Dedication, sacrifice, and determination will take you far. Most times these attributes can very well determine how far you go in life. And in this case, these strengths have lead North Carolina’s Malll to where he is today. Just this past Monday he released his long awaited project titled, ‘Alive & Well’. This project is the introduction to Malll’s new world & phases he’s grown from, as well as surpassed.

Throughout this project you can hear Malll has embraced the journey of growth and maturation, and is ready to take the world by storm. Alive and Well shed’s light on his determination and strength. It also depicts how respecting the process will take you to new heights.

Using birds to resemble the limitless of his recent work, this project is the continuous path of young man with a dream. With tracks produced by Charlotte’s very own Myles Harris and features from the 27 Lord Asaad, Alive & Well is nothing short of a classic.

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The post Malll Delivers Alive and Well appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Retired NBA veteran J.R. Reid had a lengthy career in the NBA. With stints with the San Antonio Spurs, Charlotte Hornets, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Buck. Drafted 5th overall by the Hornets in the 1989 NBA Draft, Reid, a product of Virginia Beach, VA came as advertised after a stellar high school career after being named Gatorade and USA TODAY’s player of the year out of Kempsville High School. He’d later be an All-American under Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina.

What’s always been cool about Reid is his journey and who he’s been around in locker rooms during his NBA career. He was teammates with 16 year NBA vet Dell Curry and would watch Dell’s son’s, Seth and Stephen grow as children. The boys are now all grown up, Seth is a guard playing for the Dallas Mavericks and Stephen is the Golden State Warriors star point guard.

Reid knew back then that Dell’s kids were special.“Steph was shooting that thing at nine,” Reid told me in an interview last year.

“He was putting the work in. You can tell. When a little kid has form, you can tell. The NBA now, you see so many former NBA players’ kids now playing. It’s a lifestyle. These kids are around this lifestyle. They see the dedication…these kids are already ahead of the game. We loved him…Steph was always tagging along. He was just a source of entertainment for us.”

Speaking of second generation ball players. Reid was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1999 season and was teammates with the now retired Kobe Bryant. Reid knew back then that Bryant was growing into a special player. “Kobe was a great teammate,” said Reid.

“We tried to get him to shoot some craps with us in the back. We started cracking jokes. Kobe was put together differently than a lot of other guys. I might be reading some stock stuff, computers, car stuff and Kobe is over there reading about the art of war. He’s trying to be a mental assassin.”

Reid served as a mentor to Kobe through parts of that season as per the advice of Jerry West, the guy who drafted Bryant. What’s significant about that is that Reid has always been a mentor of sorts and wise beyond his years. How do I know? Back in 1997 I chronicled Reid when he was a member of the Charlotte Hornets during my days hosting Nets Slammin’ Planet on the now defunct 620 AM One-On-One Sports here in New York City. He was recently a subject in the Scoop B Radio time capsule series. Give it a listen below.

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The post J.R. Reid On Young Kobe: “Trying To Be A Mental Assassin” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Yung Bizzle is an upcoming, 23 year old, artist out of Charlotte, NC. He has managed to develop a pretty unique style on some futuristic trap beats, followed with catchy hooks and melodies.

At the moment the artists is now working independently as far as a label signing goes but he is not alone. He is apart of a collective group named OGOD, which features several other independent artists, including former Cinematic Music Group signe, Bankroll Bird. The group is tight knit, but able to expand to make music that people want to hear.

Bizzle had been able to gain a pretty good fan base around the Charlotte area, as well as through out the state of North Carolina. His music has even made its way to Florida, where he was borough out to perform for fans in Orlando earlier this year. Despite being independent he has been able to align himself with various different rising producers, including Jay Storm, a producer who has produced songs for King Louie. He produced the very popular “East Side S**t” song, that featured Lil Herb. Bizzle also has had success with former Forever FC member, Jimmy Kelso. He produced his latest single, “Hit A Lick”.

After seeing success with his debut tape, Street Monopoly, now on Spinrilla, Bizzle got back to work to deliver a 5 song EP titled, Ghetto Gospel. The project received plenty of attention on Spinrilla, and also blogs including Say Cheese TV, Carolina on The Rise, Hip Hop Since 1987, and also The Hype Mag. The tape featured 5 songs that used soulful, gospel type beats, with a trap music spin to them.

Yung Bizzle is just getting started but one thing is for sure, his work ethic is never ending. He is constantly posting music to his SoundCloud account, and putting out videos. As his craft perfects, his buzz grows. With upcoming projects faith new Atlanta standout, Atl Smook coming soon, and more single projects, one can only imagine that his next move will be a big one.

