“I’m that dude!” Dominick “Crooked I” Wickliffe is shouting through the phone as he drives his 2007 Bentley Continental Flying Spur through traffic on an April afternoon in Hollywood. “I just proved hip hop isn’t dead!”
It’s been a long year for the West Coast lyricist, so excuse him for letting off a little steam. But he’s not triumphantly touting his latest mixtape, The Block Obama, or long-awaited debut album, B.O.S.S. (Beginning of Something Serious) (Treacherous/Universal), which has been in the making for more than a decade. Instead, he’s taking a moment to reflect on the past 12 months.

From April 2007 through April 2008, Crooked I, a hip hop veteran, has enjoyed the best year of his career. Why? Because every Tuesday night, he made it a priority to record a new freestyle at his studio, The Mint Room, in Glendale, Calif. He used his MySpace page to take requests from fans to rap over popular beats like Rihanna’s “Umbrella” (Week 5), The Game’s “Put You On The Game” (Week 42), and Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” (Week 51). By Wednesday, each new song was uploaded to his Dynasty Entertainment Group’s Web site (dynastyentgroup.com) and offered as a free download.

 

Before long, it was posted to popular sites like Dub CNN (dubcnn.com) and Nah Right (nahright.com), and for the first time in a long time, the slick-talking rapper had both an audience and accolades from the rap community, including a glowing endorsement from DJ King Tech of Los Angeles’ fabled “The Wake Up Show.”

http://www.vibe.com/news/news_headlines/2008/07/internet_superstars/ 

Via:

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