HOT 97’s ‘Who’s Next’ platform is a place where underground artists can upload tracks, videos, and mixtapes, in order to get noticed by big label wigs, create more exposure, and have their music heard by HOT 97’s career sparking DJ’s. Unsigned artists have been performing for the Who’s Next showcase in order to show their skills and talents. This year, HOT 97 brought on four artists on the rise that turnt up the SOBs last Wednesday, June 29th. RESPECT was in the music venue getting a first glimpse at some of these rising stars and experienced their performances live. The lineup for this year’s showcase features Queens-bred artist & producer, Justin Rose, Chicago native singer, songwriter & rapper, Dreezy, Bed-Stuy’s breakout rapper, Manolo Rose, and the rising Bronx sensation, A Boogie aka A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie.

Doors were scheduled to open at 8 p.m. I arrived at SOBs at around 8:10 p.m. to a line starting to form outside the venue. Once I entered the building, it was a spacious area with HOT 97 workers and Swisher Sweets sponsors getting everything set up and ready. Viewers who came to enjoy the show was mingling around by the bar getting a few drinks in before the first performance. The show didn’t begin until about close to 10 p.m.

The first artist set to start the show off was Queens’ own, Justin Rose. An artist and producer, Justin Rose has been prepping for his Water White mixtape which is set to release this upcoming fall. With his long dreads hanging down over his anti-hero white t-shirt, Justin came onstage with high energy making sure that the crowd knew he was reppin’ Water White. There was even a filter on Snapchat for it. His set was packed with bass-heavy tracks that got the audience coming closer to the stage. He even came down on the floor and got the crowd hyped up. Justin’s entourage was surely jumping up and down rapping along to his tracks. With wavy tracks like “She Movin,” and “I Got It,” Justin got everyone in SOBs ready for more, but what they weren’t ready for was Justin’s finale. His entourage came onstage handing out a bunch of water bottles which went with his Water White movement. Then, when the music started, they began chanting “all day, all night, Water White,” then out of no where, water began spraying into the crowd from the bottles and even a Super Soaker water gun started getting everybody wet and wild. Safe to say, it was a wet and rowdy start to the show.

As everybody managed to dry off and get the floor mopped up. The second performer was announced and ready to come on stage. It was Chicago native, Dreezy. Now, before coming to the show, I was extremely excited to see her perform since I started listening to her since her From Now On EP that came out last year. I was curious to see how she would perform live along with what songs she was going to choose from. Two backup dancers came on stage then Dreezy followed behind in a black tee and black shorts. She started off with a freestyle to show the audience that she’s not just a cutie with a voice, but a cutie who could spit bars too. Then she proceeded into her latest single that came out with Gucci Mane, “We Gon’ Ride.” The bass was so heavy it overpowered her vocals in some parts, but nonetheless the song goes hard and she delivered it well. Making sure to let the audience know to cop the track on iTunes, Dreezy went back to do her earlier track “Serena,” which features Dej Loaf. In case you don’t know the song, I highly suggest you check it out. It goes hard. To finish up her set, Dreezy and the DJ got everyone to get put their lights on on their phones and up in the air to shine on the rising star. She finished up with her popular single featuring Jeremih, titled “Body.”

The third act was Bed-Stuy’s very own, Manolo Rose. One minute the stage was empty preparing for the next artist, then the next minute the stage was packed with over 10-15 people on it. Then the music started. It took me a minute to even find where Manolo Rose was onstage, then I found him and then the beat dropped and his whole crew started bouncing up and down shouting the lyrics to his track “Super Flexin.” His whole entourage was so rowdy up there they even picked up a girl from on the floor on stage. Not only were they getting wild on stage, but his crew came down on the floor to get the crowd pumped up even more. While they were on the floor, they picked Manolo Rose up being carried around and back onto the stage. During his set, Manolo Rose showed love to another NYC artist, Casanova, who came out and performed his track “Don’t Run.” Manolo went on to perform his fire track “God Level,” shutting his set down with a bunch of sweat and adrenalin.

Last, but not least to perform was Bronx’s A Boogie, who came out on stage wearing a BAPE tee and a iced chain around his neck. He performed some of his buzzing songs such as “My Shit,” “Friend Zone,” and “Bag On Me.” The venue significantly got more crowded as the night went on. So once it was A Boogie’s turn to finish the show out, the venue was packed from the stage all the way to back of the bar. Everyone’s phones were out recording videos and taking photos. A Boogie took a bit of a different route compared to many of the previous acts in which he only had one hype-man on stage with him throughout his set. Even so, he managed to get his fans singing to his songs and dancing along with him throughout the end of the night.

From somebody who is very new to listening to all of these underground artists, I was highly impressed with the amount of energy that each artist delivered. Not only that, but the amount of love and support that was shown through the crowd as well. If you haven’t heard any of these artists and you’re a hip-hop fan, I suggest you go check them out.

