Thanks for the footage, Andrew!! Click the links below to check out clips from the show at the Funky Buddha Lounge. Mic Terror, GLC, Really Doe, ADaD, Mikkey Halsted, YP and LEP Bogus Boys all brought the house down!!!

Mic Terror Live @ Leaders of the New Cool from Andrew Barber on Vimeo.

Really Doe @ Leaders of the New Cool from Brandon "N2ition" Riley on Vimeo.

GLC @ Leaders of the New School 12.2.9 from Brandon "N2ition" Riley on Vimeo.

Mikkey Halsted @ Leaders of the New Cool 12.2.9 from Brandon "N2ition" Riley on Vimeo.

LEP Bogus Boys @ Leaders of the New Cool 12.2.9 from Brandon "N2ition" Riley on Vimeo.

ADaD @ Leaders of the New Cool 12.2.9 from Brandon "N2ition" Riley on Vimeo.

YP @ Leaders of the New Cool 12.2.9 from Brandon "N2ition" Riley on Vimeo.

ABOUT ADAD

Etching out the blueprint for the future of emceeing, ADaD is the next breakout artist to enter into the rap game. Championed by the likes of Exile and Madlib, he is the nexus between hip-hop’s Golden Era and the new movements derived from today’s hip-hop.

Defying lyrical gravity, beats serve as ADaD’s playground, rocking verses with a distinct musical prowess that has got the music industry on lock. Transforming his flow into his own instrument, the rising artist’s acumen behind the mic resonates an on-time swagger and compelling rhyme schemes that take unexpected direction–proving ADaD’s inexplicable gift and raw talent.

Repping Chicago’s south side, ADaD is also member of Eurolythimics, but is quickly changing the game as a solo artist coming into his own. Dubbed the next hip-hop hopeful, he thematically brings fans back to self by preaching an acceptance of who you are. Executing wordplay that mainstream hip-hop compensates for overproduction and posturing, ADaD shares stages with some of the largest names in hip-hop with party-style performances never having to compromise his art or message.

http://fakeshoredrive.com/2009/11/adad-rita-j-both-featured-in-urb.html Check out ADaD featured in URB!! (Courtesy of Fakeshore Drive)

http://www.myspace.com/mcadad ADaD’s Myspace page!!

The Uncrowned King

In a congested rap landscape a militant MC with respect for the art of wordplay, musical integrity and a respect for the sacred power of music has emerged from Chicago, hip hop’s latest hot bed for talent. Up steps Mikkey Halsted a product of the Southside of Chicago’s notorious Wild 100′s section. If the master’s degree in education does not hint at the extraordinary aptitude of this master of ceremony then certainly the first entrée into the music of Mikkey will leave a listener refreshed with the idea that the revolution just might be closer than previously contemplated.

Not new to the industry, Mikkey got his start with super-producer Kanye West, who produced his first demo that landed him a deal with Cash Money Records. The CMR chapter turned out to be short stint, but a fruitful period musically and professionally as Mikkey went on to feature on 7 Cash Money releases that were certified platinum or gold and performed on several major tours throughout the country. During his tenure with the New Orleans based powerhouse, Mikkey had the opportunity to expose millions of fans to his brand of music he coins as “militant-street-wisdom” and rub shoulders with the industry’s elite including Lil Wayne, R. Kelly, Jay-Z and producer Mannie Fresh, whom Mikkey maintains a strong relationship with to this day.

Throughout Mikkey’s exploits in the industry ranging from his Cash Money days to his 2 year deal with Jermaine Dupri during JD’s brief stint at Virgin Records, Mikkey has earned the respect of some of the biggest names in the industry and a sizeable fan base. Fans and colleagues cite Halsted’s razor sharp lyrics and delivery along with his insightful observations as an indication of his distinctiveness in an industry crowded with impersonators. Acclaimed producer NO ID (Jay-Z, Common, Toni Braxton, G-Unit, Jamie Foxx) had this to say when asked where Mikkey Halsted fits in the evolving story of Chicago and hip-hop, “the perspective of Mikkey Halsted is as crucial a piece to the Chicago hip-hop puzzle as some of the successful artists I help to break including Kanye West and Common” says NO ID. “The Chicago story will never be told in its entirety unless Mikkey gets a chance to speak his peace.”

