Las Vegas Underground Hip Hop

Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world, but currently, there isn't anyone representing them in one of the biggest genres in music, Hip Hop. There have been hundreds of hip hop artists to come out of the Las Vegas area, but most of them fall off rather quickly. What Vegas needs is an artist or two with staying power and consistancy.

Venues and Performances

One of the main problems with the hip hop music scene here is that there aren't too many places for local artists to perform. Most of the old locations have been shut down or no longer allow hip hop performances. Somone needs create a place dedicated to hip hop performances and actually be committed to advertising and promotion.

Cash Flow and Finances

Another major problem facing the Las Vegas hip hop scene is that most underground rappers don't have a budget to work with. The few who do have a budget, don't have a big enough budget to make a difference in their promotion. There are a few like The Landlord and ConFlix who have made somewhat of a name for themselves by using MySpace and various other internet sites.

Promotion

These guys need promotion to get their name out there. It seems as though local artists aren't willing to come together and just help push one person or group in order to make a major industry impact and draw attention to the local talent.

The Talent

There are a lot of hot rappers in Sin City, most of which will probably never get mainstream attention due to the fact that Vegas has a "crabs in the barrel" mentality. Everyone thinks they are the hottest rapper out and doesn't want anyone else to shine before they do.

ConFlix

ConFlix is probably one of the hottest emcees in the state, but doesn't push his mixtapes in the city. Online, he is killing MySpace with over 600,000 plays. His last mixtape, Flixtape Vol. 2: The Antidote was hot to say the least. Not only is it hot, you can download it online for free. ConFlix isn't your run of the mill rapper. He actually has flow and can lyrically tango with the best of them. He plans to put out Flixtape Vol. 3: Bow To The King in early 2008. Hopefully this next project will sky rocket him to the recognition he deserves.

Sho Nuf

This California born rapper is a beast when it comes to the art of freestyle. There aren't too many emcees that can out whit him in a verbal battle. His slick punchlines and flawless flow overwhelms any emcees who dare to oppose him. Sho Nuf appears on various mixtape tracks, but hasn't released any albums or mixtapes of his own. Hopefully we will hear something soon from this young emcee.

Sinatra Vegas a.k.a Legacy

Sinatra Vegas is fire, period. His first mixtape, Sinatra For President is nearly complete and will set the streets ablaze. If you get the urge to check out his music, make sure you listen closely to the rhyme scheme, metaphores, similies, etc. You are definitely in for a pleasant surprise. Sinatra Vegas was born in Brooklyn, NY and now resides in Sin City, making up 1/3 of the group S.I.N. (Strength In Numbers). ConFlix and Sho Nuf make up the rest of the group.

Mixtapes

One thing that the talent in Las Vegas needs to do is work on their mixtape game. Mixtapes are a major promotional tool for new artists trying to break into the game. Artists like 50 Cent, Fabolous, and various others have used the mixtape circuit to get their name into the public conciousness.

Radio Play

To put it quite frankly, the radio stations in Vegas don't show much love to their local artists. Stations like 98.5, 97.5, and 88.1 are major stations in the area and could easily help break new artists into the game, but don't. With that said, I feel it's only fair to note that 88.1 will more readily deal with independent artists than the other two stations will.

Conclusion

If everyone would come together, the hip hop scene in Las Vegas could be the next major industry rush. What the artists need to do is pull together and put one person on the map so that everyone else can get on too. Much like Houston rappers did a few years ago. If we all work together, Vegas will be the next biggest city in hip hop.