What’s going on everybody? I’m just out here in New York City for this USA Basketball training camp, working hard every day and trying to get ready for the World Championship in Turkey.

I’m sure some of you heard by now that I had a guest spot on the new Wale mix tape. Wale is like my family. We’re both from D.C. and we’ve known each other for a while now. He reached out to me a few months ago asking if I wanted to be on his mix tape and I really didn’t know what to say. H told me not to worry about it.

Really, I just wanted people to see another side of me. It was pretty cool and I’m grateful for him letting me be on it. It felt good to get this opportunity. If anybody wants to hear me, go get that mix tape. We laid it down just before I went to Vegas for the first USA training camp. People have been asking me if I was nervous, but to tell you the truth I really wasn’t at all. I felt comfortable being around the mic, plus I’ve got my own studio that I like to mess around in back in Oklahoma City. So I just went with the flow. It wasn’t like I was rapping. The words just kind of came to me. Besides, I’m not the kind of guy who’s gonna boast about myself.

While we’re on the topic of music, I also got involved with P’Tones Records out in L.A. with Wale and Kenny Burns. I’m partnering with them to build a music studio for high school students in the D.C. area. I just want to see kids, especially ones in the D.C. area, gain more knowledge on how to make music and be producers or singers or rappers. I wanted to help people out so that we have more people get into the music industry out of D.C. You can help us raise money for the program by voting for P’Tones Records to win a Refresh Grant HERE.

Aside from that, I’ve just been doing my thing. Because I’ve got something going with EA Sports, one of my guys there hooked me up with the new Madden football game a few weeks back, so I’ve been hooked on that.

A big thanks to EA again for that because I love Madden. EA Sports puts out some good games and each year Madden keeps getting better and better. I’ve been playing my father and my brothers for a week or two now. I also had a little fun talking trash on Twitter with my friend Bow Wow about Madden. He thinks he can beat me, but no way that’s happening! I’ve got a pretty good handle on it so I’m looking forward to playing some of my teammates when we get together again. This year’s Madden is definitely tougher than last year’s game. And you know I always going to play with my ‘Skins.

So are any of you aspiring musicians or producers? And has anyone else got the new Madden? What do you all think? Let me know in my comments section.

Fans: Be sure to check out Kevin on Twitter and Facebook.

KD has joined forces with Los Angeles based P’Tones records, rapper Wale and television host Kenny Burns to help build a music studio for high school students in the Washington D.C. area. P’Tones plans to develop a total of 12 studios across the country that will provide high school students with hands-on recording skills and insight into the music industry. To help fund the initiative, they are applying for a $250,000 grant from the Pepsi Refresh Grant. You can help them receive the Pepsi Refresh Grant by voting HERE.

For more information, view the press release below:

Los Angeles, CA, Aug 1, 2010 – P’Tones Records announced today that on June 1st, the nonprofit organization will apply to the Pepsi Refresh Grant Competition for a $250,000 grant to fund its planned 12-city nationwide expansion initiative. This will enable P’Tones to develop 12 new recording studios that provide high school students with hands-on recording skills and insight into the music industry. In order to win the grant, voters must visit the official Pepsi Refresh Link (http://www.refresheverything.com/ptones) beginning on June 1 and vote for the organization.

“We are very excited about the Pepsi Refresh Project,” said Oren Rosenbaum, Founder and CEO of P’Tones Records. “It emphasizes the message of giving back to your community, which is what our organization is all about.”

P’Tones is an after-school program for urban high school youth that provides access to semi-professional music studios and an education on how to run a fully functional record label. Its six-course curriculum covers Marketing, New Media, Art, A&R, Publicity and Music Production. The program is run by college interns and celebrity spokespeople, and provides insight into not only music creation, but also the business of the industry and beyond. P’Tones Records is strategically aligned with Warner Music Group, allowing its various music releases to reach the hands of some of the most sought after executives in the industry.

