Brooklyn&apos;s own Stetsasonic will forever be renowned as one of the first crews to put the power of Hip Hop and positive expressions with a live band. With the energy of innovative, alternative hip hop and jazz rap, underpinned with live instrumentation alongside turntables; Stet brought in an unforgettable sound movement. In 1986, they signed to Tommy Boy Records after several years of already building a fanbase off performance. The crew debuted their album, On Fire. followed by the classics, In Full Gear and Blood, Sweat &amp; No Tears. Even after the group disbanded, the individual members continued their shine with successful solo careers. Now like another classic group, Steely Dan, after 30 years, the legendary members of Stetsasonic come together again to rap fan&apos;s delight. Professor Daddy O announced the band is working on a new album tentatively titled, Here We Go Again. Follow PDO&apos;s Instagram page for updates on the upcoming releases and any videos to be announced.

Brooklyn&apos;s own Stetsasonic will forever be renowned as one of the first crews to put the power of Hip Hop and positive expressions with a live band. With the energy of innovative, alternative hip hop and jazz rap, underpinned with live instrumentation alongside turntables; Stet brought in an unforgettable sound movement.

After 30 Years, Renowned Hip Hop Band Stetsasonic Rejoins on a Fresh New Album

Believe it or not, songwriters, although considered &#x201C;gig economy&#x201D; workers in the music industry and that includes everyone from producers to roadies, will now be in line for stimulus cashflows from $2 trillion stimulus bill passed by the Senate in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to Variety: The advocacy organizations Songwriters of North America and Nashville Songwriters Association International announced today. (The House is expected to confirm a counterpart bill on Thursday.) The bill seeks to pour money into the economy in an effort to preserve millions of endangered jobs and businesses. It would direct payments of $1,200 to most American adults and $500 to children. It would steer $350 billion toward small businesses in an effort to prevent layoffs and push billions more toward hospitals and unemployment insurance, and it would create a $500 billion program for businesses, states, and localities.

[https://variety.com/2020/music/news/stimulus-bill-coronavirus-songwriters-self-employed-music-eligible-federal-relief-aid-1203543870/](https://variety.com/2020/music/news/stimulus-bill-coronavirus-songwriters-self-employed-music-eligible-federal-relief-aid-1203543870/)

Believe it or not, songwriters, although considered &#x201C;gig economy&#x201D; workers in the music industry and that includes everyone from producers to roadies, will now be in line for stimulus cashflows from $2 trillion stimulus bill passed by the Senate in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Attention Songwriters and Self-Employed Musicians: Federal Stimulus Offers Relief

Retina MC has released her second SpitSlam album &apos;Can You See Me Now&apos;. Its rhymes and beats and dance explosion at its best. This project was originally written strictly for placements in TV, Commercials and Movies. &quot; I would just watch TV and come up with songs that would relate to what I was watching&quot; Says Retina about what inspired her on some of the song topic&apos;s.&quot;

Every song was inspired by my interpretation of art&quot; says Retina when asked are these songs personal? One song on this project is super personal to Retina. BORN INVISIBLE is a song about her life growing up with a drug addicted mother and a father who abandon her to be a great father to three other children.

BORN INVISIBLE is an R&amp;B look into the early life and pain of a child who felt invisible. This project is fun and relate-able the title says it all. When asked about her choice for the title of the project Retina responded &quot; I&apos;ve lived my life so afraid to be seen or forced not to be seen, I wanted to ask CAN U SEE ME NOW? Fun love and real life this project is all that. Love yourself!&quot;

[Check out the ChannelZero release page for all available places to buy and stream.](/dig/release/retinamc-can-you-see-me-now)

Retina MC has released her second SpitSlam album &apos;Can You See Me Now&apos;. Its rhymes and beats and dance explosion at its best. This project was originally written strictly for placements in TV, Commercials and Movies. &quot; I would just watch TV and come up with songs that would relate to what I was watching&quot; Says Retina about what inspired her on some of the song topic&apos;s.&quot;

Retina MC Can You See Her? Releases NEW Fantastic Album

Mark February 7, 2020, for the day you got introduced to the interpretive talents of Alicia Crowe on her sure-to-be-a-collector-favorite, Alicia Crowe Sings Tribute To Alberta Hunter Live!

