In less than one month, fans of M.O.P. will receive the group’s first official Hip-Hop album in nearly ten years.
In a recent interview, co-founder Billy Danze exclusively revealed the release date for the group’s forthcoming E1 Records debut.
Originally scheduled for a June 2009 release, The Foundation is now set to hit stores on September 15.
The album features production by Alchemist, DJ Premier, Statik Selektah and Jake One, as well as guest appearances by Heltah Skeltah, Jadakiss, Beanie Sigel, Styles P, Redman, and Busta Rhymes, who graced the project’s lead single “Blow the Horns.”
“If you understand what’s going on, if you understand real dope music,” Danze told AllHipHop.com. “If you want some dope s**t to help get you out this dope music recession – ‘cause we getting all this wack s**t now, pick up that album September 15.”
Since parting ways with G-Unit Records in 2008, both Billy Danze and longtime rhyme partner Lil’ Fame have kept busy. Aside for steady performances as a duo, including this summer’s Rock The Bells Tour, which concluded in San Francisco on August 9, they’ve each gone on to establish themselves individually.
Though he plans on releasing a solo project, Fame has been honing his skills as a producer, amassing a resume that includes Wu-Tang Chamber Music, released in June.
Danze, who has released several solo tracks online, is much closer to the release of his own solo project, he says.
“It’s been working, I been getting a lot of good feedback,” he explains. “I got Alchemist on the production, Lil Fame, my man Tommy T. DJ Premier’s gonna slide me some s**t in a minute. It ain’t all the way done yet, I’m about halfway done, working on all the features.”
While the combined five years on the rosters of Roc-A-Fella Records and G-Unit did not yield an official M.O.P. studio release, the fans received new music and remixes through several compilation projects, including 2004’s Mash Out Posse, a collaborative effort with rock band Shiner Massive.
Despite a certain amount of frustration, both Billy Danze and Lil’ Fame maintain they hold no ill feelings towards 50 Cent, Jay-Z or Dame Dash.
“50 was a fan like every other label that we signed to after the first deal we had with Select [Records],” Danze stated in a recent AllHipHop.com interview. “Every other situation after that, was because the people [signing the deal] was fans. As far as 50 goes, they never tried to change us. Dame Dash, same thing.”
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