Being a product of a collective that has produced an elite group that reads like a Chi-town who’s who, (Kanye West, Common, No I.D., Shawnna, Rhymefest and others) Mikkey Halsted is a recognizable brand with the pedigree of a super star in the making. After his stint of successive short lived record deals, Mikkey Halsted has emerged a more skillful artist with a more militant perspective poised to provoke change in a time of uncertainty that extends beyond the face of hip-hop. There is no question regarding the music industry’s acceptance to Mikkey Halsted only a matter of who will be left standing when the revolution is broadcasted.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/x8rl5u DOWNLOAD: Mikkey Halsted – Uncrowned King [via Fakeshore Drive]

Born and raised on the eastside of Chicago, Greg “Y.P” Cherry, is the city’s newest young artist to burst onto the hip-hop scene. With a growing reputation, Y.P’s debut has proved his array of distinguished style and lyricism.

The 23- yr old began penning lyrics as an escape from hardships at home. Raised in a single parent home, Y.P was forced to mature at a young age. After moving to the Marquette Park and attending Hubbard high school and graduated in 2004. He then attended Kentucky State University on a basketball scholarship but returned home after a semester due to problems at home. It was these family issues that inspired Y.P’s urge to increase his writing and lyrical content.

The young emcee has established a reputation for himself and a proven track record amongst his peers including his debut album “CLASSIFIED” in which he released in July 2009 along with the single “I Hustle” as a free download for a week and it got over 2500 downloads and its being distributed by ProWax Inc. Making it available physically & digitally throughout the world, which features Chicago acclaimed artists such as Mikkey Halsted, Skooda Chose & Big Homie DOE. He is also featured on Grant Parks compilation album with the likes of Sadat X, KRS-1 & Pugs Atomz. Along with having the intro to DJ Timbuck2′s “Go Ill Radio” show, he’s also set to release his upcoming mix-tape titled “Next Up” hosted by DJ Sean Mac in mid/lateDecember 2009. ” Coining himself as “Chicago’s Lottery Pick,” Y.P is making his mark on the industry. According to Y.P., “Your first impression lasts a lifetime and that’s how long I want to last.”

http://www.limelinx.com/files/a0fe63c36102c8212e672fe5222a5506 Download link for “Classified”

www.leondotcom.com promo for “Words of Wisdom”(2nd single off of “Classified”) video feat. Mikkey Halsted

“Hiooooooo!!” When you hear this signature call, you know it means a good time. You know it means juking, drinking and good music. You know it means debauchery, insanity and all around fun. You know it means Mic Terror. Mic Terror, the self-proclaimed “Black Bart Simpson”, is the next big thing to come out of Chicago rap. He’s a rapper who rhymes with rapid-fire punch lines, astonishing precision and big enough balls to say whatever is on his mind. Mic Terror aka The Pipeman aka King of the New School is a Chicago-based emcee who rhymes strictly about his own reality, straying far from fabrication and over-exaggeration. “I represent the average Joe…I only rap about things that actually happen in my life,” he says.

Although he may rep Joe six-pack, Mic is pretty far from what you’d call “average”. In fact, he’s pretty extraordinary. Born and raised in Riverdale, a suburb right on the outskirts of Chicago, Mic Terror has become a highly-praised and repeated name on the Chicago club and street circuit, performing regularly with artists such as The Cool Kids , Hollywood Holt and GLC. However, people are beginning to take notice in the distinctive lyricists’ skill and potential, such as MIA, Travis from Gym Class Heroes, Famous DJ Duo Flosstradamus and a handful of other elitists of the music scene. Now, Mic is preparing to take the world by storm, armed with a new school style, and old school swagger, and a presence that’s all his own.

Myspace
Facebook
Twitter

In 1998 “E” and “Law” established Infared Music Group. This partnership birthed LEP short for Low End Professionals and The Bogus Boys who got their name from a infamous street mob.

Where it all started:

LEP quickly established a respectable name for themselves. They had an undeniable stage presence at local shows an took no prisoners in any rap battle or free style cipher. At the time LEP consist of two talented emcees emerging from Chicago’s deadly Ickies projects. Count 1 half of LEP was know as the muscle and stick up man with the ability to verbally strong arm or lyrically rob even assassinate any one that stood in his way. Larro or “Lil Lar” to most made up the other half. He was known as the street hustler with a “by any means necessary” intense delivery and menacing swagg. The streets consider them as the quintessence of what the hood represents in Chicago, an thus eagerly embraced them.

While LEP was enjoying there new found celebrity, Moonie who happen to be the 1st official artist to signed to Infared Music Group, would spend epic days and nights in the studio. At this time Rugg who is a family member of count’s would also come by and participate in countless rap battles and free style show downs. Though LEP was an establish group with a large street following, healthy competition had them all working on solo projects, which intern created the development of The Bogus Boys.

TUFF TIMES:

2001 brought much trial an tribulations to the LEP BOGUS BOYS family, Ronald “Law” Colverson tragically lost his life in the deadly streets of Chicago. Meanwhile Moonie was serving time in the state penitentiary. With vital members gone the LEP BOGUS BOYS had lost the momentum they had worked so hard for.

