In support of his latest mixtape No Handouts, JD era held a invite only listening session for members of the press and radio at the Ice H20 offices in Toronto on May 1st 2012. For the lucky few in attendance the night included Horderves, drinks and a sampling of music from Era”s latest mixtape No Handouts.

Since it was announced that Raekwon would be starting a label in Toronto with JD Era being the first act signed under the imprint, expectations have been high. Having the burden of proving that Canadian talent can be successful without crossing the border has been a tall order for many artists to prove. However, with quality music like the well crafted No Handouts, Era is well on his way to proving that it can be done. With solid production from 9th wonder, Lex Luger, Burd X Keyz and amazing features on standout tracks like Mount Olympus with Shi Wisdom and The Greatest featuring Raekwon, No Handouts sets the stage for Era to become a household name without having to leave the great white north.

We spoke with Era about the making of No Handouts, who his favourite Wu -Tang artist was growing up, and why he feels Canadian MC’s can compete with the best of them.

Click on the link to check out the entire interview on what he has to say plus plenty more.

G-Two is one of the rap games best kept secrets and I think it’s time for people to get familiar. The Maryland native is 23 years old and has a passion for hip-hop music that is special to see in someone of his age. His most recent and well received project entitled, One Man Army Vol. 2: Warpaint, is a 13-track mixtape that delivers quality lyrics, beats, hooks and stories from start to finish. G-Two’s infectious flow and incredible lyricism are bound to grab an audience’ attention and have them bumping their heads and quoting lines in no time. As a fan I reached out to G-Two letting him know how surprising it is for me to see his name lacking from the limelight and that I think an interview with The Come Up Show would be a great way to get his name out there and more importantly to have his music heard. G graciously accepted and I got the chance to discuss these matters with him a long with a bunch of other topics as well. G-Two speaks on what inspires him as an artist, his recent trip to SXSW, his upcoming project Trillmatic, his love for reading and more. Click on the link to check out the full interview.

Shi-Wisdom has a voice one instantly remembers; an old soul voice that complements any classic production, what purists complain is missing from today’s music. Not only does she captivate with her voice but she writes music for some of the today’s most popular artists as well. Known for ripping every stage she touches with her live performance there is no reason to question why she is on everyone’s radar. With collaborations with JD Era, Kardinal Offishall, and a co-writing credit with Drake the songstress is poised to be the next big thing out of Toronto, but is that something she even cares about? One might be surprised to hear her answer. Check out our interview to see what she has to say about being considered “next”, her love with the city of Toronto, who in Hip Hop she grew up listening to and what she thinks about being signed to a major label.

Click on the link to read the interview.

Earlier this week JD Era held a private listening session at the ICEH2O Canada headquarters in Toronto for his No Handouts mixtape. At the session the people at Royalty Radio caught up with Era for an interview. Check it out below and if you’re still sleeping on this dude, wake up and download No Handouts!

Ice H2O x BMMG recording artist, JD Era hosts a listening party for his mixtape, No Handouts which dropped April 16 2012. Check out this exclusive ROYALTY RADIO interview with JD Era highlighting his experience on the Unexpected Victory tour with Raekwon and of course his newly released mixtape, No Handouts including production and collaborations, not to mention his success in showcasing a broad spectrum of Canada’s talent. JD Era’s success is not just about hip-hop in Canada, this proves to the world that Canada’s got music!

The Come Up Show presents part 3 of our interview with Phife Dawg, you might remember the 2011 documentary Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest, you might not know that it’s a winner in the Producers Guild Award, received a Grammy and NAACP Image Awards  nomination, amongst others. Phife tells us how he feels about all the attention and acclaim the documentary got. Something not too many people know is that Nas was one of the first to suggest that Tribe should do a documentary back in 2008. Michael Rapport and Nas came together to work on the documentary but due to personal issues in Nas’ life he couldn’t continue with the documentary.

Phife Dawg also tells about Q-Tip personality, why he feels Q-Tip is a reluctant superstar,  Phife says “in the studio and the stage  is when his ego comes out but offstage meeting and greeting he isn’t comfortable with people, he still hasn’t got used to it, I’m not sure why but it is what it is”. Check this out and more in part.3 of our itnerview with Phife Dawg, make sure to subscribe to The Come Up Show TV for part. 4 as Phife reminisces his working experience with J Dilla.

The Come Up Show Presents Part 2 of our interview with Phife Dawg, this is the first time he talks about the new album and its title Cheryl’s Big Son: The Anomaly and the first single is called Soulmen featuring one of his artists LEL. I asked Phife about the high expectation fans have because it is his first solo album in twelve years, he tells us he wasn’t thinking of making an album because of his battle with his health, unless it was a Tribe album, he was just going to produce, but all of a sudden he caught the bug again while producing. He tells us this and more in Part. 2 of our interview with Phife Dawg.

Make sure to check back tomorrow on The Come Up Show TV for part. 3 of our interview as he talks about the Tribe documentary.

The Come Up Show had the opportunity to sit down with Phife Dawg of the legendary A Tribe Called Quest. One of the best interviews we’ve done so far as Phife sat down for over 20 minutes answering our questions about J.Dilla, the Tribe documentary, his relationship with Q-Tip and much more. Since we live in a A-D-D- world we decided to split it the interview into a few parts, in part.1 of our interview Phife discusses how he feels about Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks.

Check it out and make sure to subscribe to The Come Up Show TV for the rest of the series.

Be on the lookout for SonReal this year. With the recent release of his highly-anticipated Words I Said mixtape, and the upcoming release of his full-length album Good News, the Vancouver artist is making a strong case as to why 2012 could very well be his year. As he tells us, “I feel like I’ve got the skills to be at the top, I feel like I’ve got the mind-state.” The Come Up Show caught up with SonReal the day after Words I Said dropped to talk about his mixtape, his recent comparisons to Canada’s major hip-hop export, and his mom’s rapping skills, among other things.

Hit the skip to check out the interview.

If you haven’t checked out Quake Matthews’ album The Book of Matthew yet, do yourself a favour and download it right now. The Fairview, Nova Scotia artist is responsible for my personal favourite album of 2012 so far. After making a name in the rap battle circuit and getting a lot of attention from The Search last year with Kayo, Quake Matthews is on the cusp of becoming a dominant voice in Canadian hip-hop, having worked with Royce Da 5’9″, Freeway, and Termanology already. The Come Up Show caught up with Quake Matthews last week to talk about The Book of Matthew, working with Freeway, and how he got his name, among other things.

Hit the skip to check out the interview.

David Banner is on a mission to take back the music industry. With the upcoming release of his album Sex, Drugs & Videogames, and the promotion of his 2M1 movement, Banner believes that with the fans’ help, they can create a whole new future for rap music. Upon the completion of his goals, he plans on making a movie. As Banner explains, “We have to envision greater heights, greater things. We have to know our potential, we have to know who we are.” The Come Up Show recently caught up with David Banner to talk about his upcoming album, the time his van was stolen, when you can expect a David Banner acoustic set, and more.

Hit the skip to check out the interview.

Right after his set at the Young Jeezy concert a couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to catch up with Richie Blackz for a quick interview. He discussed his focus, the La Vie mixtape, the branding, and what is coming up next for him. If you regularly visit The Come Up Show website and pay attention to the scene then you definitely know who Richie is. Check out the interview below.