Press Pass: VIBE Previews L.E.P. Bogus Boys' 'Now Or Neva' Album in Chicago

To stay committed to a dream is the hardest thing to do.

Chicago's money team, LEP Bogus Boys, however have done it with ease. Grinding on the independent hip-hop scene for what seems like forever, the two man tandem is finally hitting a stride of good fortune and exposure. Their mixtape game has stepped up, stage presence is solid and the crew's production is at an all-time high. Boasting support from studio heavyweights like Justice League, Hit Boy, Statik Selektah, DJ Toomp and others, Chitown's new flag bearers are poised to make some serious noise in the coming months.

After flying out close to 40 of the country's top bloggers and writers to their city this past week to experience the LEP flow, one can only say that the expectations for the music lived up to the hype of th movement. What they did as a team (coordinating the schedules of multi-jaded journalists and hit making producers) for their brand is something of a throwback to scenes created by Rap-A-Lot Records and Cash Money Records in the 90s. Bringing the industry to you is the sure fire way to gain the kudos of a group of taste makers, who live on the "show and prove" theory.

Plush hotels rooms, old-school mobster Italian restaurant dinner and an open bar venue, topped by a movie trailer screening, with a 5-6 song stage performance for a packed house mixed with Chicago natives, is what lead me to witness that the LEP Bogus Boys are keepers of their own dreams of success. Seeing the Chicago supporters throw their C's in the air when LEP performed was a testament that the duo has locked in their mid-west region and the plans for takeover elsewhere are in motion. Talk was rampant on the chit-chat side that the fellas tore down their recent AC3 performance in Atlanta a few weeks ago. One spectator even stated that, "They are the only dudes left that look like rappers!" If looking like a rapper is the mean grills, braided hair, fresh gear and icey jewels is that...then yes, that statement is true. But the proof is in the music at the end of the day. Lyrics, hooks and themes set them apart from the norm and draws easy Mobb Deep like comparisons. Yet from the cuts that were offered, it sounds like LEP's new project, Now Or Neva (Oct. 31st), delivers in full. --Datwon Thomas