Haven’t posted here in ages and this is off-topic from the main theme but I just wanted to share this link right here wow I’ll look for somewhere better to share it. Feel free to sign up for grabs Netwerk where you can earn cryptocurrency passively by sharing your computers and use resources at the following link
Ok they say a picture is worth 1,000 words but this is one of a few I can think of that's worth a few thousand at least.
Shoutout to the homie Ahmed Rahman aka lil Roc for digging this one up.
The brothers in this photo with me are members of the legendary
Disorganized Union collective along with several other members not
pictured here.
D.U. was the 1st hip-hop collective of it's size in
Richmond and one of RVA's defining crews. If you know the history of Va
hip-hop you know how important this picture is.
And check me out on the far left with my young roots lol...
Classic.
P.S. missing from the pic are Jo Doja, Pedro aka (R.I.P.), Dishaun (R.I.P.), D-Rhythm, Gary aka Demi, Duane Brannon aka Dzine Detail my man Andre Christian and my brother Manu Moss who were also members at one point or another.
Much love to the business owners, Dj's and journalists
involved at the time because they are were and still are a major force
driving the central Va hip-hop scene, allowing us outlets, venues and
opportunities to flourish... Brother's like Artie Jefferson, owner of
the legendary Phono Booth Records and Tapes which was probably the most
important location during the early stages of this Va Hip-Hop movement
for too many reasons to mention but among them were meeting and sharing
the stage with world famous Hip-Hop Legends such as Notorious BIG,
Wutang, Fat Joe, Busta Rhymes and countless others as well as all the
local legends like Elbravador Filmworks, Dj-Sir Rj, Dj Spade Haynes, @Dj Smooth aka Martinez Kelley, Kirby Carmichael, the real Dj Stormin Norman, Chris Brooks, Craig Belcher, legendary promoters like The Great Hosea Fox, Steve K Branch
and others who gave credible local artists a spotlight when REAL
promoters would book (and pay) local acts that put on the best
representation of the local talent rather than selling slots to the
higher bidder to pay for the main act lol.
There was also some
overlapping between D.U. and the other major collectives due to us all
having connections in our various areas with other artists.The
SupaFriendz collective incorporated some of our members thru our long
time affiliation with Skillz, Derrick Barbour, Kalonji the immortal, Lonnie Battle who I met at Nite World as the Dj for Jeff Session & Jamie Alston aka D.U.C. (managed by William Spain), and Mike Street
while I linked up with my H.P. & SS connections along with the
homies Kendell aka DogRilla (R.I.P.) Wig2z and Cloud 9 artists Boog
Hood, Clifton Lewis, Jamal Woodson, Dario September Slim along with extended family such as Terry Tredd Battle, Bronce Lewis, Telly Owens
and others Forming the Legendary Bloody Reign crew which collaborated
on several occasions with the union and together these collectives
defined the central Va sound in what will eventually become known as
Va's golden era.
Edit- I also wanna shout out some others in the
extended creative family that made relevant contributions during that
era such as Bill McGee, Derrick Freake Williams, Michael Funkmotor Braxton, Frazel Harris owner of Power Rec, Cash Clay & Midnite Butcha aka The Highlanders, Dj Ramon Allen , Carlton Barfield and Keith Barfield of the legendary NSPOT along with Kalonji, Sha-Born, Chad Morris and Dah Campbell of Tribe of Juda & The GodFellaz.
Lot's of people who don't know the significance of our history mainly remember the news stories that mentioned Bloody Reign from the court case of GMGB, an offshoot of the Bloody Reign collective that went to the system for Drug distribution of 50+ kilos, however if you know the history of RVA's notorious murder rate in the 90's would have to acknowledge the impact of this unity movement as the work of bloody reign directly coincides with the decreased murder rate that law enforcement tries to take all the credit for however unity movements such as Bloody Reign and other active street organizations such as NGE, FOI among others made major contributions to the unity in our communities.
There were also numerous other forward thinking members of the RVA Hip-Hop community such as D.U.C., Superfriendz, Disorganized Union, El Bravador, Sir Rj Chris Brooks, Dj Mike Street, Lonnie B, GodFellaz, Tribe of Juda and yours truly that put in work to help unify our people through the love of hip-hop.
My point being music has the power to change and save lives if used properly, and coming from the heart of the struggle you get the purest gems so to those think that RVA artists are all imitation Atl, Ny, Tx or some other place and that we don't have a unique sound i recommend that rather just than looking at who has the most youtube views and plays put your ears to the street where the real work is being done.
As with most cities nowdays there are many out here emulating what they hear in the industry in attempts to make a quick buck but we also have true artists who's work is reflective of the struggles and experiences of our city down to the lingo, fashion etc.
There are also major players in the industry such as Mobb Deep, JAY Z, some of Atlanta's pioneers and many others who were greatly influenced by our culture including our lingo which crept it's way to NY, ATL, the DMV area, Tx and other places. Checking the credits to Jay Z's reasonable doubt album will reveal that 2 of his first successful singles (Dead Presidents and Ain't no nigga) both sampled RVA artists music, Mobb Deep's Prodigy wrote most of his verses to Hell on Earth while spending the summer of 1996 here in RVA and many other groups that used to come here also adopted various things from us so all my upcoming artists do your research and recognize the greatness that you are a part of!
Pictured here are serveral members of the Bloody Reign, a highly influential collective of hip-hop artists and activists who put in major work during Richmond Virginia's turbulent 90's era and helped change RVA from the murder capitol of U.S. into the progressive city it has become today.
Below is a classic recording from Bloody Reign founders Cloud 9 and El Roy, produced by Diallo , the go to producer for many RVA artists of the time.
This song adresses the struggles faced by many in this chaotic era or RVA history.
