It was a hot summer day in late May as I prepared to have a conversation with a new school emcee on the come up. He goes by the name of Fashawn and he hails from the city of Fresno, California. If you’ve been following Fashawn, he has built a strong following over the past year on the internet.  Known for his critically acclaimed projects such as “The Phenom” parts 1 and 2, along with his mixtape “One Shot, One Kill”, the music on these projects have been highly accepted in the hip-hop community.  Right after that his debut album “Boy Meets World” produced entirely by Exile has gained superstar rankings in the top urban media outlets in the industry. Fashawn is currently on the road as he was on tour in Nashville, TN the day of our conversation.  Speaking in reference to the tour, Fashawn opens up gladly on the new experience traveling the states “It’s been good man, I’ve seen places I never been before. I’ve been to Detroit, Canada, Pittsburgh, and its from the good responses from my projects. You never know what to expect if you have fans there or not, but its been good. Nothing but positive feedback."

Born and raised in Fresno, California the city has been home to some dope hip-hop talent locally. One of it’s biggest artist is popular emcee Planet Asia who even Fashawn will admit played a special role in his career. California as a whole of course made a movement in hip-hop but that’s only in certain parts of the state. Los Angeles we already know their movement and the Bay area which has its own brand of artist that took California to new heights.  Coming from Fresno, Fashawn definitely feels good to represent the “F”. “ I 'm proud to say I represent the F. I’m one of the few cats out here doing it and taking this shit worldwide, Fashawn retorts. I’m going to let the world know about central California and the story we bring to the game. It’s very different from L.A. and the Bay area, it has it’s own personality, he adds.  Planet Asia has been one of the popular artist from the F and represented this city his whole entire career. Always willing to give back to his region to make a name, Fashawn was one kid that Asia saw something special in.  Admitting to be a fan of his music as a kid, it seems it was only a matter of time before the young emcee and the veteran united. The first chance he got Asia gave Fashawn a chance to be featured on his album “Jewelry Box Sessions” on the song “Game Goofy”. Giving some brief history on their relationship Fashawn offers “He had heard about what I was doing when I was 16, 17. He ended up listening to my music and took me on the road. That’s my big brother in this rap game, he drops jewels constantly.”

The hard work has definitely been paying off which lead to Fashawn being on the cover of XXL’s magazine 2010 Freshman Class. Being featured alongside hip-hop new comers and fellow west coast peers such as Nipsey Hussle and Jay Rock was a dream come true for the Fresno native. Very excited about the cover he explains the feeling “You always think maybe it can happen or you got the potential. It’s definitely a dream come true, even when my album “Boys Meets World” got an XL rating in it. To go from the inside of the book to the cover, that was big man. First I had the “Show & Prove” then the XL for my album, and then the cover. I think I took the right steps man.” In reference to the other freshman featured along side him, Fashawn showed much in favor of Roc Nation’s J. Cole. Joking around he did speak confidently that one day he’ll be getting his own cover. “I would love to work with him(J. Cole) again for my second album, I would like to work with Nipsey as well and Freddie Gibbs is dope to me as well.”

Each artist does have that one project that catapults them to recognition amongst fans who are always checking for something new. In the case of Fashawn, the project that awarded him his notability you can say was the mixtape “One Shot, One Kill”. Filled with reality stories of his life growing up over ill production, this tape was one out of many that deserved honorable praise. “Yeah man that’s the tape that began to get me known. Other than my local buzz this tape was the one. It was all over internet blogs, everywhere and Mick Boogie played a big part in it. If you ever listen to Fashawn you should have that in your collection.” Continuing the conversation in regards to “One Shot, One Kill” I had to ask the young emcee how did this tape stand out in comparison to previous tapes released. Sometimes it is very interesting when an artist can drop so many albums and mixtapes and its something about that one that grabs your attention. Could it be the promotion was better or just quality music that gained everyone’s awareness? I leave it to Fashawn to explain what happened, “I think it was just the maturity of it. On the other mixtapes I think I was trying to found my style and voice through them.  I think I found it on “One Shot, One Kill” and just expanded it."

From top notch ratings on critically acclaimed albums and mixtapes, to a solid cover on a popular hip-hop magazine, one would ask, What is the next move for Fashawn? Is he looking for a major label deal to take him to stardom? Opening up on this question, he gives his answer that he’ll take something that benefits him completely. “I just don’t want to sign to the highest bidder. I want a good structure and a label that really knows how to deal with hip-hop artist. I got a lot of great music coming and want the best situation for me.  To each it’s own, but if you’re an artist like myself take it easy and take notes”.

With new music coming with the continuing sequel to  "Grizzly City" part three and "Ode To Illmatic", Fashawn is doing all possible to reach that top pinnacle of respected emcees. Now at this stage in his career getting more recognition and having the chance to travel the world, one thing for sure he'll always rep the F, Fresno baby!