Classic!! Love In An Elevator...Happy New Years!!!

N.E.R.D. - Sooner or Later

Soulstice Vid...

I personally know this guy and have spoken with him on numerous occasions. Very cool dude with a wicked flow. If you haven't checked him out already you should search for his album from 2003 North by Northwest, trust its a banger.

Nard

VIMBY - Soulstice

Sia - David Letterman performance.... She is DOPE!

Usher - Trading Places

Usher Lyrics
Trading Places Lyrics

The Official "Just Like Me" Video

Jamie Foxx feat. T.I. - Just Like Me

Teaser Of New Jamie Foxx!!

Keep Ya Head Up

We Got That New Weezy, But With No Filler Rappers Making The Project Bad

http://www.linkbucks.com/link/72765cd9

You'll thank us later for this. All Lil Wayne verses with non of those Young Money guys :)

New Christian Rich!!!

My dudes have released another banger. If you haven't already, please check these guys out. They are doing their thing production and artist wise. Look in my blog list and check out their blog.

http://www.imeem.com/groups/T5l2MBVX/music/rJ-Bsvwm/wiz_khalifa_feat_christian_rich_say_yeah_produced_by_chris/

Us Vs. Them EP Out Now!!!

What's up everybody? If you haven't noticed I have posted X.O.'s new EP titled "Us vs Them" on the side -------> You can hear the tracks and feel free to let me know what you think about it. Is it hot? Is it not? I'm always taking opinions... If you feeling it you can download it from his myspace page: www.myspace.com/xouptown or use the link in my blog list also on the side -------->


The project is fire!! Got some production from, Team Demoliton, Best Kept Secret and Judah. So you know the beats are dope. Lyrics are credible with this project, but what really stands out his X.O.'s signature delivery on this project. He keeps you in tune with his story with potent cadence and catchy hooks. I'm no psychic but judging from this project I can safely bet his forthcoming project Realmatic will be off the charts.

Nard
OTB Management

Chris Barz - Metro Love

http://www.zshare.net/audio/50858216d82ec7ba/

Check out our little homie!

Obama 08'

No videos or other forms of media for this posting. This is far too important to not be spoken from the heart. If anyone would have told me even a year ago that I would be alive to see a black president I would have called Bull Sh**. This means more than just having a black man in the white house. It is the restoration of America as the greatest country, we have just demonstrated that anyone of us can truly make it and be anything we work for. Our kids now have an example that they can look to as an icon, an inspiration of what can be achieved by even the most unlikely person. Real talk I shed a tear yall, I am so proud right now, but more than that I am so proud for my grandparents and their parents and all of those that paved the way for something like this to materialize.

Nard
OTB Management

T.I. on Chelsea Lately

MacGruber Spoof of Financial State of the Economy...

Palin does Palin.....SNL

Obama = "The Blacks Will Take Over"....WOW

Jadakiss Interview....

Nas (feat. The Game, Chris Brown) - We Make The World Go Round

Cool Kids Make Complex Mag! Shout Out To My Dudes...

SNL VP Debate Spoof....

Weezer Is My Fav!!...Only In Dreams (Throwback)

SNL Back At Palin.........

Late Shows React To McCain.....

Pretty Cool Animation Of Earth's End

See more funny videos and Technology Videos at Today's Big Thing.

SNL Welcomes Back Tina Fey....HILARIOUS

DMV article about the free mixtape game...

Free the Mixtape



Posted by PJ Urquilla on Sep. 11, 2008, at 11:16 am

While the recording industry is busy lamenting the death of their business model at the hands of the Internet, a number of local hip-hop artists have found a way turn this market threat into an opportunity. Free download mixtapes (which are neither mixed nor on tape, discuss…) have been catapulting artists such as Wale, Ra the MC, Marky, XO and others into the upper reaches of internets stardom. No more standing on U Street peddling burnt CDs, the free download is the new strategy to burst onto the scene and connect with a new generation of listeners. Its like the indy punk zine for D.C. hip-hop.

Judah, one of the producers behind Wale, Ra the MC, XO and others, summed it like this: “Who cares about the radio, we know that radio doesn’t make or break artists. With the internet, the fans gonna find you.” Here’s some free downloads worth finding:

Ra the MC - A Mixtape About Something. One of DCs finest female MCs shows the boys in the industry she doesn’t play!