A melodically historic journey through the music of legendary vocalist Alberta Hunter and the sounds of the Bright Light District that she made famous. The album was recorded live at The Triad Theater with Alicia and her top-notch trio of musicians, all capturing the spirit and the vibe of these classic American songs. Catch her live at Barnes &amp; Noble in Nanuet, NY on February 27th at 7 pm for a meet and greet with the album.

Or grab it on:
[https://www.amazon.com/Alicia-Crowe-Tribute-Alberta-Hunter/dp/B07YTDFHZR](https://www.amazon.com/Alicia-Crowe-Tribute-Alberta-Hunter/dp/B07YTDFHZR)

Crowe&apos;s documentary film, Last Disintegrated School, will be featured at this year&#x2019;s Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles. Narrated by Chuck D, the information-packed film is another guaranteed favorite.

Find more details at [http://acroweflyz.com](http://acroweflyz.com)

Mark February 7, 2020, for the day you got introduced to the interpretive talents of Alicia Crowe on her sure-to-be-a-collector-favorite, Alicia Crowe Sings Tribute To Alberta Hunter Live!

Introducing Alicia Crowe With Her Brilliant Alberta Hunter LIVE Tribute Album

Frontman for the Chuck D created PE 2.0, Rapper/Lyricist Jahi has added to his musical serving of sizzlers off his last album, Oceanview. with not only a new book, The Microphone Journeyman Influences, Messages, and Notes From The Stage, but a globe encompassing lecture tour including Africa and beyond. Now you can get informed, edutained, and hip to the growing Jahi movement by catching him live. First, he began with the Performer/Authoring for Black History Month on February 7th, 2020 at 7 PM at the and Roll Hall of Fame for An Evening With Jahi- Hip Hop CultureXEducation: An interactive dialogue and discovery presenting Hip Hop as a world culture with life-affirming principles using videos, audio, narrative, demonstration, and performance. It was phenomenal attended by many including labelmates and heads Chuck D and C-Doc. 

Follow up this informative event by locking in February 22, 2020, 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm to see the international Hip Hop artist and activist at the Koret Auditorium for An Interactive Hip Hop Lecture + Demonstratio with Jahi. Offering an engaging lecture, demonstration, performance, and &quot;musical call to action,&#x201D; he highlights the intersection between Hip Hop culture and education. Jahi will talk about the connections between music, history, Hip Hop culture and art. This event is perfect for adults, families, and children of all ages who want to know more about Hip Hop. This program is part of Koret&apos;s Free Saturdays celebration of the exhibition, Soul of a Nation.  Connect at:  IG: @mcjahi Tw: @hiphopeducate Web: iamjahi.com

Frontman for the Chuck D created PE 2.0, Rapper/Lyricist Jahi has added to his musical serving of sizzlers off his last album, Oceanview. with not only a new book, The Microphone Journeyman Influences, Messages, and Notes From The Stage, but a globe encompassing lecture tour including Africa and beyond.

JAHI of Enemy Radio And PE2.0 Soars At Dynamic Presentation At Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame

Producer, Musician, Performer, and Visionary Memphis Jelks has captured the feelings of the nation in his moving tribute to the late Kobe Bryant and those lost in the tragedy. Echoing the shock and heartfelt grief of so many, Jelks brings both the song and video for, &quot;Never Forget Black Mamba.&quot; The track pays homage to Kobe&apos;s relationship with his daughter, and along with the video, highlights Memphis father-daughter relationships. The song is a continued example of Jelk&apos;s ability to musically interpret our current conversations in a way that speaks for us all.

