make your own wall stencils

With the music industry so wrapped around the notion of numbers, commercial music and sales, its always great to meet people who still have a genuine passion about making music for its initial use. I sat with Dawn Richard (former member of Danity Kane and Diddy-Dirty Money) to talk about her breath of fresh air as an independent solo artist and being the boss of her own ship. If you haven't been keeping up with the New Orleans songstress you'd be shocked to know that she recently held the #1 spot on iTunes R&B charts for her Armor On EP with no major label and just recently scored a crazy distribution deal for her January 15th release of Golden Heart. (which she promised me she wasn't pushing back) Take a look as me and Dawn talk about her life as a solo career, what drives her passion for music and receiving respect from R&B pioneers Brandy and Kelly Rowland.

-@TheKidFrench

16 & caked up Diggy Simmons of the Simmons....or should I rather say Diggy Simmons Empire sits with me and talks kicks, getting knocked out by one of his fans and his upcoming debut album. I also got him to teach me some new dances, which I thought went pretty well, check it out yourself. Tweet me @TheKidFrench What did you think?

In part two Hopsin talks about his upcoming album 'Knock Madness', how he feels about the other artist on the XXL's Freshman Class cover and how much his contacts has helped boost his career.

He's goes by the name of Hopsin and if you haven't heard of him by now you might want to get on the boat because he's headed for the crown. I got a chance to talk with Hopsin about his spot on the 2012 XXL Freshman Class, working with his Idol Tech N9ne and his big roll on Disney's 'That So Raven' - Stay Tuned for Part 2 [@TheKidFrench]