Chrisette Michele

Newly Brooklyn-based R&B chanteuse Chrisette Michele released her fourth studio album last week. Titled Better, the project is headed up by the sultry slow-jam single "A Couple Of Forevers." As she gears up to smile for the cameras for the album's promotional push, we asked Michele about some of her timeline highlights--her love of Chili's sweetcorn, the punishing Album Release Jitters Workout, and fans who keep proposing to her on Twitter.

See also: Talking Louis C.K., South Park, and Popcorn With Talib Kweli

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The Visualizer

Editor's note: In "Tweets Is Watching," Phillip Mlynar asks local artists questions based solely on the contents of their Twitter timeline.

AZ is gearing up to release his Doe Or Die II album on the world later this summer. One of the songs to be revealed so far is the emotive "We Movin'," which was released at the tail-end of May and is produced by boom-bap architect Statik Selektah. It's a teaser for an album AZ guarantees will be "the piece of the puzzle that's missing in the game right now, with that soulful AZ flow." Before he comes through with his promise, here's the Visualizer going through his timeline references to Broadway musicals, deceased Brooklyn rapper Half A Mill, and his classic verse on a certain little album called Illmatic.

See also: Statik Selektah on the Troll Power of Putting Mac Miller and Sean Price on the Same Song

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A$AP Ferg

Editor's note: In "Tweets Is Watching," Phillip Mlynar asks local artists questions based solely on the contents of their Twitter timeline.

A$AP Ferg is gearing up for the release of his Trap Lord mixtape, which should build on the success of his anthem-in-the-making "Work" and establish him as the second break-out star of Harlem's A$AP Mob. Ahead of that project's release, we checked in with Ferg and got him to talk about hooking up with older heads Onyx and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, how he'd love to collaborate with Harmony Korine, and why whoever stole his first bike should still protect their neck.

See also: Meet The A$AP Mob: Talking To Ant, Ferg, J. Scott, Nast, Twelvy, And Yams

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Havoc

Editor's note: In "Tweets Is Watching," Phillip Mlynar asks local artists questions based solely on the contents of their Twitter timeline.

Havoc dropped his new 13 album earlier this week, a project he calls "an ode to hip-hop." He'll soon be hitting the tour circuit in the name of promotional duties, so before then we called up the Mobb Deep man to talk his favorite rap stars, being stingy with Lloyd Banks' birthday present, and the time he met the recently departed Chris Kelly of Kriss Kross.

See also:R.A. the Rugged Man: The Music Industry is Made of "Crooked Fake Phonies"

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Talib Kweli

Editor's note: In "Tweets Is Watching," Phillip Mlynar asks local artists questions based solely on the contents of their Twitter timeline.

Talib Kweli is gearing up to release his fifth solo album, Prisoner of Consciousness, on May 7. The project features collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Curren$y, and Miguel (who appears on the latest smoothed-out single "Come Here"). In anticipation of the album's release, we dipped into Kweli's timeline and ended up talking Louis C.K.'s comedy, Saul Williams' poetry, and high school days when he was a fanatic of the b-word.

See also:
- Jean Grae Picks Christmas Sweaters For Talib Kweli, Sean Price and Pharoahe Monch
- Sadat X's New Workout Plan (Or How To Work Off 9th Wonder's Mom's Famous Pie)

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Black Dave and pals

Editor's note: In Tweets is Watching, Phillip Mlynar asks local artists questions based solely on the contents of their Twitter timeline.

Black Dave calls Harlem home and has seen his profile bloom since dropping his top notch Stay Black mixtape back in February. Flush from the success of his Kids-inspired video for latest single "Muthafuck! My Enemies," we checked in with the uptown skate kid to find out why old people are fond of yelling at him, the influence of Harold Hunter on his style, and his remembrances of Pro Era's Capital STEEZ.

See also: Five NYC Rappers Who Deserve To Be In XXL's 2013 Freshman Class Issue

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The newly-minted Vinny Cha$e

XXL magazine revealed their annual freshmen list today. Among the10 picks for future rap fame (plus a boxed-out bonus picture of Chief Keef's head), New York City is represented by the monolithic Action Bronson, Pro Era leader Joey Bada$$ and Angel Haze. In the interest of municipal pride then, here's five hometown rap chaps that we'd happily see replacing some of the more quizzical picks on the cover.

See also: The Ten Best New York City Rap Albums of 2012

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Sadat X

Editor's note: In Tweets is Watching, Phillip Mlynar asks local artists questions based solely on the contents of their Twitter timeline.

Sadat X notched his place in hip-hop history as part of the Brand Nubian crew who coined the tail-end golden-era classic One For All. Since then he's also dropped a string of fine solo projects, including '96's under appreciated Wild Cowboys and Love, Hell Or Right, which dropped late last year. Here's the rapper formerly known as Derek X dropping knowledge on his Twitter timeline, which includes gym etiquette, playing Sega with A.G., and 9th Wonder's mom's pies.

See also: When Not Making Rap Hits, Harry Fraud Surfs With Manatees and Rocks Out to Sublime

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Key Food apron not pictured

"Been through hard times, even worked part-time/ In a Key Food store, sweeping floors sometimes," rapped Kool G Rap back on 1989's golden era rap standard "Road to the Riches." So on a whim we asked Corona's gangsta rap godfather about the line. He obliged and regaled us with an anecdote that involves the dutiful worker introducing his own line of locally-sourced inventory to the store.

See also: New York Rappers Talk Their Worst Summer Jobs

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DJ Whoo Kid

Editor's note: In Tweets is Watching, Phillip Mlynar asks local artists questions based solely on the contents of their Twitter timeline.

Last week DJ Whoo Kid helped launch the video for A$AP Ferg's new track "40 Below," which also appears on his SXSW Social mixtape. When not granting assists to the A$AP kids, Whoo Kid can be found hosting his Sirius radio show, which he describes as a mix of interviews with "weird crazy white people and hardcore hip-hop." Here's Whoo Kid using his timeline to jump into anecdotes about the time 2Pac watched him catch a beating from his dad, sending Common prank birthday presents, and giving out responsible pet ownership tips like training your dog to poop into a plastic bag.

See also: When Not Making Rap Hits, Harry Fraud Surfs With Manatees and Rocks Out to Sublime

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