On Friday morning, Crooked I dropped by Sway In The Morning to reveal some major news – he and Sway would be working together for the first ever rap competition TV series, One Shot. On the show, MCs will compete for the title of hip-hop’s next superstar, with the winner receiving a record deal with SMH Records and $100,000 cash.
Crooked I, DJ King Tech and SMH Records CEO Mike Smith will travel to Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami, New York, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco and Los Angeles, acting as the judges for the rappers’ auditions, along with a celebrity guest judge in each respective city. A VIP green room will feature other media guests and celebrities, who will weigh in on each rapper’s performance as well. The final four will be picked to compete in the main event for that city in a major showcase that will prove whether or not they deserve one shot. Before each main event, the four rappers chosen will work with SMH Records co-founder Jonathan Hay, Mike Smith, Crooked I, and Tech on the songs that they will perform. These four will act as mentors for each artist and prepare them for the final showcase in Las Vegas that will be hosted by Sway. Viewers will also see segments that highlight each contestant’s story of struggle or inspiration, conducted by famed hip-hop journalists Kim Osorio and Kathy Iandoli. Hit the jump to find out how you can get on the show!
Marisa Mendez
Rappers can go HERE to download one of the many instrumentals, produced by Hay and Smith, for their initial submission. Good luck!
I worry that aspiring rappers may actually take this competition seriously, and spend time and money preparing videos and incurring travel costs to the “audition” sites. That would be a shame, because the guys behind SMH records are known scam artists. They tried to use Kanye’s name to run a scam “charity auction” and got smacked down by Kanye’s attorneys, you can google this if you don’t believe me. You can also google their artist Pink Grenade and their video “Let’s Take It Naked” and you will see that these guys are total scam artists shooting cheap videos and pretending to be players in the industry when they actually have nothing to show for themselves.
If you are an aspiring rapper, please spend your time and energy and talents pursuing more legitimate paths to success in the industry. These guys are nothing but charlatans.