Hip-Hop underground
acts Aceyalone, a founding member of Freestyle Fellowship, and the spiritual
Hip-Hop trio Zion-I will compete in "MTV2’s Dew Circuit Breakout,"
amongst 12 unknown bands battling in a weeklong tournament to gain valuable
exposure.
Zion-I will appear
on "MTV2’s Dew Circuit Breakout," November 22 and Aceyalone on November
24, with MTV2 VJ Jim Shearer hosting in-depth
interviews and performances.
The winners of
the semi-finalist rounds advance to the final competition December 4, when each
band will perform a song from their current album before a live audience at
MTV2’s Times Square Studios.
The winner, voted
on by viewers, receives $50,000, a weeklong appearance on "MTV2 Rock"
and their own "Bands A to Z" page on MTV.com.
Aceyalone contributed
to the evolution of literary Hip-Hop on the West Coast at a time when gangsta
rap was prominent. After the Freestyle
Fellowship disbanded, the Bay Area artist launched his solo career and remained
venerated in West Coast underground Hip-Hop.
Zion-I, consisting
of Oakland’s MC Zion and DJ/Producer Amp Live, made their mark in the Bay Area
by merging Hip-Hop and spiritualism, with
unity and spiritual awareness as the central message in their rhymes.
The trio opened
for rap pioneers like Run-D.M.C, Rakim and De La Soul following several indie
hits.
Aceyalone’s All
Balls Don’t Bounce Revisited was released earlier this year on Decon as
an updated version of his debut album, and Zion-I’s
latest album Curb Servin‘ was released in 2003 under Raptivism.
The 24-hour MTV2
music network provides a platform for breaking artists, new music and underground
Hip-Hop.