Available for free download at [MEMPHISJELKS.com](https://www.memphisjelks.com/) and [https://www.memphisjelks.bandcamp.com](https://www.memphisjelks.bandcamp.com)

Producer, Musician, Performer, and Visionary Memphis Jelks has captured the feelings of the nation in his moving tribute to the late Kobe Bryant and those lost in the tragedy.

Memphis Jelks Records KOBE Tribute Song... &apos;Never Forget Black Mamba&apos;

Retina MC - Can You See Me Now?

HipHopGods

Spitburg Pirates

Enemy Books

The Age

Mad Urgency

Retina Hogue is a published song writer and female MC. As an artist Retina has toured with, Mary J Blige, Nappy Roots, Public Enemy, Big Pun, Ne Yo and many others. Retina&apos;s song writing range and speed of her process makes her one of the best. Her range is pop, hiphop, country, R&amp;B and rock. With this ability Retina has many songs placed in television such as: Access Hollywood, ACC All Access, CBS Sports Spectacular, Jimmy Kimmel Live, MLB On Fox, My Super Sweet 16, Nellyville, Pop Innovators, Tanked, Tempted, World Poker Tour, Worlds Dumbest, ect&#x2026;

Retina MC

This project was originally written strictly for placements in TV, Commercials and Movies. &quot; I would just watch TV and come up with songs that would relate to what I was watching&quot; Says Retina about what inspired her on some of the song topic&apos;s.&quot; Every song was inspired by my interpretation of art&quot; says Retina when asked are these songs personal?   One song on this project is super personal to Retina. BORN INVISIBLE is a song about her life growing up with a drug addicted mother and a father who abandon her to be a great father to three other children.   BORN INVISIBLE is an R&amp;B look into the early life and pain of a child who felt invisible. This project is fun and relate-able the title says it all. When asked about her choice for the title of the project Retina responded &quot; I&apos;ve lived my life so afraid to be seen or forced not to be seen, I wanted to ask CAN U SEE ME NOW? Fun love and real life this project is all that. Love yourself!&quot;

**BIO**  
Retina hogue aka RetinaMC is a Female Rapper, Song Writer, Author, Director, Script Writer and Lover of 90&apos;s music. This song writer/MC has had hundreds of placements on networks like....BET, ESPN, ABC, VH1, MTV etc. Retina is also a first time author, her book THE INVISIBLE DAUGHTER is available on amazon. Retina has also made her directorial debut directing her documentary THE INVISIBLE DAUGHTER as well.   Between song writing and book signings Retina spends time with youth who feel invisible like she did as a child. &quot; All it takes is for one person to see a kid who feels invisible to change their path of self worth&quot; says Retina. She splits her time between ATL, LA and the place she calls home Charlotte NC. Retina&apos;s latest project &quot; Can U see me now&quot; is a collection of music for the soundtrack of this thing called life.

Disc 1

Who She

Swurve

No Z&apos;s

Born Invisible

It&apos;s A New Me

O Money

Me Him and Her

Hold Up Wait

SpitSlam

Can You See Me Now?

Amazon

Apple Music

Bandcamp

Slam Store

Spotify

Tidal

A &quot;native New Yorker, &quot; Alicia was steeped in great musical traditions. She was most influenced listening to her mother&#x2019;s jazz and classical music collection which included Ella Fitzgerald, Sara Vaughn, Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson, Mariam Makeba, Nina Simone, &#xA0;Chris Connor, Shirley Horn and Alberta Hunter (who bought Alicia and her twin sister their first pair of baby shoes). She has always had a passion for the stage, acting and dancing. Not long after earning her law degree from Howard University and going into private practice with her identical twin sister, she began pursuing music studying &#xA0;voice privately with Dr. Stanley L. Ralph who encouraged her to pursue her passion for jazz singing. She sang at open mic&apos;s in New York City and furthered her studies at Harlem&apos;s esteemed Jazzmobile Saturday workshops founded by the late Billy Taylor where she developed her craft and found great mentors.

