Uncharted Battlefest Highlight: D-Lock

      Pop stars and gangster rappers move aside, Darian 'D-Lock' Lockhart is a force to be reckoned with. The young rapper's lyrics are not only about life experiences, but they also touch base on topics that everyone can relate to. D-Lock's passion for making music started back in 2005. Soon after, he put the mic down. After a long hiatus to focus on his personal life he returned to his first love, music, in 2009 and hasn't let up since.

      D-Lock is currently working on a few projects including his own mixtape, Thank God I'm The Sh*t, and a full-length with his group, The Smoovefellaz, entitled, Under The Influence. The Smoovefellaz, according to D-Lock, is a group of rappers that share the same goal, helping Rockford gain proper respect. The group has an impressive local following in Rockford and they hope to expand throughout the Midwest and beyond.

     D-Lock recently started battle rapping in the Midwest Battlefest league. His first battle was against Infancy and although he didn't win the battle, D-Lock considered it a success. "It gave me the confidence I needed, to know I can go up against anybody and hold my own." Says the rapper.

      With the Thank God I'm The Sh*t mixtape, set to be released towards the end of the summer, and the upcoming Smoovefellaz album, Under the Influence, set to be released later this month, D-Lock hopes to put both himself and The Smoovefellaz on the map and gain the recognition he feels they deserve.

~joeEFFINGmayo

Uncharted Battlefest Highlight: Derek 'Blaze' Nguyen

Blaze

      Derek Nguyen, known as Blaze to everyone in the 'Forest City' Rockford-based battle leage, Midwest Battlefest, has been making music since the age of fourteen. Now, at age 19, he is CEO of the rapidly growing company. Of course, Blaze hasn't forgotten where he's come from.

      Blaze started his music ventures in a group, Outlaw Recordz, for a short while before internal conflicts caused them to disband. Blaze went solo and soon met up with fellow music artists, Ronald "T.R.I.M. Forte" Watson and Akeem Kizart in '09. Blaze was introduced to Hustle and Culture, one he considers his first REAL music group. To tis day, he reps the music company alongside other artists, including Zachary "Ayngel Halow" Coble. Blaze helped them produce their first mixtape, Jedi Mic Tricks, within a few short weeks.

      Through Facebook, Blaze met Keith "Da Rambla" Cotto from West Christiansburg , VA. After kind words, Keith invited Blaze to work with his personal affiliates, EMB/Most Hayyyted, alongside Zac "Da-Vine" Garcia. The two were the only artists in the affiliated with the group from outside the VA area and supported Da Rambla's newest album, You Can Hate Me Now.

      Febuary 2010, Blaze took a long hiatus from music. He felt that he had burned himself out after pushing out his tapes, The Initial Spark and Flashfire. He began focusing more on Battlefest and helping fellow artists improve their crafts. Whenever he wasn't doing what he could to support the local hip-hop scene, he was dealing with the everyday life of a teenager. School and work took priorety over his musical ventures.

Blaze

      Any work he COULD get in was spent writing, rather than recording music. "I have many songs that are written on my computer that have yet to be recorded, some spanning all the way back til 2008." Says Blaze.

      In the last several months, Blaze has been working on several projects, including "Back To Basics (B2B)" and "God Mode". Blaze has several music artist connections, including ties to Darian (Elgin, IL), Cassandra "Freshkidd" Ramirez (Oceanside, CA), Rohan Raj (Canada), Santhi Long (Iowa), the group BXC, Casmira Baclawski (Kenosha, WI), and most recently Axe and Xen of the Wisemen, which he is now a part of.

      Blaze showcases a versatile lyrical style and great vocal control which works in his favor, as he explores a vast variety of genres from Club, R&B, Old Skool and even Pop!

