BKS1 Radio Network

Artist Review: D Strong

D Strong aka InvincibleSons All (Last Kind, Third Rail), started rhyming in 1985 during the early days of the Golden Era. At first it was just for the thrill of battle over high school lunch table drums, then it became more, writing songs coming up with hooks and eventually recording in the studio.

D Strong found an outlet for music through a local radio station KDAY and their performing arts program. He did shows at local parks and rec centers through out L.A. and it helped him become familiar with stage presents and vocal delivery.

As the years went on and the music changed he never forgot where it started and has tried to stick to the same format that has always felt comfortable...dope beats and rhyme concepts.

D Strong is one fifth of the L.A. based underground crew "the Last Kind". He is also a member of the triple threat emcee group "Third Rail" ( D Strong, Aarophat, Wildelux). With the introduction of the internet to the industry his dream of having his music heard by the world has become a reality.

D Strong has been busy putting out four albums in the last two years.

"the Burden" Nov. 2011

"Rise and Shoot" March 2012

"Unfold" July 2012

"Sacrifice" April 2013

Through out the yrs D Strong has performed with: Ole Dirty Bastard, Eric Sermon, Prince Po, Sadat X, Supernatural, the Beatnuts, the Alcoholics, Chino XL, Poor Righteous Teachers, Ice Cube, Crayz Walls, Planet Asia, DJ Qbert, the Scratch Pickles, the Beat Junkies, Apani Bfly, John Robinson, Copywrite, and Mainflow. Performed live at the CMJ Music Festival and the world famous “Wake Up Show”.

Special Guest: Jameel Mason

Jameel Mason was born on June 24, in East Orange, New Jersey and raised throughout Central Jersey in a single parent household with his three siblings. He got his start rapping at the age of fifteen, though he admittedly began to take a more serious approach after he began college.

Jameel grew up listening to and was inspired by the blues, jazz, but mostly hip hop artist's such as Biggie, Tupac, Jay-Z, Nas, Big L, Emenim and 50 Cent. Living by the acronym D4G (Destined 4 Greatness) his music reflects overcoming the harsh reality of growing up in poverty. Despite the dark lyrical themes, Jameel combines captivating lyrics and witty punch lines with a smooth and charismatic delivery to allure his audience.

Since his first initial foray into the rap game, he has been captivating crowds at many venues and universities throughout New Jersey and New York. Spectators at universities such as Rutgers, Fairleigh Dickinson, Drew University, and Seton Hall, as well as at popular venues such as Club Pyramid and Club Rebel S.O.B's etc... Have all had the opportunity to witness this talented young rapper perform. And his talent has not gone unrecognized-- early in 2012 he competed in the New Jersey Performing of Arts event held at colleges and universities throughout the state and placed second overall amongst other rappers, musicians, artists, poets, and almost everything creative in-between. As an all- American athlete, he graduated from Drew University in 2012. Now with school completed, Jameel looks to shift his focus more heavily on his career as a rapper.

Look for music from Jameel Mason in the iTunes store worldwide and on all other major distributors.

Check out Jameel's video for This Life

Artist Preview: Eve

Eve, is an American Grammy Award winning rapper-songwriter, record producer and actress. Her first three albums have sold over 8 million copies worldwide. She has also achieved success in fashion with her clothing line, Fetish. She is the inaugural winner of the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in 2002 for the song "Let Me Blow Ya Mind", with Gwen Stefani. Eve was number 48 on VH1's "50 Greatest Women Of The Video Era" list.

As an actress, Eve is best known for her roles as Terri Jones in the films Barbershop and Barbershop 2: Back in Business, and as Shelley Williams on the UPN television sitcom Eve.

Read more Eve bio: www.wikipedia.org/Eve

Special Guests: Perks

Perks is a suburban native rapper, originally from the Bronx he knew from the young age of 10 that music was in his future. At the age of 16, his family decided to move to Rockland County, a small suburban area right outside of NYC. Perks always wrote music, but with encouragement from his brothers, he started recording his music in high school. Music and fashion has always been a passion of his. He stopped recording music for about a year and co-founded urban-upscale brand BLK.ID with his twin brother DJ TP and their two best friends Chris & Kwaz.

He worked on all the visuals for the brand and soon after he decided to start recording his music, which in his own words, has no 'ID'. Having friends of all ethnicities, Perks wants his music to reach all audiences and be just as diverse. Perks ultimate goal is to be a well-known independent artist. He wants to be recognized not just for his image but for his music. Instead of selling swag and dope beats, Perks wants to be respected for his craft. He wants to be his own self while wearing his own brand (BLK.ID).

The Brooklyn-based rapper earned his stripes as one of the most lyrically-gifted, socially aware and politically insightful rappers to emerge in the last 20 years. His travels around the globe as one of rap’s most in-demand performers combined with his conversations with political activists and his genre-straddling work with Idle Warship and others caused Kweli to realize that he was limited in a sense, a prisoner of sorts of his own success as one of the world’s best rappers with something significant to say.