Marky - The Drive Thru. Theres something about a 19 year old DC MC rocking over a Citizen Cope track that’s worth checking.

The DMV Mixtape - August 08. Get ready for September’s edition with this fresh installment of the monthly mixtape from the DMV Music Blog Cartel.

XO - The Takeover. We wrote this up a few months back - get a late pass!

Wale - 100 Miles and Running. This is like the OG of the DMV free mixtape ish!

Tags: Judah, Marky, Mixtapes, Ra the MC, Wale, XO

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 11th, 2008 at 11:16 am and is filed under Hip-Hop, MP3, The Biz. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Presenting An Exclusive Look Into Black Omni...

As we wait in anticipation of our group Black Omni to finish up their EP, here is a preview into who Black Omni really is....

2008 MTV VMA's

So honestly, I watched about 85% of this and it was cool in the middle towards the end. Did anyone else feel the beginning kind of dragged along? Maybe it's just me... Anyway here are some of the performances. Please let me know what performance killed for you...personally I think Pink and Paramore were my favorites...I smell a poll coming along ;)

Kanye West - Love Lockdown


Paramore - Misery Business


Pink - So What


Rihanna - Disturbia

Aug.28th Historic Day For OTB In General

Cerrell William Walker 8/28/08 2:41pm My first child and pride and joy of OTB!
-Renard (PR OTB Management Group)



One of the most inspiring speeches I EVER heard! Barak Obama (DNC 2008!)



Emitt Louis Till 8/25/41 - 8/28/55



Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" Speech March On Washington 8/28/63

Nelly Falls After Bow Wow Crosses Him

Jeezy Speakes Truth...Yeah I Know How That Sounds, But Peep The Vid

What Happens When You Try Too Hard...This Shit Is Hilarious!!

Classic Song Of All Time....Bohemian Rhapsody

N.E.R.D. - Everyone Nose Remix (Feat. Kanye, Lupe, Pusha T)

Everyone Nose (Remix) Video

If you haven't been Seeing Sounds by now then maybe you should check out this DOPE AS HELL remix of Everyone Nose...

MUSE Recap...Shout Out To L'Rai(www.essenceofstyle.com)

Finally the recap of THE artistic event of the summer!! MUSE (refer to previous posting below for information) The event was crazy, Black Omni performed and KILLED IT, Christian Rich was Bananas (check out their blog it's in the blog list below)...Also getting honorary mention for KILLING is Bomani Armah. The fashion was crazy and the atmosphere was groovy, check out the pictures!!

X.O. Makes The Express Paper...

Ready for the Takeover: XO

XO HUSTLES HARD.

Having already released an EP ("Timeless") and a mixtape ("The Takeover, Part 2") this year, the 23-year-old rapper born Jamaal Walton is far from done. Two more records are due by the end of the year.

"I just want to make my name in history," Walton says with a smile — and a slight chuckle.

With such a prodigious work ethic, it is indeed refreshing that XO (he claims his moniker is of "unknown origin") didn't turn out to be a different kind of hustler.

XO was raised by a single mother in a rough Northwest D.C. neighborhood at Georgia Avenue and Kenyon Street — an area he calls Uptown — and he could have swallowed the bait of the streets, hook, line and sinker. (Walton only admits that he did "some stuff.") Indeed, he credits his fatherless childhood — his dad left the family and moved to London when Jamaal was 11 — for giving him his "emotion and drive."

And there was something else pushing him, too: rap.

"I was good because I was listening to the right rappers," he says with a laugh. Of course, Walton didn't need hip-hop to get smart: "At the end of the day, I'm still an intelligent guy."

Nowhere is this more evident than in "The Life," one of the songs on "The Takeover, Part 2." With the soulful tap of the beat in tow, XO raps about his despondency over the departure of his dad, which led him to "thugging out to fill a void." It becomes an intense inner struggle: Would he succumb to the fatal allure of the "street life," or would he embrace the radiance of the "good life"? By the end of the song, it is obvious what choice he makes as he concludes: "Older now, wiser now, I get what y'all [were] saying now / And you ain't got to focus on me so much when you're praying now!"

XO cites the influence of artists like 2Pac, who pointed out that both wretchedness and redemption that can be found in ghettos all across America. "Brenda's Got a Baby," one of 2Pac's early songs, is especially poignant to Walton. A tragic tale about teen pregnancy, it is one of the many entries in the rap canon that deplores the ills of such environments rather than celebrates them.

