We've Moved!

The Frontline remains "open for business" at its new location: thefrontlinehiphop.tumblr.com Please check us out there.

A Sunday of Festivals April 17, 2011

Between the Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival at the river end of Beale and the Africa in April at the other end, downtown Memphis was crowded Sunday. And the Grizzlies won their first playoff game ever!

Juke Joint Festival 2011/Africa In April 2011

This weekend has been a busy one, with Clarksdale's Juke Joint Festival, and Africa In April, Hot Wing Festival and the Dub Car Show in Memphis. I couldn't figure out which ones I wanted to do, so I went to Clarksdale and then back to Memphis to catch the tail end of Africa in April's first day.

Mississippi Spring Break 2011

The Mississippi Spring Break 2011 was off the chain this year, despite the heavy police presence. The weather was beautiful, and people came ready to party and enjoy themselves.

Shamrock instore weekend in Dallas March 25-27, 2011

Photos of my trip to Little Rock and Dallas last weekend for the artist Shamrock's instore at Grapevine Mills Mall. I enjoyed touring the Yums clothing headquarters (which contains a skateboard course), buying vinyl at EntertainMart, hearing live jazz at Buttons in Addison, and several really good meals.

Little Rock's 4 X 4 Crew

I picked up this mixtape somewhere in Little Rock last week, and I was so impressed I felt I should share it with the world, so follow the link below and check out rappers from the south with SKILLS.

Download Mixtape | Free Mixtapes Provided by DatPiff.com

From Austin to Memphis March 20, 2011

Last Day of SXSW March 19, 2011

Third Day of SXSW March 18, 2011

Second Day of SXSW March 17, 2011

First day of SXSW March 16, 2011

Breakfast at the Omlettery, registration, trade show, showcases- in all a busy day.

From Shreveport to Austin March 15, 2011

Driving from Shreveport through Marshall, Longview and Dallas (dinner with regional rap legend Mr. Lucci) and on to Austin.

Photos from the week of SXSW, March 14, 2011

I drove down from Memphis through Monroe, Louisiana to Shreveport, stopping at every record store and clothing store to give out promotional materials.

March 7, 2011-Hunter Promotions Industry Summit in Memphis

One day after the Southern Entertainment Awards in Memphis, Ricardo Hunter of Hunter Promotions sponsored an Industry Summit at Zodiac Restaurant and Lounge in Hickory Hill, and the event was extremely well-attended. Janie Jennings, Bigga Rankin, DJ Drop, Bigg V, Joe Gotti, Criminal Manne, Don Tripp, Smurf, 2 Deep, Devin Steel and Care Bear were just some of the regional industry veterans who were present.

Southern Entertainment Awards Day 2 and Mid-South Radio & Records Conference March 6, 2011

This weekend was a busy one for the music industry everywhere, with the CIAA basketball tournament in Charlotte, Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans, Ocean Springs, Mobile and a number of other coastal cities, and two urban music conferences in Memphis, the Southern Entertainment Awards and the Mid-South Radio and Records Conference.

The SEA's continued at the Cook Convention Center, with panels and the opening of the exhibit hall, and then at noon, the Mid-South Radio and Records Conference got under way a few blocks away at the Doubletree Hotel. The honored guest at this year's conference was Al Bell, former CEO of Stax Records, and current chairman of the board of the Memphis Music Foundation. Other notable guests included Ruby Wilson, James Alexander of the Bar-Kays, Toni Green, Skip Cheatham (former program director of Dallas' K-104), and Melvin "A-Cookin'" Jones.

Saturday night, despite the cold, rainy weather, SEA attendees enjoyed the Welcome 2 Memphis Kickoff Party at the Minglewood Hall, sponsored by Memphis promoter Ty Sanders.

The SEA Showcase, and the SEA Industry Mixer at Zodiac Restaurant & Lounge March 4, 2011

The first day of the Southern Entertainment Awards kicked off in Memphis Friday with a performance showcase at the Cook Convention Center downtown, followed by a industry meet and greet at Zodiac Restaurant and Lounge in Hickory Hill.

D-Cinn The Promotion Vol. 2 Mixtape Link

Here is the link to the D-Cinn mixtape I reviewed earlier:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FCVSPD21

New Memphis Mixtape: D-Cinn-Tha Promotion Vol. 2

Picked this cool new mixtape up at City Gear in the Wolfchase Galleria the other day, and it is really good. I had not heard of D-Cinn, but he is a young up-and-coming rapper from the Whitehaven neighborhood of Memphis. While some tracks like "Club Crunk" exude an atmosphere of traditional Memphis buck-jumping, others like "We Ain't Cool" show off D-Cinn's considerable lyrical skills. Incredibly, this mixtape is available for free at all local City Gear stores.