In America there is a saying that goes something to the tune of, ‘there’s a first time for everything’. Well fortunately that is a statement that many people can agree to. In fact, that phrase can be considered a universal and worldwide term. Case and point…Blayze Deville, a 16-year old rapper from South Africa who is well on his way to becoming a household name…worldwide. That statement may seem to be one that would be hard to prove, but after listening to the young phenom do his thing with the microphone, it may make you think twice.

1. Before we get too deep into this interview, Blayze, please introduce yourself to the audience. Well, I’m a 16 year old from Rustenburg, South Africa, grew up just east of Joburg in a township called Tokhoza. I was raised by my grandmother in Tokhoza while my mom was in Rustenburg making a living to make my life much easier than hers. Fast forward, I got into Hip-Hop music in 2007 and started making music in ’09, but only started taking it seriously last year in October.

2. Most artists urge critics and fans to not place their music into one particular category or genre. Tell us a little about the music you make and what exactly you want listeners to gain from it.

Growing up where I did, music was basically all about having fun. I always took music seriously until I started listening to Slim Shady and Nirvana, those guys didn’t care what you think, as long as they’re
enjoying themselves while doing what they love, making good music for everyone. So after being exposed to those artists as well as Pharrell, that’s where I pretty much took my style from. So I have no real genre
I can be confound to, my mixtape will have a lot of styles in it.

3. In some of your songs, you mention ‘New Era’. Could you tell us a little about this?

“New Era Music” is an independent label that my friends and I started and are working on bringing it up internationaly. We have artists with different styles and characters bringing their best to the table in
order to entertain our listeners. Artists you can watch out for in the next year are Black Ace, T Swagga, Eazy, and Yung-Gibbz.

4. The last few years we’ve been seeing more artists who also try their hand at producing their own tracks. Do you focus on being an artist alone or do dabble with the beats every now and then?

Well, I started out making beats and one Saturday when Eazy was having a recording session he had trouble with a hook, so I suggested that maybe I should do it. He liked what he heard and told me that I should
consider rapping. So pretty much almost every song you’ll hear from me is 100% Blayze Deville.

5. After doing a little research, we noticed that you are from South Africa. Tell us a little about that part of the world and how music is integrated into the culture.

First, I’d like to clear that our country isn’t as dangerous as international media makes it out to be. It’s way more peaceful than what you see on the news, haha! Then as far as culture goes, well lets
just say i’m more white than black, but anyway, with 11 official languages, as well as a lot foreigners making their way here, i’d say our country has the most cultural diversity in the world. Taking a
listen to our music, it has a bit of a tribal feel, such as our house music, we use a lot percussions and basslines, the parties are crazy too. Our producers love sampling old African records, so they stay
close to their culture while still being relevant to today’s music. A lot of people here are starting to open up to more styles of music other than House and Kwaito, so we’re very diverse in language, culture, and now music.

6. With Akon being one of few breakout artists from Africa, can you see yourself taking his spot one day?

I wouldn’t exactly say take his spot, but rather join him and continue growing Africa’s legacy as a musical powerhouse. There’s a lot of talent here, sadly it hasn’t quite been discovered yet.

7. Name a few of your favorite artists, dead or alive.

Eminem, Jay-Z(pre-Blueprint 3), Kanye West, Game, Pharrell, Kurt Cobain, John Lennon, E11even Plus, and myself, haha. I include myself on that list because you always expect your favorite artists to be on top of their game.

8. Fellow rapper and Nairobi native, Noggz, recently complimented your rhyming skills and referred to you as ‘The Future’. That’s a big statement. How do you feel about that statement and are there any other artists from your part of the world you think we should look out for?

Well i’m actually very glad that there are people starting to pay attention to my music, and aged 16, I feel like I’ve raised the bar quite high for myself, but that won’t stop me from becoming a better musician, I’ll only keep pushing harder. On this side of the planet artists you should definitely look out for are Black Ace, Khamz Dee, Eazy, Yung Gibbz, Swiss Swagg

Listen to young Blayze set it on fire:

Blayze Deville-On Fire by Lonnie Nigel

Experience first-hand what it took for the duo we know as ‘Blackroze’ to where they’re at today. HHABC recently caught up with Blackroze for an up-close and personal interview…Hip hop is still alive and it is always an inspiration for the true fans of this special genre of music.
1. First of all, your name, BlackRoze, where does that come from?
The Name Blackroze stems from a combination of things…First of all we come from Somerville, Massachussets, home of The Winter Hill Gang and Whitey Bulger so it sort of has a Mafia vibe. Except our reason is were dropping Blackrozes on ‘Garbage’ and ‘Mockery’ like Hip Hop.