Alicia &#xA0;opened concerts with Stella Marrs, Jimmy Heath, Norman Simmons, Sheila Jordan, Cameron Brown and Carrie Jackson. Stage productions include: Ragtime, The Crucible and Smokey Joe&apos;s Cafe. Alicia has also performed at the Jazz foundation of America Jazz loft party and other performances. &#xA0;She performs for sophisticated audiences at several venues and private events in the New York metropolitan area. &#xA0;Alicia performs the works of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Thelonius Monk, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Standards and songs from the Great American Songbook.

Alicia&apos;s goal is to contribute to African American classical music and help keep the &#xA0;legacy of jazz music alive.

Alicia her first Recording on the Spit Slam Record Label Group is singing the Songs Of Alberta Hunter also stay tuned for 2020 upcoming show dates.

Alicia Crowe

A &quot;native New Yorker, &quot; Alicia was steeped in great musical traditions. She was most influenced listening to her mother&#x2019;s jazz and classical music collection which included Ella Fitzgerald, Sara Vaughn, Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson, Mariam Makeba, Nina Simone, &#xA0;Chris Connor, Shirley Horn and Alberta Hunter (who bought Alicia and her twin sister their first pair of baby shoes). She has always had a passion for the stage, acting and dancing.

Not long after earning her law degree from Howard University and going into private practice with her identical twin sister, she began pursuing music studying &#xA0;voice privately with Dr. Stanley L. Ralph who encouraged her to pursue her passion for jazz singing. She sang at open mic&apos;s in New York City and furthered her studies at Harlem&apos;s esteemed Jazzmobile Saturday workshops founded by the late Billy Taylor where she developed her craft and found great mentors.

Alicia &#xA0;opened concerts with Stella Marrs, Jimmy Heath, Norman Simmons, Sheila Jordan, Cameron Brown and Carrie Jackson. Stage productions include: Ragtime, The Crucible and Smokey Joe&apos;s Cafe. Alicia has also performed at the Jazz foundation of America Jazz loft party and other performances. &#xA0;She performs for sophisticated audiences at several venues and private events in the New York metropolitan area. &#xA0;Alicia performs the works of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Thelonius Monk, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Standards and songs from the Great American Songbook.

Alicia&apos;s goal is to contribute to African American classical music and help keep the &#xA0;legacy of jazz music alive.

Alicia her first Recording on the Spit Slam Record Label Group is singing the Songs Of Alberta Hunter also stay tuned for 2020 upcoming show dates.

Alicia Crowe is a fellow college graduate of mine along with her sister, Alice&#x2014;with all of us getting degreed at Adelphi University in the mid-1980s. Alicia and Alice are rebel fighters for the &#x2018;Right Thing&#x2019; cause (in Spike Lee speak). The posse at Adelphi U are strands in the cultural revolution that platformed the movement of Public Enemy. Fellow classmate such as Bill Stephney PD, while at our legendary and now-defunct (or DE funked) college station WBAU, was the prodigal leader of it all writing for CMJ, also radioing at WLIR, and eventually the president to sign PE at DEF JAM.

Bill was there along with other classmates such as Andre &#x2018;Doctor Dre&#x2019; Brown, Harry Allen, Wildman Steve Adams and then my local crew, Spectrum City&#x2014;Hank and Keith Shocklee, Flavor, Griff, and TerminatorX and so on... Well, the Crowe Sisters, who were from The New City Nyack area of New York State, were a big part of our fighting spirit with their own radio shows, campus protests, and they brought legal fortitude as lawyers for the underserved post graduating AU.

