I can't believe how much has changed with music. Vanilla Ice was a joke, but since Eminem burst on the scene, white rappers are gaining more prominence in the industry. Now, we have Timbaland's new charge, MC DTJ, Mike Control and now Sham, but while all these guys may be white rappers, but now, it no longer matters what the color of your skin is. All that matters are the skills you possess. The thing that stands out about Sham is not his color, but his style of rap and the way he is making himself heard.

     Sham kicks it with an old school rap style with new school flavor. He combines the two elements very well, but his style sounds too different from what the mainstream audience is used to. Knowing full well how difficult it is to get your music on the radio and/or get a contract, Sham along with other members of TRP Productionz have banded together and are selling CDs online, getting the music out to the hardcore listener tired of the manufactured rap star. TRP was formed in 1995 by Sham along with Dilligence, Troopa, Deep, Ne Dubz. Other members came on board, expanding TRP into the online force that it is. Building TRP from the ground up, the idea behind this new conglomerate was that the artists had total freedom with their expressions and owned all their material, while belonging to a large group. They didn't have to worry about crooked record labels, yet they could pool their resources together and get their music out there. After listening to Sham's latest CD, Low Down Dirty, I decided to help them out a little and recommend to as many people as I can, that people buy it.

     Nexx Breath is just an example of how good Sham is. Every once in awhile this song includes a cool part sung by some hot sounding girl, but it's Sham's presence that really makes this song worth listening to. His rhymes seem effortless, yet he looks like he puts a lot of work into each verse. He is definitely a smart rapper. He knows the game and likes playing it. His lyrics are strung together nicely, and although he curses a lot, this is no Eminem. In fact, he sounds more like a member of the Wu-Tang the way he methodically speaks his piece in each rhyme he spits. This guy means business.

     These lyrics are quite strong. My head was nodding up and down as I surfed the web with Sham's music playing in the background. A true measure of a good CD is if it makes me forget what I am doing and this sure did. I started listening to every word said and every beat behind it all. In fact, after listening to this CD, there was only one song I was not impressed with, Sports Barz, which had a horrible lyrics and sound that seem forced in order to include sports references. However, the rest of the CD totally kicked ass.

     According to Sham, his finesses and style will turn your daddy homosexual, but he knows he isn't the end-all and be-all of rap. In fact, he says himself, he isn't God, and doesn't want the position if it became available. No, Sham has help in making it big. Mr. Dilligence and Sham wrote most of the tracks on the CD and Mr. Dilligence is the producer and mixer that makes it all come together. This CD is tight and the words wouldn't be as phat as they are without the awesome beats behind it. Some of the rhymes and beats move quickly, but the best ones are the slow, dark and gritty sounds that permeate tracks like Chemistry and Renaissance Man. The words come off hypnotic as a soft, bumpy beat plays in the background.

     Sham talks the talk and walks the walk. He is confident in his skills and it shows. This confidence translates into a killer CD that little have heard of as of yet-but not for long. Go to www.nmewreckidz.com and purchase yourself a copy of Sham's killer CD, Low Down Dirty. It never felt so good not to be clean.

     Send your comments and or questions about this article to JMinners@ybfree.com.