(AllHipHop News) Veteran emcee David Banner is returning with the new music video “Black Fist.” The Mississippi born rapper/producer spoke with AllHipHop.com about the visuals.
“If you feel a certain way about my video, then it shows you the white supremacist that is deep inside of you, if you feel funny about it,” stated Banner.
The sit down also includes Banner giving an update on his forthcoming album The God Box. The award-winning activist also discusses the state of men in Hip Hop as well as the white media establishment deciding which African-American performers will become stars.
“They take our black stars and they put them in a white movie. They take our favorite rapper and they’re just ‘do boys’ in movies,” says Banner. “We don’t make our stars. Stars don’t come from us anymore. Unless they go through that system and shine through that system, we don’t see any value in ourselves. White people have to take our leaders and give them back to us. I’m just not going to do that.”
By: Wynne Alexander
Political Director, CollegeHipHop.com Wynne Alexander is an investigative journalist who has interviewed national and international artists, icons, sports stars, business and political leaders including Muhammed Ali and Coretta Scott King. She is also the author of the pioneering civil rights book, Get It From the Drums.
While making one of many appearances on WDAS Radio’s The Listening Post, Malcolm X tells WDAS News Editor and host Joe Rainey, “I ‘m really happy to be here tonight Joe Rainey, honored and pleased. This is one of the few programs, a few years ago, that I could get on in this country and get an objective reception.”
That was more than an allusion to the fact that Malcolm X was not welcome in many places.
It was also a bit of an inside joke.
There were a lot of extra bodies milling around the station so it wasn’t easy getting in the studio that night. In fact, it was damn crowded.
During this particular broadcast, the WDAS studios on Edgeley Drive were surrounded both inside and out by Philadelphia Police and ‘civil disobedience’ officers. Reliable word had come down through the FBI and others that Malcolm X was going to be assassinated at the radio station.
WDAS Radio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania had already amassed an extraordinary record of national leadership in the Rhythm & Blues broadcast music industry, pioneering news coverage and public affairs arenas. Yet the white and frankly, comfortably racist, general media rarely mentioned WDAS for all the comparative good the station was constantly doing through-out the 1950s, ’60s and 70s. But some issues were too big to ignore. Like —
100 Heavily Armed Cops, 14 Dogs and Canine Officers guarding WDAS in the dead of night protecting Malcolm.
The following articles are from December 30, 1964, with Philadelphia Daily News on the left and the Philadelphia Inquirer on the right.
(Editor’s Note: Why The Philadelphia Inquirer had no clue that WDAS award-winning News Director Joe Rainey was anything but a disc jockey remains a mystery of modern civilization. They certainly would not have made that mistake about one-time game show host Mike Wallace of CBS News.)
Photo: UPI Telefoto Services – Wynne Alexander Collection All Rights Reserved
Malcolm X arriving at WDAS Radio on the night of December 29, 1964 for the ‘live’ late night broadcast of ‘The Listening Post’ with host, Joe Rainey
General Manager Bob Klein and WDAS Vice President for News, Joe Rainey made a decision. Rainey knew how important broadcasts were to Malcolm X, now back from Mecca, with new visionary ideals, leading his own new organizations, and needing public exposure to boost his influence after breaking with the so-called Nation of Islam under Elijah Muhammad.
So amid an extraordinary police presence in the studio, in the halls, sharpshooters on the WDAS roof, and in the bushes — the show went on.
All was well in Studio B
The two men chatted as calmly as ever, with no hint of any threats or the dramatic backstage safety precautions. They joked about their mutual acquaintance with Nigerian President Azikiwe, spoke of Malcolm’s 5-month long trip through Africa, the Middle East and Europe, world economics, race relations, human nature and the Future.
All was well. The two men are looking forward. All seemed relatively fine – but not for long.
Malcolm X was killed less than two months later in the Audubon Ballroom in New York. A partial tape of that last WDAS Radio broadcast still exists.
Transcripts of other shows were found too — in the files of the FBI.
Along with papers like this, one of many:
W. Alexander Collection via and Thanks to Scholar Paul Lee
Photo: Courtesy Bob Klein Archive-All Rights Reserved.
Joseph H. Rainey III: WDAS newsroom guiding light. Renaissance man, civil rights leader, Executive Director of WDAS Charities, magistrate, boxing commissioner, scholar, athlete, track coach to Nigeria’s future president and “Liberator,” Nnamdi ‘Zik’ Azikiwe, WDAS Vice President for News and Public Affairs, co-creator and host of the ‘Listening Post,’ probably the first African-American radio talk show on the East Coast and the grandson of the first African-American congressman in United States history, noted opponent of the Ku Klux Klan, the Honorable Joseph H. Rainey, Sr.
