Artist Watch 2005: DJ's Talk 2005's Newest Stars

February 10, 2005

written by Carl Chery

With 50 Cent and Kanye West dominating the past two calendars, new contenders have dropped relentless freestyles and released their mixed CDs hoping to capture this year's audiences. SOHH.com talked to the hottest mixmasters DJ Vlad, DJ Ronde Vu, P Cutta, DJ Exclusive and DJ Smallz about the newest talents breaking out in the '05.

Via hot freestyles, dope beats, guest appearances, affiliations, power moves and good old fashion grinding, The Game, Balance, Saigon, Corey Gunz, Paradime, Slim Thug, and Swishahouse's Paul Wall ands Mike Jones have all tremendously upped their stock in 2004. Now with the new-year in high gear, SOHH.com, aided by reputed mixtape DJs took a look across the East, West, Mid-West, and Derty South regions at the newest artists to watch in 2005.

Following in the footsteps of G-Unit General 50 Cent's 1st quarter success, The Game dropped the year's most anticipated debut just this past Tuesday. With Dr. Dre and G-Unit backing him up, the Compton rapper has been setting the streets ablaze with countless freestyles, guest appearances, unapologetic disses and arrogant declarations. Now with Dre, Kanye West, Just Blaze, Timbaland, Hi-Tek and Havoc on production and 50, Eminem, Busta Rhymes and Mary J. Blige dropping 16's and hooks, The Game has conceived an album worthy of his cocky mean mugging. According to hitsdailydouble.com's early reports, The Game's The Documentary is presently on pace to sell up to 600,000 units in its first week.

"This is the first new artist to make major noise on the West Coast in a very, very long time," Los Angeles-bred DJ Vlad told SOHH.com. "With the greatest producer of all time doing the beats, a solid album, a crazy story behind him, and an affiliation with G-Unit, Game is gonna make a big ass footprint in music this year."

With a West Coast resurgence occurring, Balance is also likely to explode in 2005. The Oakland rapper has consistently been making his presence felt on mixed CDs across the nation and is now generating interest from several labels.

"He's one of the soldiers repping out West. He got a good work ethic. He'll probably take it to the next level this year," Brooklyn's own DJ Ronde Vu shared. "He's out West, but he's on New York mixtapes crazy. I think he was # 3 on XXL's artists to watch. He's coming up."

Meanwhile, another soldier has been making noise back in the East. After flooding mixtapes and passing on shady deals over the years, Brooklyn-based Saigon recently inked a deal with red hot Atlantic Records. A Just Blaze co-sign and recent nods from Nas, Jay-Z and Q-Tip should only solidify his cemented street credibility. Word is Sai is presently working on his debut with production from Just, Alchemist, Scram Jones and hopes to land guest spots from Nas, Jay-Z and Flava Flav.

"Saigon is not the same old thug stuff. It's thug stuff, but it's on another level," Ronde Vu explained. "It's something with meaning, not just, 'I'ma shoot you up of stab you up.' Plus he's backed up by Just Blaze; so the beats are gonna be crazy."

Also making noise in the Big Apple, Bronx bomber Corey Gunz is picking up where his father Peter Gunz left off. In the past year, Gunz built an impressive mixtape resume and sparked a bidding war among various labels.

"He a young cat and he got them lyrics. He reminds me of an old school Nas. He got them type of lyrics; Illmatic-type Nas," D.C.'s self-proclaimed Prince of Beef P Cutta declared. "His voice, his style, he can get the young cats to relate to what he's bringing to the table." Detroit's DJ Exclusive adds, "He's fire. The kid's young and he's spitting harder than a lot of people that's been there for years. Over time he's gonna get nothing but better."

As St-Louis and Chicago constantly put out new acts, Detroit's finest, Paradime is poised to provide his own brand of Mid-West swing this year. After recording with Kid Rock, D12 and releasing a solid independent album, Paradime has major labels heavily courting him.

"He's making a lot of noise and recording with Tash of Tha Liks. He's been working with D12. You can even ask Eminem what he thinks about Paradime and he'll say the kid's nice," Exclusive asserted. "He has a huge strong following in the Mid-West. He's released a CD nationwide and his sales are doing well. He's doing well overseas. There's some major negotiations going on. He's definitely coming with something in 2005."

Last but not least, the Derty South's omnipresence isn't likely too cease thanks to Houston's Slim Thug, Paul Wall and Mike Jones' current rise. After establishing a deafening buzz in the south, the Swishahouse alumni signed to Star Trak/Geffen in late 2004. Now with "Like A Boss," increasingly spinning across the nation and climbing "106 & Park's" countdown, Slim is poised to become the next Derty South superstar.

"He's backed by Pharell from . Jimmy Iovine calls Slim Thug and the Boss Hogg Outlaws the G-Unit of the south," Florida-based DJ Smallz told SOHH.com. "He's the most popular selling artist from the underground. I think he's gonna do it mainstream. He's one of the only southern artists that New York can handle. They can relate to him for some reason and he's back by Jimmy Iovine."

Meanwhile, Wall and Jones have been buzzing past their regions for quite some time. Now with their label, Swishahouse, backed by Warner Bros., the two are poised to take their hype worldwide.

"Swishahouse [Paul Wall, Mike Jones] - These cats been running Texas forever, but with the new single "Still Tippin," cats all around are getting a taste of why," Vlad offered. "They're definitely gonna be big." Smallz adds, "They're both gonna be huge. They're very, very catchy. Texas has similarities to New York. Mike Jones is more like Noreaga, he's more catchy. Micheal Watts [swishahouse CEO] signed a lot of talent. Then they did their own thing. Everybody kinda came from the same label. I think Texas is gonna be the next ATL."

Hip-Hop's substantial growth across the major regions have birthed some of last year's brightest talents. Now 2005 is already breeding the next generation of music with The Game, Balance, Saigon, Corey Gunz, Paradime, Slim Thug, and Swishahouse's Paul Wall ands Mike Jones at its helm. Look for them this year on mixtapes, radios, TVs, and in record stores near you!

Source: SOHH.com