Veteran Hip-Hop Los Angeles group Dilated Peoples are preparing The Release Party, a new DVD/CD being released by Decon that chronicles their ten-year journey through the music industry.
The group’s latest release hits stores July 31 and also comes with seven brand new, unreleased songs featuring The Alchemist, PMD of EPMD, Defari, Casual and others.
The Release Party was directed by Decon co-founder Jason Goldwatch, who has directed videos for artists like Linkin Park, Pharrell, Ludacris, Aceyalone, Eric Sermon, Common, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and others.
In 1999, Goldwatch was attending film school at CalArts, where he was making short films with Mad Child of Swollen Members.
Mad Child eventually showed Goldwatch’s work to Evidence, who wanted to make low budget music videos for his new group, which happened to be Dilated Peoples.
“We began shooting ‘no-budget videos’ with film school equipment,” Goldwatch revealed. “These videos quickly became cult favorites throughout the underground Hip-Hop scene. As the group’s popularity grew, Dilated began touring the world. They invited me to join them and of course, I jumped on board and we began shooting our adventures, utilizing the same conceptually driven, experimental techniques we were using in our videos – shooting film, digital video, super 8mm and photography.”
The Release Party features tour footage, back stage moments and a “level of honesty rarely seen in films, and especially rare in the rap game,” Goldwatch said.
The DVD also captures the tumultuous periods of the group’s history, particularly a dark time in 2003, when Evidence’s mother became ill, as the group toured with hit rapper Kanye West.
The eventual passing of Evidence’s mother and the group’s growing disillusion with their record label Capitol, despite having one last album to deliver, almost led to Dilated People’s demise.
Despite the hardships, Dilated People’s returned to studio and recorded their critically acclaimed fourth album 20/20, which hit stores in 2006.
“I kept shooting them, now beginning to see a structure forming [for the DVD]. Eventually Dilated ended their relationship with Capitol Records and began work on The Release Party, a completely independent album. Made for the people, by the people. Self produced and released on my own label, Decon.”
Dilated Peoples’ The Release Party hits stores July 31.
