Drake ft Trey Songz- Successful

The video has finally dropped for the '09 song of the year!!! This has a new version with a new Trey Songz verse

Mary J Blige - The One f. Drake

Here's a new video from the Queen of R&B and the Future of Hip-Hop (as long as he sticks to his hip-hop roots and doesnt go pop!!!)

Drake ft. Nipsey Hussle- KILLER

Now here's the most unexpected collaboration of the year!!! This almost as surprising as Eminem and Elton John!!!! We've got the pretty boy, ladies man, college kid on a track called "Killer" with one of the leaders of the gang-banging, dope dealing, members of the new west! But I can't be mad at it because they both did their thing on the track. Check it out and give some feedback.

Drake ft Nipsey Hussle- Killer

Jay-Z ft. Drake – Off That

Here's the collabo we've all been waiting for!! Drake (one of the leaders of the new school) and Jay-Z, the legend! No more time waisting download this track

Jay-Z ft Drake- Off That

MTV Shows

J. Cole- Back To The Topic Freestyle

Here's another mind blowing verse from one of the dopest new lyricists in the game. This time he goes in over Cassie's "Must Be Love" and completely murders it. Its verses like this that make me think hes gonna be around for a while!

J. Cole- Back To The Topic Freestyle

Mickey Factz Freestyle On POW ! Radio

Okay Mickey Factz is crazy and this proves it so check it out and give us some feedback

Cory Gunz, Charles Hamilton, & Mickey Hamilton Serius Radio Freestyle

Okay these are the guys who are in the running without a doubt for Validictorian. They are at a minimun on the high honor roll. But they all go in like crazy, im serius they went in so hard I don't even know who went in the hardest so your gonna have to be the judge...

Asher Roth, Charles Hamilton, & Mickey Factz Off Da Dome Freestyle!

Here are some of the guys making the honor roll with no problem and afew guys who are in the running for Validictorian. Charles & Mickey put it down regardless no matter what the song it is, so they are definately in the running. Asher is dope but he's not that confident, he doesnt have that presence or swagger like Mickey. But check it out and give us some feedback

Uncle Murda & Mickey Factz Freestyle On Bobby Trends Show On A-List Radio!

Okay this video is crazy, showcasing 2 dope new comers from New York. With a generations of New York guys like this New York might just make a comeback.

Charles Hamilton On MTV Cribs

Okay its official, Charles Hamilton is the first hipster I've ever seen on MTV Cribs. But past my surprise its actually pretty cool. He's a funny dude so as always he wilding out and he has a dope preview of a song I've never heard, but the song name and download link is coming soon

Charles Hamilton Freestyle On A-List Radio

Now you heard Charles get it in with Joe Budden but this is him solo. He just killed it and one thing i love about Charles is that he's not one of those rappers trying to force a rhyme, this nigga is rapping like he's talking; he is holding a conversation with you covered in world play and metaphores but check it out.

Charles Hamilton Vs Joe Budden Frestyle

Iight so this time theres no talking they straight go in on the beat and they put it down! Charles Hamilton kills it with mad crazy bars and Joe Budden chills in his veteran status and falls back in my opinion.

Charles Hamilton 

"I aint got no f***in ucle but I'm walking it out"

Here is the link for the audio (thats right I got it on lock)

The Next Generation

Now you've heard me go off and talk about the "Next Generation" of rappers and to look out because they were coming soon. Now believe me they are coming but I don't want you to think I'm the only one thinking this way. So this is MTV's coverage its not to in detail but it does give you a personal look at each rapper and what they're trying to do in the game even if its only for 30 seconds.

MTV Shows

Soulja Boy Vs. Charles Hamilton Pt II: Soulja Boy Fights Back!

Now everybody you heard Charles Hamilton's opinion of Soulja and his career, and how he hated the comparison. Now by now if you don't know let me make a statement to all rappers "When your in the industry trust me word spreads, especially if your on the same label!!!". So Soulja heard this and of course he started feeling a little salty (insulted for all of you not in the 269), so of course being the YouTube Goon he is he decided to get back at Charles in this video. Now one thing I have to give Soulja his credit for is he is notable YouTube Goon; if you didnt check out his YouTube beef with Ice T over the summer. Soulja hit Ice T hard and came out on top just because of how he handled the diss simply calling him out on his age and going from rapping about being a cop killer to acting on Law & Order. This is just my opinion but in the end Ice T is the winner because he has his money right and he has Coco haha. But with Charles its a new ball park Soulja can't really say anything about his lyrics because its no competition, so he has to go to the one thing he has on him......money. But Soulja did get at him with some good points, and other ties he was just wildin so check it out and give us some feedback.

