One of the major artists in our scene last year was D'Rocc The Gentleman. He made his presence known when he hit us with "The Anthem" video, and then kept it going with lots of big local shows. Currently D'Rocc is gearing up to release a new album; the first single is "Last Call." D'Rocc is celebrating the new song with a party Oct 21 at the Surreal Ultra Lounge. "Last Call" is a smooth ode to the ladies. So dress up, come to the party, and let D'Rocc and Tak Patron set the mood for ya and yo loved one.

Let's take a trip down memory lane. Remember the monthly hip-hop night, Fresh Blends, a few years ago? Among many other shows, Fresh Blends held one MC battle. The victor was Lost Soul. He's a Federal Way rapper, now back on the scene stronger than ever and going by the name Lost Soul the Emo-Kat. He's personalized his style and is now doing shows again. Check him and his new material out Friday, Oct. 28 at the Conquering Lion in Tacoma.

So I've talked about and praised John Crown enough in recent columns, but I must mention Crown's highly anticipated album Coffee and Beats is now available at johncrown.com. The album is downloadable on a sliding-scale fee. Give nothing if ya broke; if ya balling ya can donate what ya like.

Fame Rilla, Q-Dot's brother in rhyme, just dropped a new video titled "Make It Bang." YouTube it. It's an energetic club anthem with high energy. The single, along with Fame Rilla's slept on 2010 release. is available on famerilla.bandcamp.com. Fame Rilla has a lot of potential and hopefully we get to see him doing more shows around here. He could be one of the top artists if he made his presence known a bit more.

D-Money, the host of Fresh Coast Radio, recently released Fresh Coast is Major 2, available at dmoney.bandcamp.com. It's an album of all the tracks that won Fresh Coast's radio face-off, where where two new singles are pitted against each other and  listeners are asked to vote for a winner. This album is the winners.