We all were multi-talented while freedom fighting racist, sexist dumb sht and the Crowe Sisterhood was no exception. It&#x2019;s no surprise that Alicia Crowe has taken on the performance art of The Songs of Alberta Hunter. A free freedom fighter herself, Ms. Hunter&#x2019;s dexterity and ability to reach and touch any audience across the decades of her long, storied life makes it an enjoyable musical trek&#x2014;yet a daunting task to cover. In Alicia&#x2019;s own words, *&#x201C;Ms. Hunter&#x2019;s career spanned six decades as she overcame obstacles and broke racial barriers to become one of the first African American singers to make the transition from performing in lowly brothels to becoming the &#x201C;toast of royalty and international society.&#x201D;*

Alicia studied the makeup of Ms. Hunter&apos;s life deep enough to convey her sentiment and attitude in the stellar performances of these songs&#x2014;written almost a century ago. It&#x2019;s personal too, as Alicia states, *&#x201C;She is how my parents met and started dating before they got married. Alberta worked with both my parents at Gold Water Hospital in the 1950&#x2019;s when she worked there as a nurse supervisor. My mother, a retired nurse, lived across the hall from her in the nurse&#x2019;s residence. My father worked in the recreation department&#x2026; I want people to remember Alberta Hunter&#x2019;s name, her work, and her legacy. After all, if it weren&#x2019;t for Alberta Hunter, I would not be here.&#x201D;*

Alicia Crowe not only covers Alberta Hunter as the performer; she captures that &#x2018;time&#x2019; as a musical and stage play would. Alberta Hunter&#x2019;s story of *forward, fortitude, fight, fear, frolicking, fighting racist/sexist f*ckery, and fun* is documented in the film, Wild Women Sing The Blues. The trek and trip of her life colored and styled the songs so well. As with &#x201C;My Handy Man&#x2019;s&#x201D; wit and triple-double entendres, and the storied, &#x201C;Downhearted Blues&#x201D; which had its own long tail beyond the wind itself, and of course the title track &#x201C;My Castle&#x2019;s Rockin&#x201D; which intros and outros this cultural cabaret of 9 craft-fully selected tunes.

Alicia Crowe&#x2019;s solo show, &#x201C;Come on up... My Castle&#x2019;s Rockin... A Tribute to Alberta Hunter,&#x201D; well-captured the vibe and was recorded at the Triad Theater to a packed audience one cold Wednesday on November 14th of 2018. Backed by a stellar group of musicians: Takakki Otomo on piano, Noriko Ueda on bass, and George Gray on the drums along with a special appearance by Rome Neal.

Lastly, to answer &#x201C;why this recording project?&#x201D; Fellow partner and President of The SpitSlam Record Label Group David CDoc Snyder shares the same vision in really honing the essence of record labels past by capturing a diverse artist&#x2019;s sound, fine art photography, video recording, and esthetic. Yes, the core of our label is licensing&#x2014;publishing perhaps&#x2014;but our artistic &#x2018;collectible capture&#x2019; is for our next decade (right on down to these liner notes on the back of this record doing my Creed Taylor Leonard Feather Thing). It&#x2019;s an honor just to be pressing vinyl and printing CDs on this, and thus proudly telling you, Reader, to listen and visualize along with the sounds of Alicia Crowe at the bandstand singing &#x201C;Come on up... My Castle&#x2019;s Rockin...&#x201D; A Tribute to Alberta Hunter&#x201D; 

Dankk yowwww....

Chuck D  
The SpitSlam Record Label Group

My Castle&apos;s Rockin

Crazy He Calls Me

Handyman

You Can&apos;t Tell The Difference After Dark

Down Hearted Blues

I&apos;m Having A Good Time

Old Fashioned Love

When You&apos;re Smiling

Live Tribute To Alberta Hunter

Amazon Music

Google Play

Target

Pops Smash

Almighty Jahwell enters the 21st Century as Pops Smash : The Dynamite Alter Ego Of Raploitation! Born in the 60&apos;s, rhymed in the 70&apos;s and style from the 80s as a card founding member of the legendary Son Of Bazerk Crew, this cat is beyond ready for 2020. His debut album &quot;Pops Gotta Brand Old Smash&quot; emerges with a local bar and tavern jukebox style of CurbFunk and OG wit, put down on wax, cassettes, 8tracks and all that new jive, too. All fresh on The SpitSlam Record Label Group.