2. Give us a brief description of the type of vibe that your music brings for its listeners.
Well our music can bring many different vibes to our listeners. We make mood music pretty much, we take our experiences and our surrounding experiences and convert all that into our songs…Like our single ‘Loving Life’, that’s a party record because at the time that we made it, we were getting our party on heavy so we made a song about our ‘Party Life’….But we also have songs like our single ‘Day By Day’ which is a song about us coming up in life and trying to overcome our struggles ..trials and tribulations…and how music plays such a huge role in our lives.

3. As an aspiring artist, what is it that makes you keep going and pushing towards your goals as a hip hop artist?
I mean we do this music because its a calling in our lives, we have both been doing this for a long time …just the rush we get from seeing people that love our music and people moving at our shows would be enough for a lot of artists, but its much deeper than that for us …its a way for us to express our pain our joy with the world …countless times we have had people come up to us and tell us “Hey, so and so song you did really touched base with my actual life” and it’s things like that that fuel us to keep making good music.

4. When did you know for sure, music is what you wanted to do with your life?
Ever since we could remember, MUSIC is what was closest to us for example: AceDon Grew up in a diverse family with his mom. Being white and his dad being black, growing up in the 80s, his parents played all types of music from, The Rolling Stones to The Temptations, even as a child he knew this is what he wanted FOREVER… Cas on the other hand is a White dude but he grew up in the hoods of Brockton at a very bad time over there. So him being the only white kid in his surroundings, his peers had heavy influence on his music and his parents subjected him to a diverse range of music his entire life even as a child he knew this is what he wanted FOREVER.

5. Where do the ideas and inspirations, that help create your music, come from?
Our inspirations for our songs come from our lives and personal experiences …Even take some of our friends experiences and turn them into songs cause they maybe dont know how to express it them selfs in a way that everyone can understand.

6. What artists did you listen to as a youngster?
Wu-Tang.. Biggie.. 2Pac…Dr Dre …Snoop Dogg…Eminem…Public Enemy,……NWA…..etc TOO MANY TO NAME…

7. Speaking of other artists, who would you name as your top 5 all-time personal favorites…alive or gone?
Can’t name only 5, but i guess Eminem being first then Biggie Then 2Pac then Vinnie Paz then Big Pun I hate being asked that question…maybe if you asked me my top 20 dead or alive then I could be a little more accurate. and it would be easier .

8. If you wasn’t doing your music thing right now, what do you think you’d be doing with yourself now?
If we were not doing our music thing we would both be doing what ever it took to provide for our families…we both have multiple skills in different areas of jobs from city work to landscaping to house flipping etc.

9. Do you have any songs or videos available for people to check out?
Yes we Do …you can go to we also have a couple new videos coming and a show on sept 6th with Corey Guns and The Legendary 9TH WONDER at the Middle East in Cambridge Ma.

10. Any upcoming projects or things for us to watch out for?
BlackRoze has Graced the stage with the likes of Red Cafe ..Wu-Tang….Cormega & Nature….Joell Ortiz…Keith Murray and Big Sean and many more ……STAY TUNED FOR MORE MUSIC AND SHOWS!!!!

http://youtube.com/BlackRoze617

http://www.reverbnation.com/blackroze617

http://www.myspace.com/blackroze617

http://www.twitter.com/blackroze617

http://danejazone.com/profile/BlackRoze617

http://soundcloud.com/BlackRoze617

After a recently stopping by BET’s 106 & park Nas gives the fans some insight on a few things ranging from his sibling like relationship with Amy Winehouse & his contribution to Dr Dre’s Detox album coming soon.

Its been a good couple of years since we hit the internet and began on our efforts to salvage hip-hop in whichever way we could. We are proud of our accomplishments as we continue to push towards a new direction we thank you for your continued support and introduce to you our latest feature “Ear To The Streetz”. As you may already know HHABC keeps an ear to the ground and we have managed to keep you up to date with the latest courtesy of the streets.

We shall continue to deliver good hip-hop content for as long as you continue to support us and our movement, thank you and may God Bless you abundantly.

The lovely Tisha Campbell-Martin recently sat down with Access Hollywood to talk about her drama series on Lifetime.

It’s good to see the Mobb back together again. Everyone is wondering what the new album is gonna sound like. Here they are talking about the new album and performing again.

Lady Luck recently chopped it up with Star and Buc Wild. The Jersey femcee had some very opinionated words concerning her peers. Here’s what went down…

In his first interview after being released from prison last week, Prodigy addresses his comments made about Jay-Z and President Obama. Prodigy also reveals how he spent his time and he reflects on the day he was pulled over and arrested.

Jadakiss takes a moment to stroll down memory lane and recount the days of when Biggie was still around.

Our good friend Marshall puts on for the city that raised him. This mini documentary takes us through the journey of one of his biggest performances since his recovery from addiction and his new found solace. We are glad to see that Em has evolved both as an artist and a person and that’s Hip-Hop.