The rhyme-slinger is determined to expose all dimensions of himself as a rapper — and as a person.

"We're all human, and we all have our flaws. But we have to be completely honest," he says. "I'm from the streets and I will give you that street stuff, but I'll [also] try to steer you through the right direction."

Noble intentions, yes, but are they futile in today's mainstream rap climate? The two best-selling rap albums of 2008 so far belong to a mumbling, largely incoherent wordsmith inexplicably crowned the "Best Rapper Alive" (Lil Wayne) and a kingpin wannabe whose recently revealed past as a correctional officer belies his street pharmaceutical tales on wax (Rick Ross).

But current hip-hop trends don't deter XO; he counters such pessimistic sentiments with the dire need for a balance in the music industry, citing rap's golden era in the late '80s and early '90s when acts as disparate in style and ideology as De La Soul, Public Enemy and N.W.A. co-existed and thrived.

"[We] need balance [in rap]," Walton says, "otherwise the game will be off balance."

According to XO, the game could do with more people like him.

"It seems like with each generation, there is a further loss of values," he says. "[I feel that] music is a way of restoring these values. No youngsters are listening to T.D. Jakes, [and] we have no Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcolm X. People look up to rappers."

To this end, XO is looking forward to closing out 2008 with a bang. He will start work on a second EP, "Us vs. Them," which will then be followed by a full-length called "Realmatic" that will focus on the "circumstances surrounding" Barack Obama's presidential campaign. To paraphrase LL Cool J: He plans to take DMV and beyond by storm, and he's just getting warm.

"It's more of a movement, enlightening type of thing I'm trying to do," he claims with a slight tip of his fisherman hat.

Yes, XO will continue to hustle hard.

Written by Express contributor Dayo Akinwande

» Download "The Takeover, Part 2" mixtape and "Timeless" EP for free from XO's blog. Or listen to tracks from each at XO's MySpace.

Photos courtesy Shannon Evans (www.sevanphotography.com)

Posted By Express at 8:44 AM on August 13, 2008 Tagged in Arts & Events , Music

R.I.P. Bernie Mac and Issac Hayes

For those that haven't heard yet both Bernie Mac and Issac Hayes have passed this weekend. OTB offers all of their family and friends our condolences. Here are a few personal things about their lives:



"People say, 'Bernie hard, he tell it like it is, he curse.' They like for me to tell it. If I came out doing Bill Cosby or Billy Crystal, they'd have a fit. One thing I do understand is, this is an act. I'm acting. When I get offstage, I'm done. That man is dead. When you're offstage, that's the footprint. That's the man God's gonna judge."

Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. was born Aug. 20, 1942, in a tin shack in the small town of Covington, Tenn., north of Memphis. His mother died when he was a year old, his father left home, and he and his sister were raised by their maternal grandparents, who were sharecroppers.

Desperately poor, the family moved to Memphis when Mr. Hayes was 6. By the time he was 8, he was picking cotton in the fields, and when his grandfather got sick, he was, for the most part, on his own. He spent one childhood summer sleeping in wrecked cars in a junkyard.

Jay-Z At Kanye's Show : Blueprint 3

BLUEPRINT 3 from kwest on Vimeo.

Paris Hilton For President!!

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

Ok so she's dumb, ok so she's blond but this response ad to McCain is hilarious!

Shout Out To My Man SoulStice (www.myspace.com/soulstice)

In light of recent events this poem is perfect!! Don't forget to VOTE!! I want to thank SoulStice again for putting me on to this clip, good looking...

Do You Put On For This Remix?

Jay-Z is a monster!!

Yea We Dig Gospel Too!

Throw Back Hip Hop!

You guys remember this one?...Hip Hop 4 Life!

Body Snatchers!!! By Radiohead

One of the dopest bands out ever!! This cd is VERY VERY Good, If you don't have it already you need to cop two of them! Radiohead- In Rainbows (2008)

Muse!!! Where Art Meets Music...

The Essence of Style and Scheme Magazine Presents: MUSE

When: July 20, 2008 7:00pm-12:00am

Where: The Space 903 N St. NW Washington, D.C.