“My music has been associated with those types of causes, with positivity, spirituality, intelligence and being thought-provoking and such,” he says. “I think sometimes people get caught up in that part of me as an artist and don’t necessarily understand the musicality or fully appreciate the music and the entertainment value behind what I do. I tried to stretch my wings a little bit and bring something that was less beholden to the world of hip-hop and more existing in the world in general.”

The result of this artistic growth and exploration arrives with Kweli’s dynamic Prisoner Of Conscious AKA P.O.C., an artistic tour de force that signals the start of the next chapter of Kweli’s remarkable career. The BK MC spent more time working on Prisoner Of Conscious than any of his other albums, a three-year journey that found him exploring new vibes, joining in some unlikely collaborations and taking him to foreign lands.

Read More Talib Kweli bio:  http://www.talibkweli.com/biography/

Special Guests: ELO

FORMER D-BOY TURNED MOGUL WITH PLANS OF GREATER AND PROSPEROUS NOTORIETY ON A GRAND SCALE. MUSIC WAS IMPLEMENTED SINCE A YOUTH,BUT AS MATURING BEGAN "ELO" CO-FOUNDER OF 'REGIME INC.' RELAYED HIS TALENT AND STORIES THRU A PEN. HAILING FROM THE "WESTSIDE" OF PLAINFIELD,NJ AND REPRESENTING CLINTON AVE. U HAVE AN ALTER EGO DISPLAYED AS ONE OF JERSEY'S FINEST UP AND COMING ENTREPENAURS.

IN ADDITION TO HIS GRIND HE WAS SIDED WITH CHILDHOOD FRIEND O-Z(ACC) ALONG HIS ROUTE. WITH NEWEST RELEASE OF THE DEBUT SINGLE "TALK2ME" PRODUCED BY A-KING OF 'NEW EAST COAST'(N.E.C) OF CENTRAL JERSEY. HAS AN ENERGETIC FEEL WITH MESH OF MUSICAL LYRICISM AND CATCHINESS ALONGSIDE THE HOOK. AND THERE YOU HAVE IT AMERICA "TALK 2 ME" MAN!!!

GET READY LIVE TONIGHT ON BKS1RADIO.COM 9 to 11:30pm Est. It's The LIVE IN THE CIPHER SHOW Join Us As We Rate & Review Along With You The Listener LL COOL J’s New Release "AUTHENTIC". Your Opinion Counts. See If This Legend In The Hip Hop Game Still Has What It Takes. Also Hip Hop news, rumors, and more! Special Guests Hastyle and Khadijah will be live in studio. Chat or Call in 646-233-1302 If You Got The Skills To Spit a Hot 16 - What's Your Opinion On The State of the Hip Hop Culture. Join The Cipher Tonight at 9pm Est.

Special Guest: Hastyle

What do you get when you mix the mean streets of Newark NJ, and a son (educated in the public school system) raised in a single parent home? Now imagine his only venting tools being a stage, and a microphone?

You get Hastyle....One of the illest MCs coming straight out of Brick City (Newark NJ). Don't believe it? Check him out in New Jersey's band (Uncle Al's) music videos "The Building" and "The Medley" on Youtube.com. If that's not enough to make you a believer, his resume alone speaks volumes.

From opening up for legends/greats such as Notorious BIG, Nas, Naughty By Nature, and Lauryn Hill to opening up for the likes of Jae Millz, Black Moon, and Method Man...Hastyle has definitely left his footprints in the concrete. His live hip hop/classic rock band "Uncle Al" walked away with TIA's (The Industry Alternative's) Breath of Fresh Air award, all while having songs in rotation on 97.5 FM Elite Radio, 1055heat.com, Streetz 106 FM, and StreetzRadio.com. He's graced stages at the infamous Club 88, The Black Music Expo, The Pipline, Industry Tuesdays (Philly), The Trash Bar, Whiskey Bar, Maxwell's, The Bitter End, Bar East, and The Kool Jazz Festival (in Newark) just to name a few. Along with working on projects such as Uncle Al's mix cd "The Uncle Al Experience", and his solo effort "Da Newark Riots", Hastyle has also dropped mix cd called Dirty Jerz (a meeting of the rhymez)...a compilation of some of the hottest signed & unsigned talent out of Jersey.

This classic mix cd has reached 1,100+ downloads within the first month of it's release date. Be sure to check out the title track "Dirty Jerz" feat. Doitall (of Lords Of The Underground), Sundance, and DJ Ran (the fastest hands in New Jersey). As if THAT isn't enough, now he's venturing off into acting. Check him out in his first of many roles as K (Killa) Caine, a blood thirsty gang leader who terrorizes his own neighborhood just for kicks in 973 Films movie "Under The Streetlight". If he doesn't get in the door one way, he'll definitely get in through another.

Hastyle figures with the life he's lived, and hardships he’s faced there is plenty for him to say to the world, if the world will only listen. He’s not looking for a break. He’s looking for an opportunity. An opportunity to tell his story. Just check out joints like Victim, The Building, Special, and The P.R.O.J.E.C.T.S to get a glimpse of the graphic picture he paints so well. And that’s not even ½ of his story. This is just the beginning. Hastyle says, “I’m going to tell my story with, or without a record deal”. And with that being said…………………Da Newark Riots (coming soon)..........

Special Guest: Khadijah