Upon Moonie’s release, E was determined to put the company back together an achieve success. Just as things where coming together The LEP BOGUS BOYS family would take yet another major loss. In 2006 Laronson “Larro” Kellum also tragically lost his life to the deadly streets of Chicago.

THE REBIRTH:

Thou these heart wrenching lost may have stopped most people, The LEP BOGUS BOYS used there music as away to shed light on the harsh realities of how diabolical the streets can be. The LEP BOGUS BOYS have shown that gangbang music doesn’t always mean you promote violence, but they do however, maintain consistency in communicating through their lyrics that they are from the streets and have lived through the tough crime life.

The LEP BOGUS BOYS exemplifies the fact that all regions of America have had their chance to shine and now its Chicago’s and the Midwest’s turn to make their mark in hip hop.

http://www.lepbogusboys.com Check out their Official Site here!!

Myspace.com/bogusboysinfared

In his world there are sounds: blues, hip-hop housed on harmonic bliss, Lennon, Hendrix’s flaming guitar sprouting revolutions in his soul. Growing up he felt strange. And like most outcasts, he ran to the only savior he knew: music. “I was an only child,” Spree Wilson says.  “So I kind of built this fantasy world around myself. I would just get lost in the music I loved.” And the music seemed to have gotten lost in Spree Wilson – the 26-year-old writer, producer, rapper, and musician – whose been heralded by fans, stars and critics as one of the most important up-and-coming artists of this decade. It was his unique fusion of soul, rock, and hip-hop with a 60s pop feel clustered in modern funk that caught the ears of everyone from music sensation Jay Electronica, to musical visionary Dallas Austin and legendary beat-maker and mentor to Kanye West, No I.D.

The story of Joseph “Spree Wilson” Young III starts in Nashville, Tennessee. Raised by a single mother, Wilson was surrounded by a diversity of sound. His mother, a community health worker who later taught Operative Dentistry, would play Carole King, Elton John, and Fleetwood Mac records at night. “In my house was a piano, and I would sometimes wake up to hear my mother playing whatever song she would find in our family hymnal,” Wilson recalls.

 Wilson’s father, a hippie activist whose tastes leaned towards blues and rock, introduced his son to the artist that would eventually change his life. “He would play me Hendrix,” Wilson says, “but really only the bluesy tunes like ‘Red House’ and ‘Voodoo Chile.’”

 “As a youth I primarily grew up listening to whatever my parents listened to,” he says.

 But by the age of 7, Wilson found his niche in hip-hop during 1989’s illustrious “Golden Age.” After a friend gave him a copy of De La Soul’s classic, 3 Feet High and Rising, Wilson found an unlikely hero. “Even though some of the rhymes and subjects clearly went above my 7-year-old head, at the time De La’s videos ‘Eye Know’ and ‘Buddy’ was getting heavy rotation on channels like MTV and The Box,” he recalls. “And all I can remember was identifying with Posdnuos, image-wise. I was just happy to see someone nerdy with big glasses, on TV and so popular in hip hop.”

 Wilson started to create his own artistic dream world. “I was a latch-key kid,” he says. “Sometimes my mother wouldn’t get home till late, so I had to create my own fun, or get involved in other activities…everything from join a stamp club, to play soccer at the local community center. But the music around me would inspire me to write and create crazy songs with titles like, ‘Being a Jedi’ or ‘Getting High With Curious George.’”

 By the age of 8, Wilson got serious about his craft and penned a song called “Pray.” He and a friend performed it in church, but were quickly shunned for doing so by the pastor. Even though the song was about praying, he was told that anything “hip-hop related” was of the devil. “We were told that we were going to hell…basically all the scare tactics religious freaks do to try to get you to believe in what they believe.”

 Luckily, Wilson didn’t allow the fear-factor to stifle his God-given creativity. In fact, he soon came into what he calls his own personal “musical awakening” after relocating to an art school at the age of 12. There he opened himself up to a plethora of artists, many he’d never heard of before. “Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin, Green Day… It was like that movie with Jack Black, School of Rock except it was the students who were teaching me,” he says. “Add that to the fact that artists like Outkast had just dropped, along with Biggie and The Chronic… I wanted to experience it all.”

This bedrock of knowledge and exploration fed Wilson’s drive. By the age of 17, he had taught himself how to play guitar. In 2003, while a student at Clark Atlanta University, Wilson worked part-time at the Dallas Austin-owned clothing boutique Rowdy. One day, Austin – who’s also founder of Rowdy Records, and is best known for writing and producing hits for TLC and Boyz II Men– walked in.“I remember him being ‘intrigued’ by the fact there was a black kid in his store that played guitar,” says Wilson. So Austin offered the burgeoning star an internship in his studio Darp. Seizing the opportunity, Wilson quickly worked his way up to become an in-house producer, working with artists like Novel, Jennifer Hudson and Joel Ortiz.

