Author Topic: XXL CROOKED I, INSIDE!!!  (Read 388 times)

YoungCrookedI

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XXL CROOKED I, INSIDE!!!
« on: October 10, 2007, 04:59:48 AM »
Props to Crook_Show for postin this over the dynasty forums..



Label chiefs and A&R execs talk about looking for that elusive element of “star quality” in aspiring artists—intangible stuff like whether or not listeners believe someone’s music or if viewers want to be the person they see on MTV. But if predicting potential for success were easy, the labels wouldn’t be wrong so often. (Jay-Z wouldn’t have had to start Roc-A-Fella Records to put his music out himself. And Lil’ Zane would be quadruple platinum.)

Most of today’s biggest names are former outcasts and loudmouths that few believed in and no one would have wanted to be. 50 Cent was just a chubby kid from Queens with a chip on his shoulder before bullying his way to the top of the game. Kanye West was a college-dropout Chicago producer tugging on Jay’s coattails. Eminem was just some White backpacker MC from a trailer park in Detroit. And who would have thought Lil Wayne would be the Hot Boy sitting on top 10 years after Juve hit with “Ha,” ha?

While the pool of true hip-hop superstars is shallower than ever at the moment (in case you haven’t heard, the industry is experiencing something of a down cycle), there’s bound to be a few diamonds in the rough among the newbies. So the XXL brain trust set up shop in the boardroom for a few weeks and emerged with a Top 10 list of hopefuls. We considered things like technical proficiency, swagger, presence, co-signs from already-established artists, and the extent to which they move the crowd. So, without further ado, here are the 10 rappers we believe have the best shot to reach the top.

COMING OUT WEEKLY, POWERFULLY



Three years ago, Dominick “Crooked I” Wickliffe came to a crossroads. His career was stagnant. He was signed to Death Row Records, but his debut album, Say Hi to the Bad Guy, was on indefinite hold. Making matters worse, his affiliation with Death Row CEO Suge Knight was leading to “a lot of gunplay, fights and brawls.” The Long Beach, Calif., rapper hit a low point in April 2004, when he was arrested after getting into a fight at a local mall.
“I just spent one night in jail,” says Crooked, 30. “But I was laying down on that floor, and I was like, You know what? I need to get off of this label and put my career in my own hands. Because police are going to mess with me for the rest of my life because I’m on Death Row… And I can’t even put my record out.”

So, in late 2004, after a four-year stint that produced more hype than results, the man once billed as the heir to the Death Row throne terminated his contract and set to rebuilding his career from the ground up. He started his own label, Dynasty Entertainment, and landed a joint-venture deal with the Cali-based indie Treacherous Records. Then, after releasing a critically acclaimed mixtape, Young Boss Vol. 2, and a DVD, Life After Death Row, in 2006, he devised the marketing plan that would propel him to his current pole position. “That’s when I thought of Hip-Hop Weekly,” he says of the eureka moment that came this past spring. Exploiting the Internet to its fullest potential, under a banner perfectly suited for today’s tabloid culture, Crooked started posting a new freestyle every seven days on his MySpace page. “Everybody is like, ‘I’m not a rapper, I’m a hustler.’ Nigga, I’m not that. I’m a rapper. I’m an MC. I can hustle, yeah, ’cause I’m from the hood. But hustling ain’t my calling. My calling is getting down on that mic and expressing myself with that ink pen. I just wanted to give them something free, ’cause they say if you love something, you’ll do it for free. So here you go—free, once a week. Download it, whatever you want.”

In less than a month, he had the Internet going nuts. Top-name producer Just Blaze gushed on his MySpace blog, calling Crooked “the best not-so-new artist I’ve never heard before.”

In November, after a full 12 years of setbacks (Crooked signed his first deal with Virgin Records way back in 1995), the long-suffering lyricist is finally going to release an album: B.O.S.S. (Beginning of Something Serious). “Right now is the time,” he says. “Everybody is talking about me, from producers, different artists, everywhere I go. I walk in the mall, and they ask me, ‘What beat you gonna rap to next week?’ Strangers and shit. It’s a beautiful thing. And I feel like it’s now or never for me, man. I can’t wait. I can’t wait to see how it plays out.”
 

Darksider

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Re: XXL CROOKED I, INSIDE!!!
« Reply #1 on: October 10, 2007, 05:01:38 AM »
props....but still blabla
 

drakeshakenbake

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Re: XXL CROOKED I, INSIDE!!!
« Reply #2 on: October 10, 2007, 05:21:12 AM »
... In November, after a full 12 years of setbacks (Crooked signed his first deal with Virgin Records way back in 1995), the long-suffering lyricist is finally going to release an album: B.O.S.S. (Beginning of Something Serious).

This would make 2007 such a great year for hip hop!
 

shay

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Re: XXL CROOKED I, INSIDE!!!
« Reply #3 on: October 10, 2007, 05:34:38 AM »
props to Crooked I shit is tight.
 

StevenQBosell

Re: XXL CROOKED I, INSIDE!!!
« Reply #4 on: October 10, 2007, 10:15:43 AM »
You can only hear for so long "this album is coming, I promise" before you just say "i'll hear it when I hear it"

I was anticipating Crook since 2004... I'm not holding my breath for him...
 

adamanthraxe

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Re: XXL CROOKED I, INSIDE!!!
« Reply #5 on: October 10, 2007, 10:40:13 AM »
Its definitely Crooked I's time to shine.

We got nothing but support for Crooked out in COLO

Blood$

Re: XXL CROOKED I, INSIDE!!!
« Reply #6 on: October 10, 2007, 01:57:28 PM »
even if he never drops an album, dude is still dope  8)
 

YoungCrookedI

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Re: XXL CROOKED I, INSIDE!!!
« Reply #7 on: October 10, 2007, 02:01:16 PM »
even if he never drops an album, dude is still dope  8)

yeah your right but let´s hope he gonna drop his album..
 

EFFeX

Re: XXL CROOKED I, INSIDE!!!
« Reply #8 on: October 10, 2007, 02:02:09 PM »
even if he never drops an album, dude is still dope  8)

yeah your right but let´s hope he gonna drop his album..

True that! Some of us have been waiting a looong time!

G-lock

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Re: XXL CROOKED I, INSIDE!!!
« Reply #9 on: October 10, 2007, 04:40:40 PM »
I support crooked all the way, hope that album will come out soon.
At least he drop the shit every week, so thats good to.
 

G.F.G. Records

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Re: XXL CROOKED I, INSIDE!!!
« Reply #10 on: October 12, 2007, 02:36:56 AM »
REAL Crooked I Fanz Ain't Trippin...
They Know He's Comin Like A Storm Homie...
C.O.B


Snoopafly-1986

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Re: XXL CROOKED I, INSIDE!!!
« Reply #11 on: October 12, 2007, 03:37:37 AM »
REAL Crooked I Fanz Ain't Trippin...
They Know He's Comin Like A Storm Homie...
C.O.B


u could've used a no homo right thur
 

shay

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Re: XXL CROOKED I, INSIDE!!!
« Reply #12 on: October 12, 2007, 03:54:02 AM »
Real Crooked I fans no homo.  ;D