Lyriciss is certainly keeping busy. Just two months ago, he released the first of his four scheduled EPs from "The Balance" series, Respect, on which the energetic New Carrollton, Md., MC assessed his place among his rap peers and chastised facades—immature dudes, materialistic women, etc.
Released today, The Balance EP: Money finds Lyriciss discussing all things monetary: the [...]

A lot of releases caught my ear this year, including projects from Kokayi, lowercase letters, DTMD, Jon Laine, and others. At the same time, the always-endless stream of mixtapes made it damn near impossible to catch everything.
For the second year in a row, I voted in WKYS's list of the hottest local rappers. (So far, Nos. 3-10 have [...]

In recent months, Lyriciss has made great strides in his young career, growing from an underdog MC with minimal national exposure to an impressive MC with multiple blog placements to his credit: He's become a regular on go-to sites like DJ Booth and Okayplayer.
On Monday, Lyriciss dropped an eight-song EP, The Balance: Respect, on which [...]

After months of delays, DMV emcee Pro'Verb today released his While You're Waiting... mixtape, his first full-length project since 2008. The tape, a 14-track collection of mostly original work, also finds the young MC flexing his lyrical dexterity on "Exhibit P," a remake of Jay Electronica's monstrous "Exhibit C" from two years ago.
Elsewhere, he and [...]

The last time we heard from Pro'Verb, he released the autobiographical "Too Hip-Hop," which found the young DMV MC assessing his career path over soothing drums and light strings. On Friday, Pro'Verb dropped off "Write Brothers," the hyperactive new single from his forthcoming While You're Waiting mixtape, scheduled for a Sept. 2 release. The song [...]

DJ J-Scrilla is no stranger to the mixtape concept, whether he's releasing his own compilations or promoting those from his peers. From the late '90s to the early aughts, Scrilla's tapes paired veteran MCs with lesser-known talent. "I want my tapes to be more like 'digs' for the listener, rather than a rack of joints they [...]

What you really wanna do is click around on this shit. But if you don't wanna click around on that shit, then click around on Far Out vs. Hot Dang, because your cultural relevancy depends on this shit, too:

"pure aesthetic, with little to no detail paid to songcraft, stage presence or anything else that defines a [...]

In August, PHZ-Sicks released "SumHer Everlasting," whose relaxed, downtempo vibe paid homage to the heat and cherished a passing summer fling. This time, the Woodbridge MC brings fellow rapper Seanny Greggs and D.C. songstress Ihsan Bilal along for "Your Way," the edgy second single from the upcoming The Laws of PHZ-Sicks mixtape, slated for a [...]

I often write about Washington, D.C., as a saturated rap region, where everyone born after 1985 seems to rap or make beats for their friends.
And that's not to knock aspiring MCs and producers; in fact, that stubborn zeal makes the city tick. Strangely, though I'll come across the occasional pop artist, it's rare to find [...]

New Wale Single, DC Graffiti, DMV Awards, Lyriciss and more!