Joe Rainey’s cutting edge news judgment, sense of history, style and guts gave WDAS Radio the indisputable credibility necessary to change the minds of so many. Rainey’s relationship with Malcolm X was one amazing example of his many great calls. Joe Rainey was also a visionary.
To say that Malcolm X was misunderstood in his lifetime is an enormously tragic understatement.
The world’s embrace of Malcolm X in recent times is not what he experienced himself during his lifetime. He was a man of the future, of big thoughts, big enough to change his mind, to allow the Light to lead him.
Enlightenment personified.
But we live in a world that trashes its treasures. Look around – centuries of trashing treasures.
Yet again, the world didn’t know what it had.
So many people didn’t get it, didn’t know him, didn’t like him, didn’t give a damn.
Who mourned for Malcolm X ?
Joe Rainey did.
He lost a friend.
VIDEOS: More On Malcolm X with Wynne Alexander
To contact Wynne Alexander for an upcoming follow up piece, please email: [email protected]
(AllHipHop News) Hip-Hop icon and well-known hoopster Snoop Dogg will host a charity basketball game to raise money for victims of Flint’s water crisis called “Hoops 4 Water” reports recently revealed.
This event is being organized by Morris Peterson, former Toronto Raptors star and Flint native, and will take place this Saturday at 2pm at the Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center in Flint.
All proceeds from this event will go to the Morris Peterson Jr. Foundation for water relief efforts.
“I’ll tell you what, Snoop loves Flint. He is doing this from his heart, and he’s not asking for a dime. He’s coming down here on his own merit, and he’s concerned with what he can do for the city,” Peterson told Michigan Live when inquired about Snoop’s involvement in the event.
The Flint water crisis began in April 2014 after Michigan officials began to use the Flint River as a water source, but failed to add the proper chemical treatment causing the lead-poisoning crisis.
(AllHipHop News) Adrien Broner has exited the ring to jump in the booth. The boxer dropped a rap video to Desiigner’s “Panda” titled “Slammer (Panda Freestyle).”
The clip features AB taking shots at his sometimes friend, sometimes foe Floyd Mayweather. Broner spits, “If you ain’t none of them n-ggas and repping that Money Team, sh-t, swear to God you can get it!”
Broner has talked about his relationship with Mayweather in several recent interviews.
During a sit down with AllHipHop.com, the 26-year-old Cincinnati native said, “We ain’t at odds with each other. If he was in New York, he’d call me and tell me to come over.”
Among the people on hand to celebrate the life of Chinx was his mother. Veronica Clinton also used the opportunity to address Coke Boys leader French Montana and Bad Boy Records head Sean “Diddy” Combs.
“P. Diddy and French Montana need to come out and see me,” said Clinton. “They ain’t said nothing to me since my child been dead. Even when my child was dead, they didn’t say nothing to me.”
Apparently, Clinton spoke to French at her son’s funeral.
“I asked French, ‘Why did y’all do that to my child?’ He said, ‘Because he wouldn’t listen,'” claimed Clinton. “I told French, ‘You’re not his father, but I am his mother.’ And there were no more words after that.”
Clinton also suggested that Chinx’s death was linked to the 2007 killing of fellow Far Rockaway native Stack Bundles. Police reportedly believe the two murders are connected as well.
According to Billboard, Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Cypress Hill’s B-Real are teaming with Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk for Prophets of Rage.
Apparently, the new Hip-Hop/Rock conglomerate will not include RATM lead vocalist Zack de la Rocha.
It looks as if Prophets of Rage will be making their live debut on June 3 at Hollywood Palladium. The possibility of a full summer tour is being talked about as well.
In a move that would seem to suggest the complete opposite, Ring Magazine and Lineal Middleweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez (47-1-1, 33KOs) has issued an official statement to the press that while he has no “fear” of any man, he will be vacating his WBC title, effectively refusing in theory to fight any mandatory opponent that the WBC would require him to battle in order to keep his title belt.
Before this decision, much had been made of the fact that in order to maintain his WBC belt, Canelo Alvarez would finally have to face his undefeated mandatory opponent Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (35-0, 32KOs), who has been chasing a fight for the WBC belt since Sergio Gabriel Martinez (51-3-2, 28KOs) first won it against Kelly Pavlik (40-2, 34KOs) in April 2010.
