Top 7 Hip Hop Songs

I was recently on Bob Baker's Blog and he asked people to list 7 songs they like. Since I am a rapper, I'm bringing this list from a hip hop perspective and instead of just 7 songs I like, I'm listing my top 7 favorite songs of all time from a hip hop act. This is in no particular order. Here goes:

1. Run DMC - "It's Tricky"
2. Beastie Boys - "Paul Revere"
3. The Roots - "Don't Say Nuthin'"
4. Epik High - "Fly"
5. De La Soul - "Tread Water"
6. Jedi Mind Tricks - "Army of the Pharoahs"
7. Public Enemy - "She Watch Channel Zero"

Wow, that was way tougher than I thought. I'm subject to changing my mind so in a couple of weeks this may vary. Google any of the above artists and check out these tracks, they are quality. Anybody else who wants to make a top 7 list, post a link to it in the comments section of this blog entry.

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Meeting With Asian Delegates + Music Across Borders

I recently attended a couple of meeting between myself and Sean from SPM and two delegates from the Asian music industry, Nori Tsuzuki from Japan and Jake Lee from Korea. The meeting was made possible by Music BC so thanks to them for the opportunity.

The first meeting was with Jake Lee and I was extremely nervous. This guy operates two record labels in Korea and is also responsible for putting foreign music in television commercials. Me and Sean sat down with him and I noticed right away that he was a really easy-going guy, very nice. Mind you, I tend to have favorable opinions of all Koreans anyways. Nonetheless, the meeting was very productive and he gave some excellent advice on breaking into the Korean music industry. I hope to place my music in TV commercials, dramas and film in Korea as this is an excellent way for an outsider to be introduced to the Korean peoeple.

The second meeting with Nori was equally nerve-wracking for me as his company, Kyodo, is responsible for booking acts such as Madonna and Christina Aguillera in Japan. Me and Sean offered an artist booking exchange between acts on the SPM roster and some up-and-coming Japanese acts but Nori was concerned with the monetary cost of bringing Japanese acts over as they have no funding programs such as FACTOR in Japan. There is, however, a possiblity of me going over to Japan in the future and in fact I am planning on it next year. Once I have built my name up in Japan and developed a strong following there, I am sure myself and Nori can work together.

The next day there was a seminar given by both these men as well as Mr. Ding Jiabao from the Xinhui Record & Labels Group in Shanghai China. All three presentations were very informative and I especially enjoyed Jake Lee's as he added a good dose of humor as well as practical advice. I look forward to forging relationships with all three of these men in the near future.

This year it's Canada for me and next year, Asia. I am already planning my marketing campaign for both regions and am expecting to develop a large number of fans. Count on it. More updates coming soon...

XYL Official Website
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XYL and SPM Music

For the past few months, I've been working with SPM Music to organize and promote my monthly hip hop event, 'Wordz From Tha Underground'. Now, I am taking a more serious role in the company and have joined SPM as Artist Development and Booking Agent. We are offering our services to artists and have a package that will raise their market value and secure them tour dates in Canada.

This new role I've assumed is a big step in the development of my career as Sean McKay, the owner of SPM, has been doing this for a while and has an excellent infrastructure in place. He has a vast network and knows how to approach venues and the media so I am learning all about it. I am also doing lots of independant study on the music business, reading everything I can get my hands on. Through this new role, I will learn a hell of a lot about music marketing and will be able to apply it to myself when I release the forthcoming 'Make Way' EP.


Right now we're working with a band called Schulz, an industrial metal band featuring the former guitarist of KMFDM. They've already made a good impact and toured Canada once so our job is to raise brand awareness, generate more radio play and basically earn them more fans as well as getting another tour booked.

The XYL 'Make Way' EP is coming sometime in the next couple of months, and there are too many things going on with XYL to mention in this blog entry so stay tuned for more info soon.

XYL Official Website
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Wordz From Tha Underground a huge success!!!

The second edition of 'Wordz From Tha Underground' was amazing and represents my greatest show, both as a performer and a promoter, thus far in these early stages of my career. Above you can see me and my DJ, Tre Funk, performing to the almost sold-out Media Club and a very hype crowd they were!

Around 150 people showed up to support the local hip hop scene and all the acts killed it. Incredible performances from SVS Dance, DJ Mint, Keep 6 and Erthtonez. As far as my set goes, I feel it was my strongest showing yet and crowd response was unbelievable so thanks to all my supporters who came out, you definitely made your voices heard and inspired my performance!




I've hired a Japanese representative to help me in Japan and there's a number of things I'm working on in Asia and Canada. Also, the new EP, 'Make Way', will drop around the end of April. Stay tuned for all the details. Peace!

XYL Official Website
XYL Myspace