Livewire Records' State-of-Grind: J. Stalin & Philthy Rich

If you're from the Bay you know there is a wealth of talent here.  But talent can only get  you so far without an impressive work ethic. There are  indeed many local acts who are hustle-oriented, but none more so than the Livewire Records crew, who exemplify this frame of grind by churning out quality product on a nearly weekly basis.  Livewire has a stable of young up-and-coming turf rappers, that includes J. Stalin, Shady Nate, and Philthy Rich, among others. Although I don't always love their content, they speak about their  daily grind, without much glorification.

J. Stalin recently put out his newest album, Prenuptial Agreement that's has been getting a lot of local love, including some from our own Coolhand Luke, who has had it on heavy rotation. Some favorite tracks include "Rock Day," "Everyday My Birthday," and "D-Boy Blues 2010." If you are hesitant because Stalin doesn't make the type of music you usually like, go on YouTube and listen to some tracks, I guarantee you will want to go buy his album after that. Or you can just check out his video for "Rock Day," one of many videos he has put out recently.

Another Livewire affiliate, Philthy Rich, also put out an album recently, called Funk Or Die.  Philthy, best known for his appearance on the controversial show "Gang Wars Oakland," has been putting out a lot of new material to promote his album, despite simultaneously serving a 150 days sentence. Check out his latest video "Never Pictured U Dying," which was dedicated to his friend Dre Walker.  This is one of my personal favorites off his new album because of its relevance to what goes on in Oakland far too frequently.

Even if the music is not what you are accustomed to, you have to appreciate the hard work and hustle of these young rappers. The next frontier is to translate that grind to a national stage, because being Baymous isn't anyonee's end goal.

Check out the bonus video "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" by Livewire artist Shady Nate.