Luckly for America, this Iranian-born hip-hop artist worked his way west and now calls Baltimore home. And Baltimore can call him one of the premiere sources of musical talent in its city. This up-and-comer knows exactly how to make ear-catching hooks out of beats and mind-grabbing lyrics out of words. Anybody can put beats together and anybody can string together words. But real impact comes when an artist of true talent is doing the song constructing. Meet that artist. The Zone Nobody can deny that B-Amazing is an artist of incredible focus and soaring musical passions. When he's in the creative flow, his mind and soul go somewhere else, to a world of his own creating. His entire consciousness draws a bead on its target - the creation of fine music. "Music puts me in a zone," B-Amazing says. Open your ears. Tune in. Hit play. And join B-Amazing in the zone. Heart NO POSERS! That's the rule in B-Amazing's realm of hip-hop. Purity is of utmost importance. Reality is vital. Fakery and fronting are tickets the opposite direction from success. B-Amazing believes in staying true to himself. His hip-hop, he says, will only have power if it's coming from the real him, not some false face. "Music should come from the heart," he declares. "So therefore, every song should be a reflection of the artist's feeling at that particular time." His emotions have sharp edges. His thoughts and words are dangerous in their truth and independence. This is how hip-hop is supposed to be. The Artist at Work B-Amazing is scheduled to perform at the Billboard Hip-Hop and R&B Music Conference in Atlanta this fall. When he's not on stage (which is every chance he gets), he's either writing or recording. "I'm always in that process," he says. B-Amazing is set to dominate the streets with his first mixtape, "Slugfest Episode 1," a compilation of original songs that also includes a free promotional CD of freestyles set to industry beats.