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Hip Hop veteran Black Rob is back on the scene and making new music for the masses. Black Rob began his musical career on  Bad Boy Record label in early  1996, appearing on the Bad Boy remix to 112's "Come See Me". He was then featured on several other Bad Boy releases including remixes to Faith Evans' "Love Like This" (1997) and Total's "What About Us" (1998), the single "24 Hours to Live" (1997) from Mase and albums by Puff Daddy & the Bad Boy Family (1997) and The Notorious B.I.G. (1999). He also made two appearances on Cru 1997 album Da Dirty 30, as well as albums by Ol Dirty Bastard, Channel Live, The Madd Rapper, Benzino, Tony Touch, and others.

Live In The Cipher brings you another up and coming MC from NYC. Join us as we introduce you to Fokis as we rate and review his latest release A Vintage State of Mind. Here is more about Fokis in his own words from www.fokeezy.com.

Fokis Bio:

An innovative force, Fokis continues to forge his path towards success through the frontier of a technologically advanced world.  Born William Heredia to Dominican parents, Fokis was raised on New York City’s Lower East Side of Manhattan.  It was during these formative years that Fokis developed a love for music and a work ethic that placed him amongst hip hop’s hardest working entrepreneurs. Fokis began rhyming at an early age and later began to produce beats of his own.  Seeking to enhance his career, Fokis pursued formal training as a recording engineer later opening his own recording studio Krystal Clear Recordings.  There, Fokis has recorded and mixed records for many artists including Kool G Rap, Trife Diesel, Mic Geranimo, Bubba Sparxx and Rahsaan Patterson.

His passion and commitment to success literally placed him on the “Road to the Riches.”  Early in his career, Fokis developed and produced an online reality show based on his own experience as an independent hip hop artist seeking to secure a record deal within a year’s time.  Consistent with reality, the “Road to the Riches” did not result in Fokis signing a record deal.  Not deterred, Fokis went on to release several albums collaborating with various established artists such as Joe Budden, Olu Dara (Nas' father), Deemi, Joell Ortiz and various producers such as Focus...(Aftermath Ent.) Charlemagne and Dahoud Darien.  Through his persistence, Fokis independently distributed over twenty thousand compact discs and digital downloads combined.  Projects like the “20/20” EP exclusively produced by Focus of Aftermath and “The Appetizer” LP with Punchline of eMC were well received by his fans.

Fokis has toured the United States, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic and performed as an opening act for Common, Busta Rhymes, M.O.P. the Beatnuts and many more.  Through his experiences, Fokis has developed a relevant broad appealing style and sound that remains true to the core foundational elements of Hip Hop with a commercial appeal.  Though achieving success distributing his own music, Fokis realized in this era it would take more than pursuing a career as a recording artist to rise to the level of success he sought to achieve.  As his experience with the business side of the industry grew, Fokis seized upon the marketing facet of the industry and opened his digital media company Loyalty Digital Corp.  Through Loyalty Digital Corp, Fokis has worked with various artists to develop, record and mix musical compositions and successfully market them online.  In no time Fokis managed to develop a strong and diverse client base for Loyalty Digital Corp. 

Working with that network, Loyalty Digital Corp. successfully produced and released two installations of “A Walk Through MySpace,” a musical collaborative effort of worldwide independent artists banding together to create a stronger market for their careers.  Loyalty Digital’s success with its marketing campaigns resulted in multi platinum producer Ty Fyffe reaching out and together they developed an online competition called “Raw N Uncut” which enlisted hundreds of entrants.    Fokis and Loyalty Digital’s many achievements have been recognized by not only many established industry members but also featured on various industry websites such as HipHopDX, NahRight, 2DopeBoyz, DubCNN and HipHopGame.  In his own words Fokis states that he is “a dreamer, a visionary, and a grinder with a capital G.”

MC's call in 646-233-1302 and spit your hot 16, let the hip hop world hear your skills! Follow us on twitter: @LiveInTheCipher and like our facebook fan page: Live In The Cipher Show

Live in the cipher team brings you a legendary hip hop group for your review. New York's own De La Soul delivers another hip hop project for the masses to enjoy. First Serve is De La's 8 th studio release, lets see if they can continue to deliver the same hip hop they have been known.