P’Tones Records is strategically aligned with Warner Music Group, allowing its various music releases to reach the hands of some of the most sought after executives in the industry. P’Tones spokespeople include: Lil’ Wayne, Nas, Talib Kweli, Wale, Kevin Durant, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Cool & Dre, Drumma Boy, and more. To date, the organization has partnered with NYU, Miami University, Tulane University, NCCU, and FAMU to provide internships, financial aid, and scholarship opportunities to students applying to partner universities.

P’Tones Records was founded in 2006 by then-17 year old Oren Rosenbaum. As a high school student, he wanted to provide a place where teens could go after school to become enthusiastic about learning and exploring their own musical, professional, and/or artistic talents. P’Tones partners with local community centers and universities to administer programs, funding their development through charitable donations. Once opened, each location is self-sustaining, and students who excel in the curriculum are eligible for college scholarships and/or internships at a major record label.

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For more information, contact:

Andrew Silberstein
P’Tones Records/Music Man Media
(646) 417-8322 x701
andrew@ptonesrecords.com

Bijan Gharavi
P’Tones Records
(310) 279-7090
bijan@ptonesrecords.com

What’s good everybody? We play the Celtics tonight. It’s going to be another tough game, so make sure you check us out!

Not sure if you knew, but I’m a huge music fan. I like listening to a lot of stuff. Right now, I’ve been listening to my boy Wale. He’s from D.C., too, and is a very good friend.

I got to know Wale after my one year of college. He reached out to me. He was a guy that was coming up, just like me. We’re both from the city and we were basically trying to help put D.C. on the map. A lot of people don’t know too much about D.C. as far as the music thing and the basketball thing. We’ve had a couple of players come through but it’s easy to forget us because we’re so small. We just try to do our best to let people know where we came from. We’ve got that instant bond there.

He’s been great. He’s very smart, very intellectual. He knows a lot about life and things he’s been through. He’s been more like a mentor to me, a big brother to me. We help each other out and support each other. That’s what we need as people coming from the same area. It’s been a good relationship so far. He’s been doing very well in his field and I’ve been trying to work hard and get better as well. Like I said, we support each other and he’s going to come out here the next time we have a home stand.

Wale has done a lot. He’s on a Roots song. His own album came out. That’s when I first saw him, in the Roots video. I was like, ‘that’s Wale!’ Then I saw him on the video music awards. He was on tour with Jay Z, he signed with Interscope and Rock Nation. He’s been doing a lot of big things and I’m happy for him and support him. My birthday weekend we had a party together, we kind of celebrated our birthdays together. We became very close. He’s a good friend of mine.

And I actually met him through social networking on Facebook. He was just like, ‘what’s up man? I’m a big fan.’ When we were in D.C. we met up with each other, he gave me some of his CDs. We kind of talked and kicked it from there. Then it went from, ‘let me borrow something from you’ or ‘let’s go to the club.’ We just kind of became friends like that. Like I said, he’s been very supportive of me and I’ve been the same with him. It’s been a relationship that’s going to stick for a while.

Right now, I’m listening to a lot of slow jams, man, of course Lil’ Wayne. I’m trying to get into Gucci Mayne. But the usuals are Beyonce, Kerri Hilson, Ashanti and Usher. I listen to a lot of slow jams before games to get me pumped up. That’s kind of weird, huh?

And I’ve got my guys out here that make music called Rugged Individuals. They make music at my house sometimes and they’re very good, I think. I listen to them before games as well. I’m kind of versatile with my music. I listen to just about everything.

I hooked up with Rugged Individuals when I was at a Guitar Center buying some equipment for my little home studio, just trying to figure out this music thing, something I was intrigued by, and they helped me out. They were like, ‘man you should listen to my CD.’ When people say that I’m like, ‘alright.’ But I threw it in my car and I really, really liked it. I was like, man I could really vibe with that. Then I went back and we exchanged numbers and then they helped me put together my little studio, and ever since then we’ve been cool.

So what kind of music are you all listening to now? Anyone I should check out? Let me know in the comments section.

Alright, I’m out for now. Much Love…

Fans: Be sure to check out Kevin on Twitter and Facebook.