Despite this decision, Alvarez still claims that he is eager to fight GGG.
“I instructed my team at Golden Promotions to continue negotiating a fight with Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and to finalize a deal as quickly as possible,” stated Alvarez, continuing,”for the entriety of my fight career, I have taken the fights that no one wanted because I fear no man. Never has that been more true than today. I will fight “GGG,” anf I will beat “GGG”but I will not be forced into the ring by artificial deadlines.”
Golden Boy Promotions Chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya was quick to second his fighter’s sentiment when it came to deadlines and their wish to remain unfettered by them.
“There is no denying that Canelo is the biggest star in the sport of boxing. (Canelo) is eager to get in the ring with “GGG” to show the world that he is also the best pound for pound fighter in the sport, but we won’t negotiate under a forced deadline.”
Sound logic possibly, with the exception that “eager” people don’t tend to have any issues with deadlines.
However, as AllHipHop.com was told by HBO’s Roy Jones Jr.less than a month ago, perhaps it’s a certain senator from the Philippines, aka the honorable Manny Pacquiao (58-6-2, 38KOs) whom Canelo is looking to nudge out of retirement for equal risk but bigger money before signing on the dotted line when it comes to the likes of Golovkin.
While Pacquiao has been quite adamant that he is out of boxing for the time being, his coach Freddie Roach, and his fight promoter Bob Arum have been quite emphatic in their beliefs that boxing fans could see a return from the Filipino politician.
“Yes, Manny ended his career,” stated Roach in speaking with the press shortly after Pacquiao’s final fight against Timothy Bradley, adding, “but personally I can say that it is very difficult to finish a career in boxing, because this sport simply draws you back in.”
According to Deadline, The Michel’le Story will star Rhyon Nicole Brown (Lincoln Heights) as the “No More Lies” performer. R. Marcos Taylor once again picks up the role of Michel’le’s ex-husband Suge Knight.
Taylor was cast as Knight in the 2015 N.W.A. biographical film Straight Outta Compton. Fellow Death Row co-founder and Michel’le ex-lover Dr. Dre will be portrayed by Curtis Hamilton.
The Michel’le Story joins a series of upcoming movies based on the lives of 1990’s Hip Hop stars. Films about Tha Dogg Pound, Master P, Cash Money, and 2Pac are in the works as well.
Principle photography for Lifetime’s The Michel’le Story is scheduled to begin in June.
(AllHipHop News) Drake and Alessia Cara will be lead the pack at Canada’s top music video awards after landing seven nominations each.
The rapper’s “Hotline Bling” will face-off against the teen singer’s “Here” in the Video of the Year category, which also includes Belly and The Weeknd’s “Might Not,” Grimes’ “Fresh Without Blood,” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer” by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello.
Drake’s viral video is also nominated for Best Director, Best Hip-Hop Video, Most Buzzworthy Canadian, Fan Fave Artist Or Group, and Fan Fave Video, while his “My Love” collaboration with Majid Jordan is up for Best MuchFact Video.
Breakout artist Cara’s other nods are for Best Pop Video, Most Buzzworthy Canadian, Best New Canadian Artist, iHeartRadio Canadian Single of the Year, Fan Fave Artist Or Group, and Fan Fave Video.
Meanwhile, last year’s big winner The Weeknd grabbed six nominations – three for “Can’t Feel My Face,” and three for his duet with Belly.
Pop star Shawn Mendes also scored six nods, including Most Buzzworthy Canadian.
Other multiple nominees include Adele, Zayn Malik, Taylor Swift, Nick Jonas, and Fifth Harmony.
The awards ceremony, hosted by supermodel Gigi Hadid, will be held in Toronto, Canada on June 19.
Cara, Jonas, Hailee Steinfeld, Fifth Harmony, Tegan and Sara, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are all billed to perform.
(AllHipHop News) Upcoming critically acclaimed Sacramento MC Mozzy recently announced that his next record Mandatory Check will be released in June via Mozzy Records in partnership with EMPIRE.
This project will feature artists such as, Rich Homie Quan, IamSu, and the late Bay legend Jacka. Mandatory Check will feature production from longtime go-to producer, June on the Beat.
Mozzy hails from from Oak Park, one of Sacramento’s worst neighborhoods and his music is very grim and a reflection of the hard streets that bred him. Mozzy was born to a felon father and dope addicted mother and would eventually turn to a life of crime as a gang member and drug dealer.
