Mourning In America and Dreaming In Color finds Brother Ali reborn and rejuvenated. On his fourth full length studio album, Ali teams up with seasoned producer Jake One (50 Cent, De La Soul, T.I., Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa) to tell a very different American story.

Fully recharged and inspired by his eye-opening first trip to Mecca, the 2011 uprisings in the Middle East, and the worldwide Occupy movements, Brother Ali is prepared to unveil Mourning In America and Dreaming In Color. Created during a prolific, self-imposed two-month exile in Seattle and helped by platinum-selling producer Jake One, the album represents a brave new phase in Brother Ali's remarkable career trajectory. Mourning In America and Dreaming In Color presents a scathing, yet honest, critique of America and its many flaws while simultaneously presenting a hopeful outlook of its possibilities.

Mourning In America and Dreaming In Color, in all its sonic and lyrical glory, promises to be both the voice of a burgeoning new critical American consciousness as well as the beacon of hope for those that hold fast to its ideals and potential. This is Brother Ali as you've never heard him before.

If Prof had things his way, people would think he was nothing more than a heavy-boozing, free-wheeling playboy. His lyrics are sometimes rude and usually downright crude. He boasts in his rhymes about how he's pretty much the shit at everything. He's even performed shows where he makes himself get so drunk he throws up before going on stage.

Unfortunately for Prof, there's an underlying seriousness to his lyrics that he tries his hardest to cover with layer upon layer of party-perfect beats and rhymes. Growing up on the South Side of Minneapolis, Prof matured in step with the local hip-hop scene. In his 24 years, he's seen some shit that can't help but escape from his memory and into his songs, lending his lines the kind of wisdom that can only be born on hard city streets. He started free styling in eighth grade and, although he likes to have fun with his music, the swiftness of his rise to local fame shows how seriously he regards his rap career.

A rowdy young buck who loves a good time, Prof wants his music to inspire others to party it up with him. In a world where credibility is currency, Prof sticks a middle finger to those who feel hip-hop should be straight-faced and serious.

"Everyone's trying to be a preacher or a politician— telling you how to live your life," he says. "I'm not running for Senate. I'm doing this for fun and I don't watch my mouth."

Prof's debut solo album, Project Gampo, definitely made a lasting impression on local music critics and hip-hop heads. "Prof is wall-to-wall here in all his glory, with clever one-liners out the ass, hyperactive and delicious vocab spills popped like collars- picture a supreme smartass with gorilla swagger and a mouth as fast as his mind… Point blank, this kid's got more flavor and flow than all five of your favorite MCs combined."

Born Daniel Sewell on March 16, 1981, Danny Brown is a hip hop artist from the Dexter-Linwood area of Detroit, Michigan.

Danny is an unconventional hip hop artist employing multiple flows and cadences thus the moniker of “The Hybrid”. His style varies from low pitched gravely tones to a manic, high pitched, squawk.

His lyrics, often dealing with the truth of living in Detroit; poverty, drug abu
se, desperate circumstances, etc and his own experiences in the motor city, from selling drugs to underground parties in Detroit’s rave scene juxtaposing those topics with a humorous narrative told ferociously over avant guarde production choices.


Danny has released many free projects over the web with the most popular being 2010’s ”The Hybrid,”.Brown has also released an album, “Hawaiian Snow”, with G-Unit’s Tony Yayo, and several mixtapes (Detroit State of Mind 1-4, Browntown, It’s A Art (With producer Mainframe) and Hot Soup). Brown has found much success on the internet through the support of the music blogs and social media and the decision to release “The Hybrid” online for free download.


Danny has worked with many artists in the Detroit hip hop community such as the late J Dilla, Black Milk, Elzhi, Guilty Simpson, Trick Trick, and T3. Also known as a champion of up and coming artits, Danny has worked with lesser known acts such as Oakland, California's Main Attraktionz and promoting these types of underground acts via his twitter.

Brown spent most of the summer of 2010 touring with G-Unit, and a few months later released “Hawaiian Snow” with Tony Yayo. Due to lack of promotion the sales were disappointing, however through the G-Unit connection Brown was able to experience firsthand the rigors of touring and the workings of the music industry as a whole. The experience served to jade Danny to the concepts of being on a major label and committing himself to appealing to an urban audience who he felt rejected him because of his look and style of dress which consisted of skinny jeans and vintage tees as 50 Cent refused to sign Danny Brown to G-Unit because he didn’t approve of his distaste for baggy denim. No longer concentrating on appealing to any particular audience, With this new found freedom, Danny delved into making more experimental music based on influences like UK Grime and Progressive Rock.