Pops Gotta Brand Old Smash

Vietnam Corner

Wagon Hotel On Wheels

Stretchmarks

Gym Fo Yo Face

Tell It to God

Sonofa

One Fix

Brand New Jim Same Old Crow

Pops Gotta Brand Old Smash (Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Together Al-J and Yusuf are Blak Madeen, an Islam-inspired duo that evokes the &#x201C;conscious era&#x201D; of hip hop of the late 80s and early 90s.&#xA0; Al-J tells it best: &quot;I met Yusuf in 2005, I had cut a CD called Blak Ambitition and I was doing this show at the Western Front in Cambridge, MA. I bumped into this white kid wearing a kufi. He didn&#x2019;t know me. I didn&#x2019;t know him, but I gave him a CD. First thing he said to me, &#x2018;Are you dropping knowledge on this?&#x2019; I was like, &#x2018;Yeah,&#x2019; and I guess he liked it. We&#x2019;ve been working with each other ever since.&#x201D; Boston hip hop promoter Ned Wellbery (Leedz Edutainment) nudged the two to work together. They discovered a shared passion for the music of Gang Starr, Public Enemy and Divine Styler. Al-J said their aim was to &#x201C;carry the torch of the people who&#x2019;ve gone before.&#x201D; The group began releasing music in 2009 and their catalogue includes Supreme Aftermath (2016), as well as two EPs, Miltant Minds (a collaboration with Tragedy) in 2012, and One Second To Pray in 2018. Their latest offering is the album Dangerous Artform, released thru Chuck D&apos;s SpitSLAM Record Label Group.

Yusuf believes the timing is perfect for the project, considering the current geo-political climate. &quot;Right now, a lot of the themes that we have always addressed are part of the public discussion, especially Islamophobia&quot; he says.&#xA0;&quot;I think these days people will be more interested to hear what we have to say. We are not claiming to be experts or saints or scholars, but we definitely have something to add to the dialogue.&quot;

Blak Madeen

Together Al-J and Yusuf are Blak Madeen, an Islam-inspired duo that evokes the &#x201C;conscious era&#x201D; of hip hop of the late 80s and early 90s.&#xA0; Al-J tells it best: &quot;I met Yusuf in 2005, I had cut a CD called Blak Ambitition and I was doing this show at the Western Front in Cambridge, MA. I bumped into this white kid wearing a kufi. He didn&#x2019;t know me. I didn&#x2019;t know him, but I gave him a CD. First thing he said to me, &#x2018;Are you dropping knowledge on this?&#x2019; I was like, &#x2018;Yeah,&#x2019; and I guess he liked it. We&#x2019;ve been working with each other ever since.&#x201D;

Boston hip hop promoter Ned Wellbery (Leedz Edutainment) nudged the two to work together. They discovered a shared passion for the music of Gang Starr, Public Enemy and Divine Styler. Al-J said their aim was to &#x201C;carry the torch of the people who&#x2019;ve gone before.&#x201D; The group began releasing music in 2009 and their catalogue includes Supreme Aftermath (2016), as well as two EPs, Miltant Minds (a collaboration with Tragedy) in 2012, and One Second To Pray in 2018. Their latest offering is the album Dangerous Artform, released thru Chuck D&apos;s SpitSLAM Record Label Group.

Yusuf believes the timing is perfect for the project, considering the current geo-political climate. &quot;Right now, a lot of the themes that we have always addressed are part of the public discussion, especially Islamophobia&quot; he says.&#xA0;&quot;I think these days people will be more interested to hear what we have to say. We are not claiming to be experts or saints or scholars, but we definitely have something to add to the dialogue.&quot;

Boston Hip Hop mainstays Blak Madeen are proud to present their new full length LP &quot;Dangerous Artform.&quot; The album showcases Al-J and Yusuf&apos;s dexterous rhymes, dropping knowledge over boom bap tracks produced entirely by Public Enemy/ Impossebulls producer C-Doc. Featuring guest appearances from Sadat X, Akil The MC from Jurassic 5, Daddy Grace, ILL Conscious, and the legendary Jacka (R.I.P.), &quot;Dangerous Artform&quot; is an important statement in these trying times.