AllHipHop.com Breeding Ground alum Donny Goines released his official debut album today (December 16), bringing to fruition nearly 3 years of hard work.
The Bronx and Harlem-bred rapper’s Minute After Midnite was released via Amalgam Digital and is available exclusively on the online distributor’s website.
The album, which was preceded by Goines’ The Prologue mixtape, boast a list of high profile underground producers, all well known for their unique contributions to the independent Hip-Hop scene.
Statik Selektah, K-Salaam & Beatnik, and DJ Static each contributed one song to the 13-track LP, as did Apple Juice Kid, DJ Snips and M-Phazes.
The bulk of the production was handled by Dub Z and Dame Grease, who also serves as the project’s executive producer.
“Donny’s got that s**t,” Grease told AllHipHop.com. “He gives you a Hip-Hop eyeglass look at New York and the atmosphere of the city. I’m honored to have executive produced the album for the main reason that he wasn’t going in the same direction as everyone else.”
Since first emerging on the scene in 2006, Goines has been a digital mainstay, emerging as one of the rappers to benefit from the web 2.0 explosion.
He credits his 2007 AllHipHop.com Breeding Ground feature as a turning point in his career.
With several mixtape appearances, as well as independent releases including The Non Fiction EP and a concept album titled The Excerpt pg. 1, Goines continued to take advantage of the growing popularity of the social networking movement to expand his fan base.
His grassroots approach was one of the determining factors in partnering with Amalgam.
“I am an independent artist in every sense of the word, still unsigned and grinding it out,” the artist revealed. “I just felt it made more sense to align myself with a company such as Amalgam because I feel that they are in tune with the digital movement.”
Minute After Midnight can be purchased at http://www.amalgamdigital.com/album-detail.aspx?aid=564.
The site also offers fans two free downloads: “Can’t Fit In My Shoes,” produced by DJ Snips; and the Dame Grease-produced “I Am Moving,” which was recently added to the mtvU rotation.
