Los: King Me (Rise24.Com From 2012)

By: CL (@therealcl24) Carl Lamarre Talent speaks for itself. With tenacious wordplay, and an infectious flow, one could only wonder why it took so long for Baltimore’s very own Los to blow up. In the jungles of Baltimore, valor and a massive backbone is needed to walk out alive. With drugs ubiquitously being sold in a town where The Wire originated, one could only commend the rapper’s strength to make it through such a rigorous environment. Lauded by many – especially industry honcho Puffy – he now has a new home in Bad Boy records after just releasing his mixtape The Crown Ain’t Safe months prior hosted by DJ DRAMA. Many were enthralled by Los’ recent endeavor which supplied punch line junkies their fix, as his mind-blowing lyrics casted a spell upon those who were skeptical of his talents. “I heard nothing but good things. It’s just a blessing man. We did 100,000 downloads in the first week on an independent scale which is crazy man. I’m just thankful that everybody is receiving it well. So I’m just happy,” said the DMV native. Many veterans would be baffled by the rapper’s bombastic attitude especially after donning the title The Crown Ain’t Safe. As some would see it as an errant attempt to gain attention by the masses, Los proved his critics wrong, and showed immense promise as he stated in the intro track “Make It Fly” that his “presence is a present”. And though many fans have dubbed this new found era as the “emo –era ” in which polarizing figures are the Drakes of the world, Los is completely comfortable with his position, and is sure that the game has room for his type of style and voice. “First and foremost, I think what you have to understand is there’s different dimensions, and different genres of all this. I don’t think of a lot of this emo stuff is hip-hop. At the end of the day though, I respect and I appreciate the other forms of music because it still makes Hip-Hop have value. With Hip-Hop there’s different stuff. When you do come with authentic hip-hop, plus the drive and motivation, those are all the things that hip-hop is really set out to do. You learn to have an appreciation for it. It makes certain people special. I still respect and appreciate the other forms and facets people are doing. It’s definitely emotional, heartfelt, and personal, and in another lane, but I definitely respect and appreciate it though. Hip-Hop is in a good place.” With an ambitious mindset that Mr. Wale Folarin would be proud of, the DMV native has always been out here grinding since Diddy let him go in 05. Originally he was signed to Bad Boy after impressing Diddy with a 10 minute long freestyle. But in 08, he was dropped from the label without even releasing an album. Rather being deterred by the setback, Los would attack the game virally by hopping on a myriad of beats, especially Lil Wayne’s “A Milli” which disseminated through the web like wildfire on YouTube. “Talk doesn’t mean anything if there isn’t action being done. Talk isn’t really as effective, especially in a time where not everybody is believers,” said a hungry Los. The man of action would continue to raise the bar for his adversaries with head scratching punchlines especially through his mixtape The Crown Ain’t Safe which not only cemented his reputation as a lyrical titan among the newcomers, but also inked a deal with his former Boss Diddy at Bad Boy. After pre-establishing himself independently with a cult following, Diddy has granted Los a second chance with a new slew of young talent featuring Machine Gun Kelly, Red Café, French Montana, Cassie, and much more. With Los joining forces with the young gunners in the game, and finding himself at a different state now than seven years ago, he gives aspiring artists some useful advice in regards to joining a major from his previous experiences. “If you do go to a major, the only thing I would recommend is that you go with a mogul. Go to a label that has a mogul. Don’t go to Universal just to go to Universal. It’s all about that person behind you. We’re in a day and age where it’s all about the team. You need that stamp. You need Ross saying that. You need Jay-Z saying that. You need a Kanye saying that. ” And the return has been advantageous for him as he has continued to develop a strong presence by collaborating with the likes of Meek Mill, and Fred the Godson. In addition, he would of course supply his fanatics with a handful of freestyles over Drake’s “Lord Knows”, and Jeezy’s ode to the streets “I Do”. He also would continue his streak of videos with his tribute to Treyvon Martin entitled “With My Hoodie On”, and also his “King Los” collaboration with Taylorgang’s Lola Monroe from The Crown Ain’t Safe. With a promising future, and a solid starting lineup, Los appears ready to grab the highly coveted crown from his opponents. And with Diddy there by his side, the young rapper appears ready to die for the title.