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The post Watch Out For Yung Bizzle appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Amid the legion of faux streetwear heads, their were two kids from Charlotte, North Carolina who sought a vision, worked hard and wasn’t afraid to create  The Clean Slate 704.  TCS’s previous six releases have payed homage to heavy pop culture influencers (Gucci Mane, Bill Clinton & Sade to name a few), and lucky number seven continues putting on for the culture showing respect to one of Hip-Hop’s stand out artist in the early 2000’s era, Juelz Santana. Founders Jonathan McLean and Jeffrey Lockhart are resetting the the standard for streetwear with the first chapter from their Spring/Summer ’16 collection,  “Eat Your Wheaties”.

The vibrant t-shirt, showcasing  Julez’s spin on the iconic cereal box, shows a throwback photo of a posted Santana rocking OG BAPE gear. Beside him appears the words “Back Like Cooked Crack” — referencing to his highly received mixtape collection.

The Clean Slate Eat Your Wheaties T-Shirt is the first installment of the S/S ’16 collection for The Clean Slate. Honoring a respectful streetwear aesthetic, the shirt is a ode to Juelz Santana and Wheaties. Both who are staple in street culture. The Back Like Cooked Crack reference is no way shape or form, a representation of what we stand for here at TCS. It’s simply a reference we are all familiar with. Shooting the lookbook in LA at The Hundreds flagship, we wanted to use a model that defines streetwear in LA, Josh Peas and has a very well relationship with The Hundreds. Thanks to Josh Peas and The Hundreds for their moral support.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDFck4pj2sy/?taken-by=bigsean

https://www.instagram.com/p/_swqKQE30j/?taken-by=cousinstizz

The Queen City natives are silently making a buzz with their tees. Rappers like Cousin Stizz, Playboi Carti have been seen sporting TCS. Even G.O.O.D. Music signee Big Sean was casually posted recently in the stu with North Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.

While J brings the style and Jeff embodies music, the young creatives sprinkled their flavor to create a unique item of clothing that exudes street sauce. The “Eat Your Wheaties” t-shirt, modeled by Josh Peas, is exclusively available at TCS’s online shop.

Cop the new tee and check out previous gear here.

The post RESPECT. Style: The Clean Slate 704 Drops New Tee appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Since the year has started, Charlotte’s Brio has been on a consistent wave. From dropping unique singles like “Might”, “Sapphire”, and “Paint” but of course that’s just the beginning of the list. When this Charlotte native isn’t making singles for himself, you can catch him producing for artists like Kirk Collins, Two-9, and BlackFloyd.

Although he’s been on the move, he definitely hasn’t got off track from making his own magic. Recently the rapper/producer dropped his single titled “48 hrs” and as usual, it’s a GO. Being that he’s been showcasing a list of singles thus far, you can expect to see the single off the EP he will be dropping soon titled Lite Bleu. Although this isn’t his first EP that he has helped put together, this will be his first independent project. Just like any first project from an artist, it will be the test of versatility and really showcase how interested people are in what he’s doing for not only his city but for the youth. Being that his rap sheet already speaks for itself (and that’s without the release of the EP), it should be interesting to see what exactly will be on the EP, if he will have anyone featuring, and most importantly who will be on production.

There’s usually a date for EP’s and albums but having dates is almost close to pointless and require hella anticipation. In this case, we’ll have to wait until something is hinted either subliminally through the gram or announced via Twitter. Until then all we can do is place our trust in the word “soon” and hope that we will be given some type of flame. Whatever the Charlotte native decides to do, just know that it’ll be here within good timing.  

The post New Music: Brio X “48hrs” [LISTEN] appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

It’s definitely dope to see the 704 off to a consistent start this year. Enjoy the mixes below and tell us which is your favorite!

https://soundcloud.com/djpaulyguwop/leathers-fur-feat-pusha-t-outkast-redman-camron-curreny

The post Stream 2 new mixes from DJ Pauly Guwop appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Just a little over a week ago, we introduced the “Banco Extraordnaire (Sir Michael Rocks’ Greatest Hits)” mix by the very special DJ Pauly Guwop but now he’s introducing a new artist to the game. The new artist goes by the name of Lui Ron and he’s bringing his own specialty to the table from the  704. The Charlotte,NC artist has built up recognition through his single “Work For Me” and is now back with a new release entitled “Location Hue” produced by Chris Roca . In addition to the dope outro, if you have weed to smoke, have Henny to drink, or like your Sprite pink, this song might need to be your next destination. If you cant relate to any of these things..just remember “don’t get too complacent” (life lesson). Check out “Location Hue” below and lend us your thoughts on the single.

The post DJ Pauly Guwop Presents: Lui Ron. – “Location Hue” (Prod. By Chris Roca) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.