MIXTAPE: CHARLES HAMILTON - SONIC THE HAMILTON

The art of distributing mixtapes is just as important as the content that make up the actual mixtapes. What's the point of releasing a free project if no one's going to hear it? The days of standing on the sidewalk and pestering impatient pedestrians to purchase their recordings are sadly over for rappers. The growth of today's paramount Internet mayhem has caused hip-hop blogs to become the most powerful outlet for promotion. Hip-hop blogs may even be more powerful than mighty MySpace, and that's a scary thought for myself and the rest of the blogosphere. Do you realize how much responsibility lies in our carpotunnel-suffering fingers?

Bloggers are virtually the new DJs. Whatever they post that they think is hot can potentially blow up overnight if enough hype catches on. Just look at XXL's selection for this year's top-10 up and coming rappers. Seven of the ten MCs are without-a-doubt Internet alumnus who graduated from sitting behind their computer screens at home to high demand recording artists on the cover of hip-hop's largest publication. And one noteworthy alumni is the pink devotee, Sonic the Hedgehog enthusiast Charles Hamilton. This young Harlem product is changing the rap game one zSHARE download at a time with his shrewd rhymes, brainy affairs, and peculiar image.

Before completely embarking on his solo debut due out in early '09, Charles Hamilton is making his rounds with "The Hamiltonization Process," an unprecedented distribution project which involves dropping eight different mixtapes, on eight different blogs, all at eight different times. The fifth installment in this series is rightfully titled Sonic the Hamilton presented by The Smoking Section. Why is gangsta rap dead? The answer: Charles Hamilton. The mixtape's back cover is after the jump and click here to download Charles's previous four mixtapes. Happy 21st birthday, kid.

Download: Charles Hamilton - Sonic the Hamilton