KOCH/
Fat Beats
will release the debutalbum from Afu-Ra entitled, Afu-Ra (Body Of The Life Force) this
October. Afu- Ra is not your ordinary MC. He is a father, a devout
reader, a dedicated Tae Kwon Do student and Rastafarian. Hip-Hop
fans around the world will recognize Afu-Ra from his involvement
on both Jeru the Damaja’s albums and world tours. Jeru released
a record in 1994 that would usher in a new era of lyrical innovation.
Jeru with the aid of Afu-Ra helped bring notoriety to MC’s from
the east when at the time most of hip-hop’s gold and platinum
acts resided on the West Coast.
In
1996, Afu-Ra co-starred in Jeru’s video for “Ya Playin Ya self”
from the album Wrath of the Math to great critical acclaim. This
successful collaboration gave Afu-Ra the confidence to break out
on his own with the help from D&D Records and legendary hip
hop producer DJ Premier as executive producers.
Afu-Ra’s
fiery vocals combined with other notable knob-turners such as:
Wu Tang’s True Master, DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill and Da Beatminerz
from Black Moon fame offers new beats to the MC’s rhyming rants.
Afu-Ra explains, “my new record made me bring my lyrics more
down to earth for the streets.” Regarding the collaboration with
KOCH, Afu-Ra adds, “KOCH is the label that believes in me and
I believe the combination of KOCH, FAT BEATS and D&D gives
us the ability to come from many different angles from experienced
music companies.” Afu-Ra was released from his contract when
Virgin Urban closed its doors.
Executive Vice President
of KOCH Entertainment, Alan Grunblatt says, “Hip Hop is now the
rock n roll of the 21st Century. What a better way to find new
talent than hooking up with Fat Beats.”
Fat Beats first opened
its door as a small, vinyl only retail store in a basement location
in Manhattan’s East Village. Since then, its founder and president,
Joe Abajian has seen his small retail store explode all over the
world. Fat Beats retail has locations in New York, Los Angeles,
Atlanta, and Amsterdam. Fat Beats Distribution is the premier
independent distribution company specializing in vinyl.
Fat Beats Records
has an open door relationship with all of the hottest, young,
underground producers and emcees in the hip hop community. The
Fat Beats artist roster has included: D.I.T.C. (Showbiz, AG, Diamond,
Lord Finesse, Big L. Buckwild O.C. and Fat Joe), Jurassic 5, Mos
Def, Pharoahe Monch, Dilated Peoples, Bumpy Knuckles The Outfit,
and many more.
Fat Beats owner, Joe
Abajian says, “Fat Beats strength has always been establishing
new and unknown artists in the hip hop community. So many of the
artists we’ve worked with have gone onto deals with major labels.
KOCH joining forces with Fat Beats demonstrates exactly how committed
KOCH is to reaching success in this world. The signing of Afu-Ra
is a perfect example of this.”