However he had this to say in regards to the direction of his latest music: “Once upon a time, I didn’t talk about nothing but murder, selling drugs, and crazy st. If you listen to my music now, it’s about the consequences of this st.”
Mozzy recently released the first single from Mandatory Check “Painkillers” ft. E-Mozzy. Check out the vid for the first single and tracklist for the upcoming release below.
01 INTRO02 PAIN KILLERS FEAT. E MOZZY P### By TD SLAPS03 1 UP TOP FEAT. JUNE P### By JUNEONNABEAT04 MILLION DOLLARS SKIT05 LIKE ME FEAT. MEEZY & JUNE P### By JUNEONNABEAT06 WON’T CHANGE FEAT. E MOZZY & PEEZY P### By JUNEONNABEAT07 ACTIVITIES 2 FEAT. LIL GOOFY & JUNE P### By JUNEONNABEAT08 ALL DAY FEAT. THE JACKA TONE C Lex Aura P### By JUNEONNABEAT09 MCM BOOK BAG FEAT. E MOZZY, LEEZY LYFE P### By JUNEONNABEAT10 COLD SUMMER P### By JUNEONNABEAT11 LOVE MY N##### FEAT. KID RED P### By JUNEONNABEAT12 ROUND AND ROUND FEAT. RICH HOMIE QUAN, IAMSU! & LIL BLOOD P### By JUNEONNABEAT13 SO 4REAL FEAT. MEEZY P### By JUNEONNABEAT14 ON TOP FEAT. E MOZZY & JUNE P### By JUNEONNABEAT15 MY N##### FEAT. SLEEPY D, NONI BLANCO & KUNTA P### By JUNEONNABEAT16 WE GONE SLIDE FEAT. JUNE & BRUCE BANNA P### By JUNEONNABEAT17 BROUGHT UP FEAT. SLEEPY D, TAEDAKIID & KUNTA P### By JUNEONNABEAT18 IDK S### FEAT. KUNTA P### By JUNEONNABEAT
When officers tried to stop the Audi Kodak Black was in with an 18-year-old passenger, the pair sped off and led police on a high-speed chase. The chase was eventually called off, but later, officers spotted Kodak Black and an associate in a nearby neighborhood and apprehended them.
Kodak Black, who recently signed to Atlantic Records, was also hit with weapons charges after police allegedly saw the rapper throw a firearm into a dumpster.
According to a post on his Instagram page, Kodak Black, born Dieuson Octave, seemed rather cavalier about the court date earlier today.
Wyclef Jean recently sat down in an interview with PYNCH to talk about his life and musical journey.
During the interview Wyclef took a moment to shout out all of the Fugees. Wyclef also expressed that he thinks it’s imperative to make a 20 year reunion and anniversary celebration happen to celebrate their ‘The Score’ album.
“It would be definitely a regret to let this 20 years go by, something that we built in a basement, and we let the 20 years go by and we definitely don’t do something. So I’m reaching out right now. We need to make this reunion happen for the culture.”
Now fans wouldn’t want to see this celebration happen without Lauryn, but getting her to commit may not be promising or encouraging either as she has been consistently late to shows for years.
If this comes to fruition we hope Lauryn can “align her energy with the time” and be at the concert venue early!
(AllHipHop News) The South Carolina Waffle House customer who ended up in a physical altercation with Juvenile after he reportedly remarked “here come the hoes now” as Juvie entered the restaurant with his wife, has decided not to press charges.
However, the man told TMZ.com that he is indeed planning to sue Juvenile for the beatdown.
The altercation with the man in South Carolina occurred during a stop on “The Legends of Hip-Hop Tour. The customer, asked not to be identified, claimed he suffered facial cuts, along with kidney and rib injuries.
(AllHipHop News) An intense investigation of notorious New Orleans street gang 3MG has led to two members of the gang confessing to the murder of rapper Magnolia Shorty among others.
Tyrone “Biscuit” Knockum, 25, and Rico “Freaky” Jackson, 33, are both 3NG members.
They admitted to being among five men who were present when four of them opened fire on Renatta “Magnolia Shorty” Lowe and Jerome “ManMan” Hampton more than 50 times, in a New Orleans parking lot on December 20, 2010, killing them both.
The news shook the local Hip-Hop community at the time and stars and former label mates like Lil Wayne B.G. attended her funeral in December of the same year.
According to District Attorney Alex Calenda, Hampton was a member of the “Front of Town Killers” and was in search of revenge for the murder of his friend murdered rap legend “Soulja Slim.”
