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Ajay Harding is DJ Shade.

When Ajay Harding begins to wonder about the state of hip-hop, his worries are never local.

With the continued commodification and branding of rappers and hip-hop artists nationally, Harding, also known as DJ Shade, says the music doesn't captivate him the way it did a year ago.

But the local scene is a different story.

Harding, along with DJ Boondocks, has been hosting hip-hop open mic night at the Big Easy on Monday nights for over a year.

Every Monday night, there's a chance a new MC will emerge, or established ones will show up with something new, Harding said.

It's a chance for unknowns to show what they're capable of and if they can handle themselves on stage, he said.

Harding said recent showcase events for young artists have really drawn a lot of support from the community.

This month they held the first "Ruckus Cup," a battle for MCs from Maine and around the region.

When he's not busy at the Big Easy, Harding is playing at clubs around town and providing beats for LabSeven.

"I want people to feel like they can get exposure," he said. "Not just artists, but patrons as well."

Strictly Fitteds -- "As an aspiring hat fiend, this site keeps me dialed in to what's fresh and what's poppin' off as far as new designs, colorways, and configurations. I like to find and buy the hats that I can be relatively sure few, if any, people around here will have. Of course, now that I've just blown up my own spot, I won't need to worry about it anymore."

ZShare -- "Purely utilitarian in every facet -- even more the case when bombarded with the barrage of seemingly endless pop-up ads -- ZShare is great. I would say that roughly 90 percent of the new music and remixes I download are hosted here. Truly invaluable and totally appreciated."

Disco Belle -- "I'm obsessed with new music and remixes. I came up playing and listening to hip-hop. It was an early infatuation, but lately I've been grooving to electro, new disco, breaks, b-more dance music, electro-rock remixes and house. I NEVER thought I'd be into, let alone be playing, house music, but you know, I'm a fan of Darwin's theory of evolution and in that spirit I must advance. I check on discobelle to get the latest updates as well as mixes from my favorite DJs out there."

The Hunger Site -- "Don't call me a do-gooder, but please go to this site every day. It costs you nothing! To quote their About Us section: 'The staple food funded by clicks at The Hunger Site is paid for by site sponsors and distributed to those in need by Mercy Corps and America's Second Harvest. 100 percent of sponsor advertising fees goes to our charitable partners.' So I repeat: It costs you nothing! Feed the babies around the world and do some good if you can spare about 10 seconds of your day, every day."

Mac Rumors -- "Being a full-time nerd, this site is absolutely critical to my day-to-day meanderings on the Internet. All things Mac are covered here. New and hypothetical products, lots of debate on product pipeline and tech geekery as well as all the tangential details that enrich the already great plotlines. If you're a nerd who wants to make money, this site is also of value as a stock research tool."