Live From The 269's 2nd Official Up and Coming Artist of The Month Is..........Charles Hamilton aka The Pink Prodigy

1st off Happy New Year and Welcome To 2009 in the 269! This month we'd like to introduce you to Charles Hamilton. Charles first got our attention when featured in a YouTube video (coming soon) of him holding his own against Hip-Hop heavyweights Kanye West and The Game. They all went in but Charles showed something special, something that caused some curiousity that made me want to check his background and see what I can find out. As I went on I found a string of videos, street singles, and mixtapes, most of which were hosted by mixtape DJ Legends such as DJ Green Latern. Now when you can get the attention of icons such as DJ Green Lantern, Kanye West, and The Game you deserve some recognition.

This recognition was given in the form  of XXL magazine. This magazine reulted in him joining "XXL's Hip-Hop Freshman Class of '09" well Charles is definately in the running for Validictorian. His classmates will be on the site in time, most as up and coming artists of the month. XXL also released a mixtape as a showcase of sorts for Charles and his classmates which will be up before you know it. And just so you get an idea of the talent level of his classmates he is joined by Mickey Factz, Ace Hood, Cory Gunz, B.o.B., Wale, Blu, Curren$y, Asher Roth, and Kid Cudi. If these names are new trust me your finding out ahead of time this is the next generation of Hip-Hop superstars. And we're giving you full coverage with Charles Hamilton at the forefront.

Charles Eddie Lee Hamilton Jr is a true Harlem representative though he was born in Cleveland he always says on wax that he is Harlem till death. Even though he's from the home of Mase & Dipset Charles is obviously in a league, better yet a solar system of his own. Once when asked to describe himself he claimed to be the Harlem version of Good Will Hunting, now that's a bold comparison. And for all those who aren't familiar with Good Will Hunting it is a movie that starred Matt Damon as a troubled genius who runs into trouble with the law and is left in the custody of a witty therapist who helps him find himself and a college professor who tests his intellectual limits (thank you movie review haha). But I'm getting off the point this dude Charles Hamilton is mad talented and mad creative. He is blowing up on the web as you can see in this post and his buzz is crazy. He is signed to Interscope and his album is on the way, he is planning to name it The Pink Lavalamp, but with Interscope representing him lets see how that works out. Charles is also the cousin of female Hip Hop legend MC Lyte, though he claims he didn't know how big his cousin was until seeing her honored in the 2006 VH1 Hip-Hop Honors. But he doesn't use that as a crutch and he claims if he makes it in the game he wants it to be by his own merit not his cousin's legacy.

Now I've been where you are, you're probably looking at the picture and thinking "why should I waste my time on some Good Will Hunting wanna be in pink wearing a Sonic The Hedgehog T-Shirt, even if he is MC Lyte's cousin." But trust me he is mad talented and he is very deep with his reasoning for the pink and the Sonic. The pink comes from his deep rooted belief that God is a woman he also believes “pink is the color of life because pink is the color of a woman’s womb”. With that belief he goes hard with the pink as you'll see. He also digs deep into meaning of "Sonic the Hedgehog," no pun intended. He explains:

• Sonic means sound, sound can also equal music
• Hedgehogs submerge themselves into the ground,

Charles takes the name as submerging himself into the music, because he believes without the music the result wouldn't be pretty. Now trust me dude believes this with a passion and is dead ass serious.

But there is a reasoning behind his belief that without the music he's be nothing; when Charles was 16 he had a falling out with his family and was forced to move out, effectively making him homeless. Now a 16 year old homeless kid in Harlem is not the ideal situation. Now sidebar a lot of rappers brag about living in the studio, this kid literally lived in the studio. Hamilton ended up moving into a recording studio on the third floor of his High School, Fredrick Douglass Academy. Hamilton even went on record saying “if the janitor kicked me out, it was the park bench, cold pizza in my pocket.”Hamilton ended up dropping out of High School and getting his GED when he was 17, but even though he was no longer a student at the school he still lived in the third floor studio. He only moved out at 20 upon signing with Interscope in March 08. Hamilton still seems to be in transition saying “last week I was so uncomfortable in my bed, I had to go find a bench.”

