XV: "Me, You" Remix featuring Freddie Gibbs, Shawn Chrystopher
First there was Twitter from XV saying that he was going to leak a new track, and then the track was in my inbox. I love how that works. We first highlighted XV in '08, and since then he's really taken off. The equivalent of a top draft pick from mid-major, XV's success from Witchita, Kansas proves the distribution power of the internet. XV says as much in the "Me, You" remix, features Freddie Gibbs, and Shawn Chrystopher. Seven on production... XV's remix project with DJ Benzi coming soon.
Download it here.
Shawn Chrystopher: I Wear Glasses 2 Mixtape
Shawn Chrystopher drops his second installment of the I Wear Glasses Series, this one subtitled "I Told You So"...Download the project here, and check out our First Look right here.
RH FIrst Look: Shawn Chrystopher
Ever since I've been on this earth my parents have drilled into my head the importance of education. You know how it is when you're younger and you take what they say for granted but as you grow into your own you begin to really notice how important attaining an education is. Many people believe that this concept has been abandoned in the Hip Hop community. It seems that critiques tend to draw conclusions on the entire community. Many believe that at a time in Hip Hop it wasn't "cool" to be an intellect or "cool" to have something positive going for yourself. Personally I disagree with that. Hip Hop has always been about bettering yourself as a person, whether that being mentally or socially.
With the "New Age" of Hip Hop hitting the scene, we are starting to notice a growing trend of college educated artists, artists like Wale, Asher Roth, and Shawn Chrystopher. Graduating from a California high school at the age of 16, Shawn Chrystopher then attended the University of Southern California. The kid also plays 5 different instruments, brings paintings to the studio, and says he doesn't really listen to Hip Hop at all besides Kanye and Jeezy. "Other than that I listen to Coldplay, Radiohead, Nina Simone, John Mayer, Jackson 5, Queens of the Stoneage, Brazilian Girls, and The Killers, "says Chrystopher.
Read what these influences have lead Shawn Chrystopher to cultivate in his own music and more in an in-depth First Look below.
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