The New Orleans Advocate reports Calenda also went on to state that 3NG members murdered Hampton as a preventative measure.
The news came as part of the D.A.’s intense pursuit of 3NG gang leader Kentrell “Black” Hickerson, on a state racketeering case.
“This is a picture of criminality, a portrait of the realities of the street. You’re going to hear about the beefs, the turf wars over heroin and cocaine, that spilled so much blood in this city. You will learn that Mr. Hickerson has no loyalties, and in pursuit of that crown, he did what he perceived and what he had to do to attain it.”
Hickerson’s defense attorney Lucas Morehouse chimed the case was “a railroad job, no doubt about it,” when speaking on the validity of the prosecutions claims against his client.
Kentrell Hickerson has pleaded not guilty to a number of charges including munder and attempted murder.
(AllHipHop News)Billboard magazine helps to break attendance records again this year, with the second annual “Billboard Hot 100 Music Festival.”
The magazine is leaning heavily on Hip-Hop this year in hopes of topping the 40,000 plus attendance record set by last year’s event at Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, which will play host once again.
J. Cole, Fetty Wap, Wale, Desiigner, and Rae Sremmurd are among the acts headlining the second annual “Billboard Hot 100 Music Festival.”
Other acts confirmed so far include Calvin Harris, Ariana Grande, Martin Garrix, Timeflies, Sleigh Bells, Nervo and more.
The two-day festival is slated for August 20 and 21 at New York’s Nikon at Jones Beach Theater and the surrounding areas.
Bay Area-based DJ True Justice is bringing back warm party jams and positive vibes with the first single and video from his forthcoming album, The Man of Steel, available globally May 20, 2016.
Along with Bay Area-based rapper Sinestro, the single, “The Way You Are,” taps into the relationship politics that all-too-often define many couple’s interactions:
“…the fact we can’t be is proof it ain’t me
So I can let it go, agree to disagree
It’s hard to let go, even when you should
‘Cause we are what we are and what I am is good
So stay how you are, we just wasn’t a match
We was twelve rounds deep, but here’s the catch…”
– Sinestro, “The Way You Are”
Word on the street is that DMX is expecting his 13th child with his current girlfriend. X and these kids!!! Part of the reason DMX and his ex-wife, Tashera Simmons, divorced was because he fathered several children outside of their marriage. He had his 12th child in 2013 with his former fiancee. It might be time for a vasectomy buddy! But congrats to the couple nonetheless!
(AllHipHop News) 50 Cent has tainted friendships by offering pals jobs, as to not be accused of “leaving everyone behind.”
The “In Da Club” rapper rose to fame quickly in the early 2000s with the help of Eminem and Dr. Dre, which saw his lifestyle change rapidly – he once lived in Mike Tyson’s former mansion in Connecticut.
Quizzed on whether he extended invites to old friends to join him on his journey up, 50 – real name Curtis Jackson – admitted he struggled to figure out how to handle the situation at first.
“I went from a basement apartment in Queens to a 50,000-square-foot house, and when you’re successful, it’s valuable to have people around who represent what was there before all the confusion started,” he told Vanity Fair. “But you know what happens? If you don’t take people with you, they say you left everyone behind. And if you get them involved in your businesses and provide an opportunity for them to better their life, they become someone who works for you. Then that taints the relationship.”
The 40-year-old rapper has experienced plenty of ups and downs in his life so far, such as being shot nine times and filing for bankruptcy. That hasn’t held him back though as 50 has even branched into acting, most recently playing a boxing manager in 2015’s “Southpaw” opposite Jake Gyllenhaal.
His love life has been turbulent and he isn’t sure whether he’ll ever tie the knot.
“Yes (I dated Chelsea Handler), for eight months,” he said. “If you’re around her long enough, to know her is to love her. She has a captivating personality; she’s just totally honest – do you know how difficult that can be?
“I’m not sure (whether I’ll get married). I do want the friendship that I think can be priceless, and if that’s what comes along with it, I’ll take that.”
(AllHipHop Features) The lineage of R&B girl groups includes several three-character monikers such as TLC, SWV and 3LW. A new female trio out of Detroit is looking to join that list of hit makers, and DMK is off to a great start to reaching that goal.
Over 9 million people watched DMK perform on the popular series Empire last week. Damoli, Melanee, and Kourtney were chosen from nearly 6,000 acts looking to win Fox’s “Next Empire Artist’ contest. The winner was guaranteed an appearance on an episode of the smash drama.