Admission: Free

MUSE

MUSIC. FASHION. ART

PRESENTING: "MUSE" where Style, Class, Music, Fashion, & Art are on display. The word "MUSE" is derived from the ancient Greek sisterhood of goddesses. They were said to embody the arts and inspire the creation process through song, literature, and dance. This special image event was designed for the purpose of connecting individuals in the art and creative worlds. It is our goal to inspire and motivate individuals, in the DC area, to form of common networks. Our foundation is built upon: Networking, Recruiting, & Connecting with potential business partners and clientele. Celebrating accomplishments of those in the creative and artistic worlds: The event is designed to host an in­teractive feel for experiencing ART in a variety of forms creating an innovative museum experience. And, you have been formally introduced to "MUSE". This is the official launching of The Essence of Style and Scheme Magazine. The Essence of Style is a styling and wardrobe consultation company. It will spotlight Scheme Magazine, which serves to educate, inspire, and assist the hip-hop community with social issues. For information regarding the event you can contact L'Rai Arthur-Mensah at lrai@theessenceofstyle.com

The Black Condition In America...

Cool Kids Recap!!

Finally the recap from THE event of June! On June 8th the Cool Kids graced the Black Cat's stage, but doing the day they were COOL enough to hang with us before their performance. It was a real chill event, everybody and they mama was there! Here are a few pics from the event, taken by the genius herself Shannon Evans (sevanphotography.com). If you missed it you missed it, BUT we shall have more to come ;)

Throw Back Vid!! Enjoy!!

Wale Video

WTF? Soulja Boy Actually Can Make Sense

Little Brother - Lovin It'

This video/song didn't get the proper attention it deserved. This is real hip-hop and the video has a message. I hope this isn't "too smart" for you all ;) For those that know why the quotes are there, you know what I am talking about.

The Second Coming Of Soul-Pop

Take Over 2 Still Goin Strong

The much anticipated Take Over 2 Mixtape from DC Artist X.O. is getting major buzz. You can download tracks from the mixtape from the streaming playlist! Or you can download the entire mixtape at http://www.zshare.net/download/129374363214d24d

The Creation Of Whiteness

Is The Music Business Right For You?

Wale Hosts Keys 2 The City

Wale Interview!! DMV Still Moving!