      "I Love music. This is my escape from the hardships of life. This is where I can express myself and to give my thoughts and ideas a medium to be projected. Music literally saved my life. my passion for this won't ever die and come summer 2011, Blaze will be back and will heat up the game for sure." - Blaze

~joeEFFINGmayo

Joemayo91@gmail.com

Uncharted Battlefest Highlight: Spud

Spud

      Having just won his second battle in Forest City's own Midwest Battlefest, Spud is working on a new mixtape, Graduation, due June 5th. The mixtape is a follow up to his last mixtape titled, Cram Session. Graduation, will have a 'high school' theme, which includes flashbacks and everything.
     
      The Mixtape will showcase Spud's own GOBLIN camp and a few other hopefuls. "Anyone that wants to be on it can just hit me up"    

      Spud aquired his odd nickname through a chain of funny stories. It began when his father nicknamed him 'Sputnik' after being born in the same year as the russian satellite. His uncle called him Spud instead of Sputnik and it stuck. It's a name that he enjoys because it gives him the comfortability and coonfidence he needs to use the spud for more serious uses.

       Spud's first ever battling event took place fairly recently in March at Battlefest Presents: March Massacre 2 (Shout out to, Blaze!) "My first battle was against Baby Ben, it went great. I got a comanding w. Before the battle, I was just in my own corner, thinking, getting over the nerves. I was quiet most of the time. I talked to Rude Flow and Dijion some. During the battle, I wasn't really thinking. It was like pure instinct. I knew bars and I delivered them like a robot on a task. (Laughs) After, it was great! My hands had stop sweating and I caught a lot of people by suprise, that was a good feeling. I could get comfortable and speak to people" Says Spud.

      Spud's music is about all the things he has seen and experienced. A lot of high school experiences and getting through the challenges.

      "I have a couple producers and numerous beats from fellow student, producer/rapper, Jdoug." Says Spud about his new mixtape, Graduation, coming out June th. "I got Anthony Dismuke, who produced beats for fellow GOBLIN camp artists, Ash-tre. I'm looking foward to getting produced by several members from the BXC camp. Right now, I'm just gathering to make Graduation the best that I can" says Spud.

~joeEFFINGmayo

Joemayo91@gmail.com

joeEFFINGmayo@ Battlefest Presents Mayday Mayhem!

Battlefest Logo

      Hey everyone! This weekend, I was able to get out to Mayday Mayhem, presented by Battlefest and MeleeTv, out at the Pirate Ninja Print Shop, on E. State Street and I have to say, it was great! The event was held in the Rawkspace on the 3rd floor of the print shop building. The Rockford event consisted of several battle rappers in the Battlefest league competing against one another, 1-on-1, in a lyrical brawl.


      I spoke to Battlefest CEO, Derek 'Blaze' Nguyen, and he told me that Battlefest has come a long way, thus far. The first ever Battlefest 'event' was held in August of '09 at Twin Sisters Park with a whopping turnout of about 7 people. More recently, according to Blaze, Battlefest is doing very well and is accumulating some revenue and press.

Souless battles the infamous, Kay-Gee

      Since saving a quick dime is very useful in today's economy, Battlefest gave me an option that would make me smugger than a hybrid car driver. For every two canned goods I brought, they bumped off a dollar from the admission, and ten cans equaled free admission. So, I brought twenty-two cans, ten for me, and ten for my younger brother, and an extra two for bragging rights. Battlefest has taken it upon themselves to donate all donated cans to the Rockford Rescue Mission. The event gathered over a hundred cans! Blaze hopes to battle the negative press surrounding hip-hop with good Samaritan deeds!


      I can't put a number on how many people showed up to the event, but no less than fifty, and I'm no good at estimating, so it could have been more! From what I could tell, everyone was having a great time. There were very slight set-backs but Blaze and the team kept everything running smoothly! I was definitely impressed with everyones ability to keep it cool even though at times, it got a little hot. You'll definitely find me at the next event!

LP battles Akeem Kizart at March Massacre 2

      The next Battlefest event will be held sometime in July and I'll be sure to keep everyone updated. Stay tuned and check the blog in the upcoming days I will be getting a hold of some Battlefest rappers and talking to them about battle rapping and their music!

~joeEFFINGmayo

Joemayo91@gmail.com