I know a lot of you were hittin me with emails & comments asking about Jon Hope after I threw his latest track "The Rap Life" in the player last week. Well, Hope is one of the latest talents rising up the ranks in the underground scene and is one of the best rappers in my hometown of Providence, Rhode Island. After emerging in 2005, Hope has been a steady presence in RI's local hip-hop scene and considering the lack of respect RI seems to get, he has been griding extra hard to get noticed on a national level.

Luckily, he soon caught the ear of Boston area DJ Statik Selektah, which has put Hope on the fast track ever since. He teamed up with Selektah to drop his official 2007 mixtape "The Audacity" and also appeared on Selektah's retail album "Spell My Name Right" alongside the likes of Termanology, Reks, and Skyzoo. The success of "The Audacity" has risen Hope's profile as he's been recently featured on HipHopGame, AllHipHop, RealTalkNY, MTV, XXL, and even Billboard.com. After heading out on a 12 stop college tour this Spring, Hope is currently working on his debut album "Somekind Of Wonderful" which will be released later this year.

I recently got the opportunity to meet someone from Hope's camp through my man Dave (Whattt uppp kid???) and am working on landing an exclusive interview with dude before he opens up for The LOX at a concert at Lupo's in Providence on June 4th, so stay tuned for more info on that. But for now, you can check out Jon's official mixtape "The Audacity" as well as his most recent street single "The Rap Life" along with his track "Talk To Me" from "Spell My Name Right" below...

Jon Hope - The Rap Life (Prod. By Statik Selektah)

Jon Hope ft. Skyzoo & Reks - Talk To Me (Prod. By Statik Selektah)


STATIK SELEKTAH PRESENTS: JON HOPE - THE AUDACITY (2007)
01. Audacity Entrance
02. Agreed
03. Real Talk
04. Da Bullsht (Part 1)
05. Breathin' ft/Taktix
06. Bluedevils ft Termanology (prod Statik Selektah)
07. The Monster
08. Devo Springsteen Speaks
09. The Game (prod. Devo Springsteen)
10. Give Us Free
11. Million Bucks
12. Da Bullsht (Part 2)
13. No No
14. H.O.P.E.
15. Hip-Hop Back
16. New England
17. Showdown
18. Da Bullsht (Part 3)
19. Lyrics
20. Audacity Exit

For more on Jon Hope & his music check out his MySpace page below...
http://www.myspace.com/jonhope401