Interview - Wale Home » Interviews » Interview-Wale

It's Wale's World Artist: Wale Interviewer: Tommy Faone

It’s Wale’s World Interviewed by Tommy Faone 09-18-07 AmalgamDigital.com: What up Wale, how you living? Wale: Blessed..God is good. Been traveling a lot; touring. AmalgamDigital.com: You have often been coined "The Ambassador of Rap for the Capitol" where did that originate? Wale: That came because people know me in all four parts of the city as well as in VA and MD, so when I do my music I do the best I can to shed light on all parts and share the plight of all people within the metro area. I am VERY comfortable in my own skin and I don’t have to pretend to be anything more then what God made me. I’ve lived in DC and MD for half of my life, respectively, and I can relate to the very minimal differences in the different environments AmalgamDigital.com: Up till now the biggest thing musically to come out of DC is Chuck Brown and the GO-GO movement back in late 70’s and early 80’s. Seems like you have incorporated some of the staples of go-go music in what you do with things like “Call and Response” and “Swing Rhythm”. What can you attribute to Go-Go in your music? Wale: It’s old school go-go mixed with new school swag and flow. I’m a very eclectic dude like that. To me, go-go is the most potent genre of black music—just the rawness of it—so I feel like I embody that rawness in my delivery and that’s why I chose to mix the two genres. AmalgamDigital.com: Back in 2006 you released a track called “Dig Dug” paying homage Ronald "Dig Dug" Dixon, a former Go Go legend. I understand there were problems with the clearance samples when it started to show up on the radio play lists when it caught on, what ever happened with that? Wale: Me and the Northeast Groovers are real cool now. It was just a communication problem. I love those dudes though. Their rapper (Chris aka Ra Ra) is a real good dude and probably the most talented lead mic in the history of go-go! We talked a bit a couple of months ago and it was nothing but love. Look for me to do another joint with Ra down the line. AmalgamDigital.com: So you’re on Tour with Mark Ronson now overseas? What kind of experience has that been? And how has the response been to you in different cities? And when can we expect to see a US tour? Wale: It’s been incredible. Sold out shows everytime. We’ve done venues as small as 800 people and as many as 20,000. We have one coming up that is 500,000. The response has been amazing. I’m a new artist to most of the people there so I am always finding new ways to grab them every time I hit the stage. I swear though, at one show in Manchester, I saw six fans mouthing the words to “Good Girls.” I will be touring Europe with Mark until the end of the summer and then we have a US tour through October or November. I will get my solo tour on after that; maybe even BEFORE and AFTER the album drops; just to build the buzz. I’ll probably tour with a band to so I can actually give people a reason to pay $20 and give them a $100 show. But yeah, by 3rd quarter 2008, I hope to have covered the globe both with and without Mark. AmalgamDigital.com: You recently dropped a mixtape entitled “100 Miles and Running” in July. You put it out for free and are clocking over 20,000 downloads now. What prompted that decision? Wale: I wanted to do something different and have the widest reach possible. I only printed up 1,000 physical copies for select stores in LA, NYC, DC and Boston. By making it a free download, I am meeting the demand every time someone downloads it. I don't have to deal with shipping or printing costs. I don't have to estimate how many I'm going to need. It falls into the "long tail" philosophy. Plus, my hope is that if I give away so much great music until my album drops, people are going to be compelled to go out and buy my album, come see my show and pick up my Stussy collaboration. As for the mixtape itself, I wanted people to react like, "Wow." It's very lyrical. Put it this way: people are going to have to put their index finger on the rewind button A LOT; even if you think you understand a line, you may not "get" it on first listen. Fuck that easy listening shit, I'm gonna make you work. AmalgamDigital.com: You have found yourself on two big remixes this year with imports Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse via Mark Ronson, so who is your ideal collaboration with? Wale: Ideal...hmm..Camp Lo, Mr Carter (jay), Rick Rubin and Andre 3000 AmalgamDigital.com: Gotta tell you I am a big fan of the Nike Air Force 25th Anniversary mixtape track you did. So tell me, what is your all time favorite pair of sneakers? Wale: Favorite pair: Jordan concord XI's “patent leather elevens when Iverson was clockin for Coach John Thompson” (from one of my songs). Black Jordan IIIs. Supreme Dunk highs (size 9…get at me). Garnett white and blues. There’s so many, but I have most of my grail shoes. AmalgamDigital.com: Any last words or shout outs? Wale: Shout out to my man XO (real hiphop ish..upt 4 life)...ken star (most underated rapper in dc)…odisee ...emp...oy boyz..circle boys ..lady V..the whole upt..kdy rittenhouse 640..35 double O..pg ..landover ..glenarden..cap heights ..ardmore..mo county..124...lincoln park...sneakaman dan…jaffi joe…rique bobboy…dj alizay…my manager Mr. Weisman…and just everybody who holds me down..i love my people in dc md and va.. Check Out Wale's "Nike Boots", a new www.AmalgamDigital.com Exclusive Free Download!!

OTB Interview

Check out our interview with scheme magazine! (www.schememag.com)

Black Omni

Fall into the vortex of Black Omni. This 4some rap group has dope rythmes, hot production and an old school feel. They wish to stimulate thought with their music and do so in a way that makes you forget why you were bobbing your head so much! Check out their music at http://www.myspace.com/blackomni
Or http://blackomni.blogspot.com

More X.O. Stuff

Check out X.O. interviews:

http://realmangojuice.wordpress.com/2008/02/27/xo-reppin-uptown-baby/

OTB Events Thus Far

Hey all,

here are pictures from the events this year so far. Check them out!! If you were there then you already know that these events are always for the people. If you haven't made it out, hopefully we will catch you at the next one. There will be more to come from "Live At The Renaissance" a creation of OTB and Scheme Magazine (www.schememag.com)

http://proofs.sevanphotography.com/p141727365/

http://aries21.smugmug.com/gallery/4883278_QPbW3/1/291283040_hyGQF#P-1-16

Take Over 2 Mixtape

Finally, the long awaited mixtape from DC artist X.O. is upon us!! Check out the highly anticipated Takeover Two!! download: http://www.zshare.net/download/129374363214d24d

You can also check out more of X.O. at www.myspace.com/xouptown
Or http://xoupt.blogspot.com

If this is your first X.O. experience also download the Timeless EP collabo with super producer Judah!


http://www.zshare.net/download/830026749e776c/