Artist: Jelleestone, Album: Thirteen, Song: Money (Part 1)

"Money can't buy me happiness but I'm happiest when I can buy what I want anytime that I want."  Jelleestone is a hip hop artist from Toronto, Ontario.  He actually split time growing up in both Toronto and the Bronx, New York.  It was in New York where he witnessed the growing popularity of hip hop for the first time.  By the nineties he was playing clubs in Toronto with his first group called, ORB ("Original Rude Boys"), which had some minor success opening for acts like Black Moon and The Pharcyde.  His big solo break would come when he released his debut single as part of a Rudimental compilation.  The notoriety ushered in a deal with Warner Brothers and the eventual release of his debut album, Thirteen, in 2001.  The lead single, Money (Part 1), was a huge hit and maybe one of the finest hip hop tracks to come out of Canada.  With it's unrelenting G-funk groove and slick production, the single helped the album gain a nomination for Best Rap Recording in 2002.  Jelleestone was also nominated for Solo Artist of the Year.  He came up short on both fronts losing out to Swollen Members and Hawksley Workman respectively that year.  He returned in 2005 with a sophomore release featuring fellow Canadians, Nelly Furtado and Saukrates (see blog 8/13/11).  You can follow Jelleestone at http://www.myspace.com/jelleestone.  You can check out the video for the song, Money (Part 1), on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rNBDQvQ-9c).  The album, Thirteen, is a very difficult find these days.  Your best bet is to snag a used copy through Amazon before the prices become astronomical.  There were copies trading between $5 and $100 at the time of this blog.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!