Besides getting to share TV time with the Lyon family, DMK also appeared on the Empire: Original Soundtrack Season 2 Volume 2 album.In addition, the vocalists recently premiered their new self-titled EP on the entertainment platform TIDAL.
AllHipHop.com connected with the three stars-on-the-rise to find out about their recent television gig. DMK also discusses being part of the TIDAL Discovery program, the public’s revived interest in girl groups, and getting the chance to sing for R&B veteran Brandy.
How did growing up in Detroit influence your musical style?
Melanee: Growing up in the city has had a huge influence on us. Kourtney’s grandfather is actually Levi Stubbs from the Four Tops, so we literally have Motown running through our blood.
Your single “Love The Way You Love” has a New Jack Swing/1990’s feel. Are you fans of that era’s music?
Damoli: Absolutely, we are huge fans of En Vogue and SWV and the sound they embodied.
Kourtney: Exactly, we try to take that feel and give it our own sound. But we are definitely influenced by those 90’s groups.
How was the experience of appearing on Empire?
M: It was an amazing experience. They treated us like regulars on the show when we went to film, not like contest winners. Everyone embraced us. It was a really cool experience.
What has been some of the reaction from your performance?
D: People have been really showing support. We had a watch party in Detroit the day the show aired, and we barely were able to get in! [laughs] It was that many people. It’s been really encouraging.
K: We’ve gotten a big response on social media as well. Empire is such a huge platform, a lot of people who may not have known about us have been hitting us up. Kinda crazy.
Can we expect to see you on future episodes?
M: You gotta stay tuned! [laughs]
Why did you decide to premiere your EP and music video on TIDAL?
M: We have a really good team, and they wanted to make sure we put music out as the show was airing. And TIDAL has been a huge supporter of ours, so it only made sense.
How has the relationship with the TIDAL Discovery program impacted your career?
D: Tremendously! They’ve been showing support from the beginning. They premiered our first video, and we got the chance to sing the national anthem at CC Sabathia and Roc Nation’s charity event last month. We’ve been able to use the platform to expose our music to people we wouldn’t have reached without them. Shout out to Jason!
Girl groups seem to be making a comeback. Why do you think the public is receptive to embracing girl groups again?
K: Good question. I think because it’s time. It’s been so long that people are seeing the new groups and it’s taking them back to a place where R&B music thrived.
When can we expect a full DMK studio album?
K: We just released our new self-titled EP which is available everywhere! Hopefully you guys will get an album before the year is out!
I saw you got the chance to sing for Brandy. Could a possible DMK/Brandy collaboration be in the works?
M: It’s so crazy that you ask that. I actually just posted the picture we took with her as the anniversary of when we met her! It would be incredible to work with her! Brandy, if you see this girl, we love you! [laughs]
(AllHipHop News) Spokane, Washington native/South Kelly fixture Demrick is preparing for the June release of his second album, titled Collect Call.
Over the past few years, Demrick has become one of the emerging artists out of California, even though he’s been plugging away at it for well over 10 years.
For Demrick, Collect Call is the culmination of years of hard work as a fiercely independent artist.
Before his close association with Dizzy Wright and other members of the Funk Volume crew, Demrick was a member of B-Real and Xzibit’s group the Serial Killers. He formed his first rap group, Tangled Thoughts in 2005 as a highschooler in Philadelphia.
Demrick decided to leave the East coast upon the advice of rapper Kurupt, and headed for the West coast to pursue his career. Last year, Demrick dropped the critically acclaimed Stoney Point album with DJ Hoppa as well as his first album Losing Focus with Cali Cleve for Battle Axe Records.
“I really represent the theory that ‘anything is possible,’” Demrick explained. “This is my best and most honest work to date.”
Part of his story is explained in “Back in the Daze,” which recounts his decision to leave Spokane for the East coast to pursue his career.
“I actually called my mother on the phone and used part of our conversation on the record,” Demrick explained to AllHipHop.com. “The crazy thing is we haven’t really ever spoken about that story until the day of this actual conversation on the record. I was sitting with my boy Ace, and we were just talking about some of by wild stories when I was young. Halfway through the conversation, we just decided to put it on record since its such an outlandish story. I felt people needed to hear it not only for the value of the story, but for the significance it has in who I became. It truly was the turning point of my life going down the right path rather than becoming a follower of others.”
Collect Call is due in stores June 24.
The album features production from Scoop Deville and guest appearances from California artists Casey Veggies and Lil Debbie.
By: Wynne Alexander