You can watch a recap of the show below from HOT 97.

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The post RESPECT. Recap: HOT 97’s Who’s Next Ft. Justin Rose, A Boogie, Manolo Rose & Dreezy appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

RESPECT.: Begin with the inception of Fame School. How did you two link?

Telli: “Me and Slim, we’ve been homies for like 7 or 8 years now. I was in Ninja Sonik, started working on a song through a mutual friend. He liked the song so much that he was like, “Yo, I got my man he want to jump on it too.” So by the time I got back in town he had already jumped on my song and it was fire.(Laughs) So I really met him after that and it was automatic. He produced as well, so we just started working on a whole bunch of sh*t, side projects and stuff. Ever since then we’ve been homies inside and outside of the studio.”

Slim: “Yup.” (Laughs)

RESPECT.: For anyone who isn’t familiar, talk Fame School and the focus of the brand.

Slim: “We have a vision that is way beyond music. Art, fashion, everything. We’re basically a hub for creativity and coming together as a group. Like this “Fame School & Friends” was a compilation of us working with other people, but this project we have coming out is called “Get Well Soon,” just me, Telli, and a couple features. That project will be us showing where we wanna go; it’s more melodic, just more of a broader range.”

Telli: “The thing is we’re a production house. Slim is like one of the best actual producers. A lot of people just send you a beat, he actually sits with you and builds the sound. I have certain melodies and he’ll be like, “Try is this way.” With his production and my writing and vocal arrangement, it has become a place where one sound is created, it’s Fame School. So in theory, we are just a production monster. It’s symbiotic. Like Spider-Man and Venom with their suits. When we did Manolo Rose’s project, or we’re in there with Nipsey Hussle or Maino, whoever that person is we want to try to amplify that sound with our expertise.”

RESPECT.: Congrats on the release of “Fame School & Friends.” Discuss the direction of the project and what you hoped to accomplish with it.

Slim: “I think bringing New York together was important and there is a whole new generation of New York artists that are willing to support each other, we want to try to be on the forefront of that. People talk about the “New York” sound, but Hip-Hop has progressed. One of the bigger issues with the generation of artists before is that they were all fighting over this little bit of food and more territorial, now it seems like people are more like “yo, we can all eat together.” New York is going to be very strong in 2016.”

Telli: “People want change, but change doesn’t just happen. The unity you see in Atlanta echoes all the way back to Outkast and Dungeon Family, that’s what we want in New York. People didn’t want us to put out “Fame School & Friends,” they wanted us to wait. We used that project as a springboard for other artists you know?”

RESPECT.: What was the selection process like for the tape? Was it pretty New York centric?

Slim: “It was really organic. When we’re in the studio a lot of people just end to pop up, or certain cases like Maino, we went to his studio and did a few songs on his project, Prodigy would stop by, stuff like that. It was really just connecting the dots. All the people on there feel like family, so it was just a matter of putting it all together.”

Telli: I’m from Ninja Sonik and Slim has been doing mad sh*t for years, so we’re just naturally and big fan of the the underdog. We like all the people we had on it. Maino is the big homie from Brooklyn, Prodigy is a legend, etc. We choose artists to work with that we really are fans of. That’s the thing too, at the end of the day we’re fans. I’m a fan of certain artists. It’s like Neo when he unlocked the code in “The Matrix,” being around artists you vibe with, everything just flows. Some people made it and some didn’t, but everything had to flow. The day before we dropped it me and Slim were having heated discussions about what went on there. (Laughs) We just had to make it all fit.”

RESPECT.: Aside from “Tom Ford & Crack Smoke” and “Dope In My Blood,” personally, what are some of your biggest records?

Slim: “Damn let me think. I guess the record that’s received the most radio play would be Manolo Rose’s “Super Flexin” remix with French Montana. I worked with Nina Sky, Seconhand Serenade, the 50 Cent movie/soundtrack, Def Comedy Jam, music with Kid Capri, etc. I’d say it’s that record though.”

Telli: “We’ve been around working for a while. (Laughs) I would have to say “Super Flxin” as well, that records like a trophy man. When Manolo came to work with us, he was fresh off that “All About The Money” sh*t with Ave, we were like “let’s do this man.” He came right there and the first song we made was “Super Flexin.” It came full circle too, it’s a year and a half later and French jumped on the remix. That record was a staple in momentum shift.”

RESPECT.: Any wild studio sessions you can talk about?

Telli: “Makonnen! (Laughs) All of our sessions are like a party, so one night like 4:30 in the morning, here comes Makonnen, floating in on a cloud. You know him, he’s very trippy and psychedelic, so he’s always a blast to have. The studio is packed full of people, he goes up to slim and asks him “can you make it like this.” Next thing you know he goes in the booth and freestyles the whole song!”

Slim: (Laughs) “Then just left!”

Telli: “He’s a magical man.” (Laughs)

RESPECT.: What’s next from Fame School?

