Mark Ronson struck gold with Amy Winehouse, by delivering genuine, quality music, usually backed by the production of himself, Salaam Remi, and and the instrumentation of the Dap Kings. This became a new movement in music, which took off heavier in the U.K. than in the U.S., creating a unique fusion of classic funk-soul vibes [cont.]

Nigerian-American emcee, Wale, first hit the scene in 2006, making noise locally in the D.C. area with a pair of go-go club hits, “Dig Dug (Shake It)” and “Breakdown”, respectively. With “Dig Dug”, he became the first local artist to chart on Neilson’s Broadcast Data System since DJ Kool in the nineties. Shortly thereafter, Wale [cont.]