT many people out there have heard of XV and know his true talent, which is sad, because they are definitely missing out! Recently, a track leaked in which XV is doing his thing with Mike Posner, Bun B, and GLC on the Benzi Remix of the track “Mirrors Edge”. Be on the lookout for DJ Benzi and XV’s remix tape of Everybody’s Nobody, which is sure to feature even more big names from the music industry, and will more then likely propel his career even more. Unlike Hamilton, XV possesses some versatility in his game, and the beats he uses seem much better suited for his lyrical style then some of Hamilton’s beats. Vizzy for sure has proven to many that he has what it takes to be a force to be reckoned with in the industry, now it is just up to everyone out there to help spread the word and get this guy some well deserved recognition!
It was hard for me to take Charles Hamilton off the list, but it was something that had to be done. I think that with musicians like J. Cole and XV, the music industry is in good hands, especially with all this young talent coming in and taking over the industry. Names like KiD CuDi, Big Sean, Mike Posner, Asher Roth, Drake and Mickey Factz prove to everyone out there that even though Soulja Boy did kill hip-hop, it is being brought back to life and will once again stand atop many of the other genres out there. It is disheartening to write off Charles Hamilton’s musical career, but hopefully one day he will regain the flow he had, and will be able to go hard on a full mixtape/album and take over the industry like he once did with his single “Brooklyn Girls”. For now, the bright lights and future of music lies in the hands of the rest of our Incoming Freshman of ’09 and the new members to the list, XV & J. Cole.
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