Now considering that he literally lived in the studio you have to expect that he would have some skills on the mike. Hamilton has a laid back flow that varies from song to song, Hamilton is truly a musician to the core and he believes that the beat is a collection of instruments, so when he's rapping over the beat he is just adding another instrument. He says you can't play the same instrument to the same tune to every song, so with every beat you have to change the flow (I told you dude is deep). But even with a flow that's bonkers dudes lyrically skills are no joke. In his song "Millions of Musicians" (where he raps over 2Pac's "Ambitionz As A Rider") Hamilton spazzes saying "Ambitions of musicians like Theloneous Monk, Mixed with a little punk for the homies to bump, I am not a little punk for the homies to jump, I'm Scarface smokin blunts while I'm holdin the pump." Damn Charles those are pretty hardcore Harlem lyrics for a man who claims “I’m more of a hippie than a Harlem nigga.” Haha I'm playing dude was just showing a little diversity, with lines like that 2Pac would have to pay homage!

By simply listening to Charles you soon realize that he's bringing a refreshing new aspect to Hip-Hop. So many rappers go for the "hipster image," saying that they don't care about the game or about fame but you can really tell he was a hipster before there was a hipster. So many rappers disregard the game saying they could simply drop it and go back to this or do that, but back to the Sonic the Hedgehog thing he is putting his all into the game. He puts everything into the game and as he constantly says when it comes to music he is "dead ass."He constantly rejects comparisons to rappers, probably a result of the fact that he is a rapper last. As you could guess from one of the lines in "Millions of Musicians" his influences are mainly Punk Rock. He has also said on wax "I only stuck with rappin cause I gotta gift." He constantly denounces the title of a "rapper" saying that he is actually a blogger, that's right (Click Here to check out his blog).

But despite his hatred for comparison he is constantly compared to Kanye but I see Lupe in there as well. And it's apparent why he gets the Kanye comparison but its a new generation. Instead of college dropout we have a high school dropout. And the production is bananas as well, with a hard core sample game, but instead of Aretha and that era you get more recent artists, Kanye for one haha. If you remember Kanye's verse on "Barry Bonds" Charles samples the "Doing it pretty hood in my pink polo" along with his song "I Wonder" to make his master piece "My Wonderful Pink Polo." The sample style is reminiscent of Kanye while the selection is more Nick Cannon or Mighty Mouse of Gnarles Barkely. He also samples rock and The Peanuts....trust me you'll find out in time.

So this month Charles is going to go up on display, and you are about to take place in what Charles likes to call the "Hamiltonization Process," which is basically giving you a feel for his style and sound as well as prepping you for his upcoming first studio album.

But all in all this kid Charles Hamilton has a lot of potential. He's dope now but with time and musical maturity the sky is the limit. So keep your eyes open for this pink Prodigy. 

Live From The 269's 1st Official Artist Of The Month Is.............Drake

Here at Live From The 269 we like to spotlight up and coming artist as a nod of recognition. Our first is Drake aka Drizzy Drake Rogers. Many of you may recognize Drake from his role as Jimmy Brookes in Degrassi: The Next Generation (yeah he's wheelchair Jimmy). But his wheelchaired charachter didn't hold him back from stepping into the rap game and hitting the ground running calling out saysayers on wax saying "Damn whose Drake where's wheelchair Jimmy at? Now I'm here on my Chris Brown bitch gimme that." He reps Toronto, Canada and has his own crew ATF, he also affiliates with Lil Wayne's Young Moeny team doing countless collabo's with Wayne and his affilliates. Drizzy is no joke despite being deemed "The New Fresh Prince" because of his flourishing acting career. He has said despite Wayne's tokened song freestyling on songs Drake says he like to take time to write lyrics so each bar is impactful, saying because he isn't a "gangster rapper" he has more pressure to make each song monumental. So throughout December we're gonna hit you with as much Drake as you can handle, starting with his first mixtape, Room For Improvement hosted by DJ Smallz. It came out in 06 but trust me its legit.