ALLHIPHOP BBQ PRESENTED BY POLO GROUNDS MUSIC & J RECORDSThis event is the traditional kick-off to AllHipHop Week with food, DJ’s, fun in the sun and positive people. In 2007, AllHipHop and J Records take things to the next level with the official BBQ in the middle of Manhattan, New York on Saturday September 15! This is an RSVP and invite-only event. Listen to good music, eat great food, meet and greet fellow AllHipHop staff, supporters, and celebrities, including Polo Ground artist Hurricane Chris, Cassidy of Swizz Beatz’s Full Surface Records, and singing chanteuse Emily King!Sun, Sep 15th: AllHipHop BBQ Presented By Polo Grounds Music & J RecordsVenue: Private LocationTime: 1:00 pm – 6:00 pmTicket Price: FREE>CLICK HERE TO RSVP (Venue limits the number of people that can attend.)OVERVIEWThis year marks AllHipHop’s 9th Year Anniversary.
As part of our celebration, we will be hosting a series of offline
events to highlight the occasion. The 4th Annual AllHipHop Week is
sponsored by Vitamin Water, Hot 97, MySpace, iTunes, GIANT, Polo
Grounds Music / J Records, & Atlantic Records. Additional sponsors
to be announced shortly.
For a full listing of All of the AllHipHop Week events, CLICK HERE.Click here for pictures from last year’s AllHipHop BBQ with G-Unit.
HURRICANE CHRIS’ BIOThere’s a storm brewing in Shreveport, Louisiana. It is a storm that takes the form of a cultural movement destined to alter America’s cultural landscape the same way the crunk movement led by Lil Jon altered pop culture a few years ago. This new movement is called the Ratchet movement and it is helmed by a dynamic artist aptly named Hurricane Chris. The eighteen-year-old Shreveport native is currently causing quite a commotion down South with his blazing hot Polo Grounds Music/J Records single, “A Bay Bay.” According to Hurricane Chris, “A Bay Bay” has its genesis in the namesake of the Ratchet movement’s cornerstone DJ, Hollyhood Bay Bay, who spins at a club called KoKo Pellis. Whenever the DJ would come in the club the crowd would start chanting “hey Bay Bay, hey Bay Bay.” After a while the crowd would do the chant whenever the club got ratchet regardless of who was on the wheels of steel. “That became so catchy that I changed it from somebody’s name to a slang ‘A Bay Bay’,” says Hurricane Chris. “Now it’s a word, it means fa sho.” If you haven’t heard Hurricane Chris’ “A Bay Bay” then you’re missing out on the hottest club single since Lil Jon’s “Bia Bia” or E-40’s “Tell Me When To Go”. The song is literally sweeping the nation like an uncontrollable firestorm, reeking havoc on dance floors from the H Town (Houston, Texas) to the ATL (Atlanta, Georgia) and everywhere in between. “Everybody likes ‘A Bay Bay’ because it’s different,” says Hurricane Chris. “It’s real catchy. And it’s something you can say. I bet that its gonna be a baby’s first word because it’s so catchy. It gets stuck in your head the first time you hear it. Everybody [can] relate to it, white folks, black folks, hustlers and thugs.” Produced by veteran North Louisiana producer Phunk Dawg, “A Bay Bay” contains an exotic drum track that is absolutely irresistible. Its swinging bass line explodes like a thunderclap, combining rhythmic strings and a slinky worm sound, which harks back to the golden days of old school Louisiana 70s funk. Mix this with Hurricane Chris’s silky flow, filled with his charming Louisiana drawl and the song’s catchy hook, and you now have the key elements for a smash hit. Look for “A Bay Bay” to be the number one song in ring tones, radio and video before the end of this summer. The untitled album, which will be executive produced by Michael “Mr. Collipark” Crooms will be released by Polo Grounds Music/J Records. About POLO GROUNDS MUSIC Polo Grounds Music is a full service entertainment company with a focus in publishing, management, marketing and promotions. Founded in 2006 by Bryan Leach, the New York-based company is home to record label Polo Grounds Music, which is distributed through RCA Records.Click here to read AHH’s interview with Hurricane Chris.CASSIDY BIOThe overindulgence of pop music sensibilities has forced Hip Hop music to once again turn to its youth for a regeneration of skills and street music values. Cassidy, a.k.a. “Da Problem,” is the solution to the dilemma, but a major problem for all acts who rely on smoke and mirrors to mask their lack of microphone mastery. These qualities and respect for art are the reason Swizz Beats has knighted Cassidy as the debut act on his new label Full Surface Records. As a pure lyricist cut from the same cloth as Rakim, Big Daddy Kane and Nas, the 20-year old Cassidy (Barry Reese) honed his abilities in ciphers and battles all over his native Philadelphia and New York. He has yet to lose. “I’ve been rhyming all my life,” states Cassidy. “Rhyming for me was just like how some people play basketball for the fun of it. It’s an everyday activity.” “He’s just young and hungry,” adds Swizz Beats. “He can freestyle for hours, but he also has a large vocabulary. He knows how to blend words for effect in battles or songs. I have all the faith in the world in him.”To read the AHH interview, click here!EMILY KING BIOAs the daughter of two singers – one Italian, one African-American – who performed internationally as a jazz duo, King was exposed to music, its challenges and its rewards, from an early age. She always knew she would follow in her parents’ footsteps. “I had a hard time in school,” she says, “because I already knew what I wanted to do, so I was like, let me just get started.” At age 16, King took two giant steps: She got her GED, and she started writing songs. In fact, the very first song that she completed, “Business Man” – a commentary on heartless capitalists – is a central moment on East Side Story. “I always thought if I write a song, it’s not going to be about relationships,” she says. “There are so many things in this world to talk about.” She quickly advanced from banging around on a guitar in her apartment to performing on the local folk club circuit at such noted venues as the Bitter End and CBGB’s Gallery. Meantime, King had discovered hip-hop and immersed herself in a culture that would add yet another ingredient to her musical mix. She met producer Chucky Thompson, a member of Bad Boy Entertainment’s famed Hitman studio team who had recorded smashes with the likes of the Notorious BIG and Mary J. Blige. Thompson signed her to his production company, and together they began searching for the right sound to capture King’s eclectic tastes and styles. After taking her demos to various labels, they signed with J Records and began the process of making a real album.”We came to the label with a lot of songs that I had written by myself in my kitchen,” King says. “They were really into experimenting, and I’m glad we went through that process, but we came all the way around and ended up with those songs that we started with.” With contributions from notables including producer Salaam Remi and Marsha from acclaimed rap duo Floetry, East Side Story brings together King’s singer-songwriter foundation with soul-drenched vocals and fluid hip-hop beats to create a truly special blend – a place where the coffeehouse meets the dance floor. The lyrics are shot through with a real sense of Emily King’s life and personality, from the undulating first single, “Walk in My Shoes,” to “It Was You,” based on the story of her “biggest influence,” her parents. To read the Emily King interview on AHH, click here.