Wilson’s star as a solo artist also begin to rise within industry circles, where he soon became recognized as one of the most exciting and innovative emcees since Andre 3000: “He’s one of the fastest rising artists on Atlanta’s bustling music scene,” Bravo’s Arjan Writes wrote; “A big part of Wilson’s appeal is his vocal delivery. Reminiscent of the Pharcyde, it sounds as carefree and breezy as the alternative rap group did in the early ’90s,” Creative Loafing gushed; “When I tell you that you need to be checking on a certain someone, then I can only hope you take my word for it… Meet Atlanta’s ‘odd man out’ Spree Wilson” wrote Urb; “ATL’s latest hip-hop hopeful, the guitar-toting Joseph ‘Spree Wilson’ Young III… recalls a janglier Andre 3000,” praised VIBE.

Soon corporate America caught wind of the “Spree Wilson phenomenon” and tapped him to create a beat for their 2007 “Back To School” campaign, making him the first rap act to have music featured in a Wal-Mart commercial since A Tribe Called Quest. In March 2008, Wilson’s rock-soul group Knivez Out single “Alright” was featured on the soundtrack for the Robert Luketic-directed film, 21. And in April, Wilson was featured on the Novel mixtape “Chapter One,” hosted by Green Lantern. Currently, Wilson is prepping for the release of his highly-anticipated debut album The Beauty of Chaos. The project is an electro-funk infused body of work expected to defy all restraints of artistic category.

“I want my name to be mentioned with the idols I adored when I was a child,” Wilson says. “Who knows? Maybe in ten years we’ll be talking about how ‘Wilson Mania’ swept the world, and touched the heart of everyone.”

And with the rate he’s going, that dream is sure to become a reality. 

This show was definitely a hot one and we are so proud of how the movement is growing and how awesome every performance was! A special night for sure. Special thanks to Q-tip, Vashtie Kola, Jacob and Paul Parris from Vinnie’s Styles in Brooklyn, GFC New York, and reps from Sony, Jive, Def Jam, Warner Bros, Kingpin Group and more for attending. VERY special thanks to Crack Distributors Radio (CDR) for covering the show and providing us with this awesome video

To view PART 2, CLICK HERE

Again, SPECIAL thanks to Crack Distributors Radio for the awesome coverage and Stalley, Spree Wilson, Monica Rush, Ms Brown, Harlem’s Cash and Sean Falyon for such amazing performances and for making Leaders of the New Cool movement great!

Currently managed by illRoots.com’s Mike Waxx, 16-year-old Nero will be a part of a Leaders of the New Cool event in the very near future as his career continues to grow! Click here for more info, including a download link to his really dope “Relive The Moment” mixtape!

Nero has been featured on such hip-hop blogs and websites as NahRight, HipHopDX, 2DopeBoyz, OnSMASH and countless others, as well as having completed interviews and features with Emilio Sparks, GoodFella Radio, Crack Distributors Radio and more. Nero recently performed as a part of the Hip-Hop Howl showcase as well as rocking SOB’s in New York this August.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD “RELIVE THE MOMENT”

Myspace.com/nerolovesyou

The Leaders of the New Cool is a live music and Internet movement celebrating the most promising musicians who are poised for mainstream success. Featured artists selected to be a part of these shows and our site are chosen for their current internet, radio, and print media buzz, and are poised to become the trendsetters and superstars of tomorrow. Not only will Leadersofnewcool.com highlight all upcoming official shows, but will also feature artist updates incuding video releases, mixtape or album releases, and any other major development in the careers of the members of this talented group

We encourage YOU to interact and give immediate reaction to the calls we make for who we consider the future movers and shakers. In the process, Leadersofnewcool.com is about building lasting partnerships with featured artists and following up on their journey to mainstream success. Stay tuned for events coming to a city near you as we work together to discover what and who defines the “New Cool”.

Leaders of the New Cool live events are currently based in NYC and Atlanta, with dates in Los Angeles and Chicago coming soon.  With continued success and positive responses from YOU, the fans, we hope to touch markets all across the US and eventually, Worldwide!

Upcoming Dates:

December 2nd, 2009
Leaders of the New Cool CHICAGO
Funky Buddha Lounge
728 W. Grand St.
Doors Open 9pm-3am
Hosted by: Dave Jeff (PHLI)
Music by: Hollywood Holt

Performances by: Mic Terror, LEP Bogus Boys, Mikkey Halsted, ADaD, YP and Special guest Spree Wilson