Photo credit: Carmine Martinez

North Carolina’s own Mark Steele is back at it starting off 2018 with a festive new visual.

After making waves with the premiere of the smooth record in August, North Carolina emcee Mark Steele returns with the single’s celebratory music video to close out 2017. Produced by David D’Angelo and Riot, “Good Time” serves as the lead single from Steele’s forthcoming album, It’s Been A Minute.

The David Wept directed video which features Steele telling his story about the grind it took him to reach the level of success he’s at and why it’s a cause for a celebration.

“I just wanted to make a song that commemorated hard work. Let’s enjoy ourselves these moments. Have a good time,” Steele said.

With all of the hard work paying off, Steele definitely has a reason to celebrate. As previously reported, after flexing his muscle on ESPN‘s First Take for quite some time, the Rhapsody collaborator recently visited NYC and appeared on Shade 45 linking up with DJ Enuff and The Heavy Hitters making it his first time in the studio to talk about his journey as an artist, everyday life, his relationship with 9th Wonder and new album as well as spitting his dope and ultra lyrical freestyle.

With Mark Steele barely scratching the surface in his career, we can expect to see and hear a lot more from this multi-faceted MC who is taking us on a journey that is the perfect blend of old soul, pure vibes, and awe-inspiring lyricism.

Check out the video for “Good Time” below.

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The post Mark Steele Releases Festive Visual for “Good Time” [Watch] appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

This weekend David Wept and Facecard Agency present the Death To The Normal pop-up show that will feature rappers from Carolina that have been on a crazy move lately. Not only will JK The Reaper be in the building, but also Charlotte’s Frais (who will be performing at the Smokers Club event on December 22nd along Joey Badass and Father) and Raleigh’s Austin Royale. In addition to these Carolina acts, C9’s Sdotbraddy will also be performing with some very special guests. Be sure to not miss out this Saturday, Dec.12th. Carolina vs. everybody.

The post Carolina invades LA this weekend with “Death To The Normal” Pop-Up Show appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Curren$y

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of seeing a lot of creative artists perform live at the Fillmore for AMC’s Bodega in Charlotte, NC. The hip hop festival brought out a range of acts like Rashaun Hampton, Brio Ankh, 2chea The Zombie, Baby Jesus, Preme, YB, James Malik, Shac from da 3, Mar Reynolds, and even Bankroll Bird (who’s“True Story” video was recently posted on WSHH ).

These rappers didn’t just rap their singles and get off stage, but they actually PERFORMED. Whether it was jumping on stage with their supporters, sharing wise words, telling a story behind their name, or getting off stage with their mic to go into the audience, they did just that.  While watching them on stage, you could tell it was all just love. Even when each performer was done, they stayed on stage with their same exact energy to pass along to the next artist. Even though they all come from similar areas of Charlotte, no one’s sound or message was the same and that’s what made each artist stand out from the next . Rather you were familiar with their sound or not, they made sure that you would remember them for one thing if not another. After hours of multiple performances, the moment that everyone had been anticipating finally came. Curren$y was finally in the building and ready to shut down the festival performing singles like “Smoke Sumthin”, “Sixty-Seven Turbo Jet”, “ A Lil’ Sumthin”, “Elevator Musik” ,and more.

While doing his thang on the mic, he didn’t shy away from making a couple jokes in between nor from dedicating one of his songs to one of the audience members who got kicked out for having marijuana in his possession(aka having the ganja on deck). After the show, me and my director went backstage to await for an interview but sadly there was a little miscommunication. Nonetheless Curren$y, his management (Sam and Mousa) were great people and without them, witnessing a great performance wouldn’t have been possible. Hopefully we’ll continue to witness more greatness coming from Curren$y (*cough cough* and an interview sometime soon) as well as out of the “New Atlanta”, Charlotte.

[All photos were shot and taken by David Wept]

Rashaun Hampton X Shac from da 3

Preme X 2hea The Zombie

Bankroll Bird

The post AMC’s Bodega Brings Out Curren$y & Charlotte’s Rising Artists appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.