Leezy Soprano is doing it right now! He's getting props from The Seattle Times almost every time he drops a video, and he drops a lot of videos. These videos - plus his clever wordplay, cadence and all-around-coolness - have brought Leezy's buzz-up to an impressive level. I'd say Leezy's climb started when he released his last album, and continued through some dope cameos. Then he dropped the "Back To It " video, and ish just kind of got bananas. He's been on quite the roll ever since -- gaining more steam as the Y-Life Movement takes off. His new mixtape is titled Divided We Fall, and you can score it here.

Another huge recent release is Logics' Vintage Flow, available here. Check out the hilarious album promo on YouTube. You'll see Logics has a healthy sense of humor. The album features guest verses from Tacoma's own Element from Second Family, hometown to Cali-dudes Gazmo the Great and Bruce Leroy, and Seattle's Eighty4Fly. Logics stays busy on a national level and always has big things cooking for the future.

There's even more. A R Mastamind recently released a mixtape, Phase 1. The album features guest spots from Swift Holiday and Golden Brown Entertainment. A R Mastamind and Golden Brown Entertainment stepped into prominence when they ran the Wednesday night hip-hop weekly at El Perron. The night had a good run but unfortunately didn't last ... due to the same old same old. This venue is just resting, though, as I know they have some shows coming up in the future.

There are also tons of worthy shows coming up soon. Fri June 24 at The Firwood Rock Lounge, Tak Patron is throwing a benefit show, with all donations going to Tacoma-area food banks. Bring two cans of nonperishable food, or children's' clothes, toiletries, and/or blankets to get in. Tak Patron literally has everyone mentionable scheduled to perform, so I'm not even going to go there. It's just everyone.

Perhaps the interesting and exciting awesome news of all? Chris Crayzie is throwing his own Hempfest! It's also Fri June 24, and it's at H.D. Hotspurs in Kent. The lineup includes General Wojack, 50 Cow, Tommy Boi and more.