Over the weekend I caught up with some cats from Philly who came through and shook up the Bay. Led by Portland's Rasheed Wallace who is originally from Philly, he took advantage of all the festivities by promoting his record label and his new group out of North Philadelphia called 100X which include Lex Ruga and Jimmy Stafa. In explaining the group, Lex Ruga confidently stated 'We are the legacy... 100X is a movement. He explained that the group has been blazing for over 10 years and they are essentially the 'complete' package, capable of doing everything. They have a new EP about to drop entitled 'Twice As Nice'. The album, which is untitled, should be dropping sometime in the summer.
As for Rasheed, he explained that he will not be following in the footsteps of some of his NBA counterparts by picking up the mic. "I'll leave that to the professionals", he said. He noted that 100x is his only act and he is 100% committed to them. 100x and Rasheed hooked up when their local barber introduced them. The group was looking for a deal and Rasheed was kicking off his label. Unlike most groups, 100x has a big advantage being down with Rasheed because he has firmly established himself and created a platform to present his group. Rasheed wasn't exactly truthful when he said he wouldn't pick up a mic. He does that every Saturday night on Portland's Jammin' 95.5 where he hosts a slamming Hip Hop show. He brings nothing but the rough and rugged beats and with a little bit of luck and hard work, the show may make its way onto a national forum. Ironically the intro Rasheed uses to his show was lifted from the E-40 record entitled 'Record Haters' which came out 4 years ago. In that song an angry E-40 ripped into Wallace after hearing him dis his music while doing an interview on BET's Rap City.