Telli: “Visuals are going to com heavy for “Fame School & Friends. We have a nice production house now, we’re going to push the envelope. Look forward to seeing very compelling visuals from us. Not just people partying, etc. Real dramatic and cinematic things. We’re charismatic guys and have a bunch of awesome people around us, so we just wanna translate that thought the visuals. We can show you way better than we can tell you.”

The post RESPECT. Interview: Fame School Talks “Fame School & Friends,” wild studio sessions, and being at the forefront of NY’s new generation appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

A few days ago, Brooklyn’s Manolo Rose made a trip to Boston for a day long promo run that included a meet and greet at Laced, the city’s premier boutique for streetwear, high end sneakers, and world class celebrity meets. Along with taking photos with fans, the “Run Ricky Run” hit maker did interviews with various local blogs, publications, and other media platforms. I had the chance to sit down with Rose and talk to him about his new mixtape Concrete Rose, curating beats, being inspired by movies, wanting to put on Operas, and much more.

Watch the interview below and stay tuned for more.

The post Interview: Manolo Rose Talks ‘Concrete Rose’ Mixtape & Being Inspired By Movies appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

One of the many fastest rising MC’s coming out of Brooklyn is Wati Heru. He and his 116O crew have been dominating the Brooklyn circuit and are making plans to turn the local buzz into a worldwide revolution. Fresh off the release from his long-awaited project DYSTOPIA FM with producer Kashaka, Wati is far from a slacker. We got the privilege to interview Wati Heru on his aspirations as an artist, his recent live TV appearance on Revolt TV, and more. Check out the interview down below and learn more about the heralded MC coming straight out of East Flatbush, Brooklyn. The neighborhood is more known recently for birthing MC’s from the Pro Era collective and Bobby Shmurda but his sound and story is what sets him apart from those before him.

For anyone who hasn’t heard of Wati Heru, why should they care?

Wati Heru is the voice of every young up and coming motherfucker with nothing to lose and a lot of bad habits if you’re into hearing music with substances without it having to be force fed to you under the title “real hip hop” fuck with me; if not …fuck it.

You’ve been dropping some pretty ill collaborative records with the producer Kashaka, including the banger “BKWYA”. How did you two link up and what’s the creative process behind the records you two have created?

Me and Kashaka met thru the Phony Ppl (For those who dont know, he has engineering credit on their debut album Phonyland) and we met via the interweb. He sent me what’s now “NEW BLUE HUNNIDS“ and we kept working until we felt like we had a project.

Recently you’ve been repping 116O heavily. Can you tell us about the new movement and the members behind the collective?

116O is the squad, thats where we all linked. Me, Jona Grizz, Dyme-A-Duzin, etc. We all just started chillin everyday, like two years ago, and its been family ever since. Me and Jona got that shit tatted so its forever. 

What do you think sets you apart from every new artist emerging in today’s Hip Hop scene?

That’s for the listeners to say. I’m just out here doing whatever I want.

As an artist, we normally go through droughts and pessimistic states. What influences you to continue creating?

I honestly don’t know. I definitely go through writers block, but I haven’t written a verse since BKWYA (last October). I just constantly live and do new shit and go to the studio with a story. I don’t even gotta write shit anymore; I just like to turn up and fuck with the ladies and watch Belly and do weird drugs. 

What moment has occurred in your career thus far that you’re most proud of and why?

I mean being on TV and the radio hands down, but I honestly have never seen nor heard myself on the TV or radio but I’m over it now. I just wanna keep working and flood the game until I can’t take the train anymore.

Who are some artists coming out of New York that you’re currently bumping?

Manolo Rose, Tray Pizzy, Carl Sherron, Phony PPL, Me and the squad (116O)

You were recently a guest on Revolt TV, how did that experience come to happen and how was it?

It was lit. I was on live TV, but once again, I just want to keep working until I get the respect and the money I deserve.

What were your intentions behind your latest project DYSTOPIA FM?

I wanted to set the setting to a post apocalyptic nuclear winter in New York based off movies like Fifth Element and shows like Batman Beyond. I think that’s the type of music me and Kashaka were making subconsciously.

Last, but not least: What’s next for Wati Heru?

Imma just keep on working until I’m ready to start writing books or start The Revolution.

The post Interview: Wati Heru Talks ‘DYSTOPIA FM’, Revolt TV, And Starting A Brooklyn Revolution appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

More Info/Media/Press Inquiries:
BROOKLYNQUEENSFESTIVAL@GMAIL.COM

Tickets:
http://bit.ly/bqf2tickets

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Watch the 7th installment of The Rapfest Series featuring Harlem rapper Vinny Cha$e , Manolo Rose from Brooklyn, NY, and newcomer D Di Yari hailing from Newburgh, NY :

The post The Rapfest Series featuring Vinny Cha$e , Manolo Rose , D.Di Yari appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.