My cover story/feature on local hip-hop collective Umbrella Corporation has been nominated for A Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists' Griot Drum Award. Here's what we call the "lede," aka the opening salvo, in the journalism biz:

Heavy beats slam through the room like war drums. The crowded nightclub is thick with cigarette smoke, booze, a trace of weed — and adrenaline. Here at Full Moon Saloon in Ybor City, well past midnight on a Wednesday, local emcees are engaged in rap battles — face-to-face put-downs built on improvised rhymes. Umbrella Corporation, a Tampa hip-hop collective that's changing the landscape of the 813 underground, calls the venue home. Tonight their artists dominate the congested stage.

Click here to read entire story "United Front."

Umbrella Corporation's Aych and Wade Tatangelo on Media Talk