De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres. The members are Kelvin Mercer, David Jude Jolicoeur and Vincent Mason, known under a variety of nicknames. The three formed the group in high school and caught the attention of producer Prince Paul with a demo tape of the song "Plug Tunin'".

With its playful wordplay, innovative sampling, and witty skits, the band's debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, is considered a hip hop masterpiece. It is the band's biggest commercial success to date, with their subsequent albums selling progressively less, despite receiving high praise from critics. A measure of 3 Feet High and Rising's cross-over appeal was the fact that it was voted Album of the Year by NME, a title better known for its taste in guitar-based music. De La Soul have influenced numerous other hip hop artists such as Camp Lo, The Black Eyed Peas, and Digable Planets. They were influential in the early stages of rapper/actor Mos Def's career, and are a core part of the Spitkicker collective. They are the second longest standing Native Tongues Posse group, after the Jungle Brothers.

In 2006, the group won a Grammy for their collaboration with Gorillaz on the single "Feel Good Inc."

Read More De La Soul Bio

MC's call 646-233-1302 and in spit your hot 16! Hip hop news, rumors, trivia and more! Follow us on twitter @liveinthecipher and like our facebook fan page: Live In The Cipher

Live in the cipher team brings you a special night. We bring you B.O.B's new release Strange Clouds. After the commercial and critically acclaimed The Adventures of Bobby Ray, B.O.B is back hoping to build on the success of his debut album. Lets see if he is able to deliver the banging tracks that he is known along with the witty word play. Join us for our interactive review process where your opinion counts.

Read B.O.B bio: Here

Special Guest: MC Lyte

Brooklyn born MC Lyte burst onto the hip hop scene with her debut album Lyte As A Rock. The release of Lyte's classic debut containing multiple hits, Lyte As A Rock, Paper thin, 10% Diss, and I Cram To Understand U, let the hip hop world know they had a talented MC ready to face all challenges presented.

Following up her debut release MC Lyte released her sophomore album Eyes On This, which had multiple hits as well lead by Cha Cha Cha reaching #1 on the Hot Rap Singles Charts. Releasing a total of 7 Studio albums, featured on various albums and compilations MC Lyte has been a force in the Hip hop world for a long time.

Expanding her talents beyond the hip hop world, Lyte has went on to do movies, television and voice over work. Read More about MC Lyte at www.officialmclyte.com

Join us tonight as we bring you another hot episode of the Live In The Cipher show. MC's call in 646-233-1302 and spit your hot 16. Follow us on twitter: @liveinthecipher and like our facebook fan page: Live In The Cipher Show

Live In The Cipher team brings you a legend in the hip hop game. Arguably one of the top 5 MC's ever to grab the Mic Nasir Jones aka Nas delivers Life Is Good project for the hip hop world. Tune in and see if Nas can continue to deliver the quality hip hop that he is known to produce. Over 20 years in hip hop Life Is Good is Nas' 10^th solo release.

Artist Review: Nas

Heralded instantly as one of New York's leading rap voices, Nas expressed an outspoken, self-empowered swagger that rallied the streets of his city and elsewhere. Whether proclaiming himself "Nasty Nas" or "Nas Escobar" or "Nastradamus" or "God's Son," the self-appointed King of New York battled numerous adversaries for his position atop the epicenter of East Coast rap, none more noteworthy than Jay-Z, who vied with Nas for the vacated throne left in the wake of the Notorious B.I.G.'s 1997 assassination.

Such headline-worthy drama informed Nas' provocative rhymes, which he delivered with both a masterful flow and a wise perspective over breathtaking beats by amazing producers: legends like DJ Premier, Large Professor, and Pete Rock; hitmakers like Trackmasters, Timbaland, and Dr. Dre; street favorites like Swizz Beatz, Megahertz, and the Alchemist; and personal favorites of his own like L.E.S., Salaam Remi, and Chucky Thompson. Nas likewise collaborated with some of the industry's leading video directors like Hype Williams and Chris Robinson, presenting singles like "Hate Me Now," "One Mic," and "I Can" with dramatic flair. Throughout all the ups (the acclaim, popularity, and success) and all the downs (the pressure, adversaries, and over-reaching), Nas continually matured as an artist, evolving from a young street disciple to a vain all-knowing sage to a humbled godly teacher. Such growth made every album release an event and prolonged his increasingly storied career to epic proportions.

Read more Nas Bio: www.music.yahoo.com/nas/biography/

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