His experimental sound melded with traditional street narrative has brought about attention from progressive press such as Pitchfork.com, Fader Magazine, Spin Magazine and the like but no press more satisfying than making the cover of the Detroit Metro Times, his hometown’s alternative art’s and culture magazine.

Danny’s music later found a home on Fool’s Gold Records, the independent label helmed by internationally heralded DJ A-Trak and his partner Nick Catchdubs. The label and the artist having the same mindset, the two parties are now focused on releasing his upcoming projects, a free album coming Summer 2011 entitled “XXX” and his untitled Fool’s Gold records debut coming subsequently after.

It doesn't take much to be a meteorologist in Los Angeles (usually just a short skirt and the ability to utter "77 degrees and sunny"), so maybe that's why the city's most famous weatherman is a rapper. Evidence is that rapper and also a producer. But for many, the Venice-native will always be known by the title of his critically-lauded 2007 solo debut, The Weatherman.

"When some people freestyle, they say 'I'll be on the mic' or 'When I flow like this'—everyone has a crutch—and I guess that the easiest thing for me to incorporate was some kind of tornado or hurricane. Or maybe it's just all the syllables and the titles with weather," Evidence says, laughing. "I can't even stay away from it."

In a world with escalating weather, Evidence's output is likewise getting stronger. While he's released an EP (The Layover on Decon Records), two online mixtapes (DJ Skee-hosted The Layover Mixtape and The Beatles-sampling I Don't Need Love), and toured almost without stop, Evidence is ready to unleash weather at its most violent with the long-awaited full-length follow-up, Cats and Dogs. His first record to be released on indie heavyweight Rhymesayers Entertainment, Cats and Dogs pours sharp-witted lyricism from boom-bap storm clouds.

Featuring production from Evidence himself, as well as Alchemist, DJ Babu(?), DJ Khalil(?), and the legendary DJ Premier, Evidence's sophomore output showcases an artist at the peak of his craft. From the very first track, "The Liner Notes" featuring Los Angeles crooner/rapper Aloe Blacc, Evidence makes it very clear that he's not just coasting on previous accolades and he brought along some of hip-hop's most talented artists to keep pushing the envelope. "The Red Carpet" is a beat made for Wu-Tang, which makes it the perfect slot for guest star Raekwon, and then there's the added bonus of Ras Kass. Elsewhere, MOP's Lil Fame, Termanology, Krondon, Prodigy and Roc Marciano step up to the mic. But perhaps the greatest stand out from Cats & Dogs matches a Jackson Browne sample to the impressive rap stylings of Aesop Rock and Rhymesayers head honcho Slug. The latter cameo is fitting, as it was Atmosphere's staying power that initially drew Evidence to the Minneapolis-based label.

"Leadership, personality and lifestyle are selling more music than the actual music," Evidence says. "It's a person who has talent, the willingness to work at it, the social skills, the accessibility to their fans and the understanding of the bigger picture that makes it...and a lot of artists on Rhymesayers have cracked that code."

As has Evidence. He doesn't like to use to the word "fan," but he has plenty of them after four revered records with Dilated Peoples and his subsequent solo career. Starting with The Platform in 2000, Dilated Peoples (rounded out by DJ Babu and Rakaa Iriscience) defined underground hip-hop while crossing over with smash hits such as the Kanye West assisted "This Way." Evidence received a GRAMMY nomination for co-production on Kanye's College Dropout and two JUNO's for his work with Swollen Members, but it wasn't until The Weatherman that he was able to connect with fans on a more intimate basis. With a foundation of sample-based hip-hop classicism (something still prevalent on Cats & Dogs), his debut wove together towering bangers and uplifting anthems with dedications to both his mother and all the haters. But Evidence is hardly resting on his laurels, something that Cats & Dogs will prove in spades.

"I've been doing different pockets and cadences—not rhyming in double-time or anything like that—but just showing that I can earn the accolade of a spitter," he says from his Venice home. "I think people are going to be surprised by my improvement level over the last couple years. I've shown that I can write a heartfelt song, that I can rock a crowd, that I have a serious work ethic, but if there's one thing I want to show is that you can put me on a track with someone you consider a real emcee."

And now the man is making it rain truths.

"The Methods" or Music That Heightens Different Senses are Rocky Mountain beat-dealers who combine booze soaked rock, street-wise hip-hop with a soulful over-the-top party groove. They have been blazing their way across the West Coast and will now take their assault global. Musically, MTHDS often draw comparisons to Sublime and Slightly Stoopid, but in their short history, they have shared the stage with artists as diverse as The Roots, Method Man, Collie Buddz, Ozomatli, Ludacris, Savoy, Rusko, Major Lazer, Talib Kweli, RJD2 and many more. They have appeared at notable ski competitions, the Honda Sessions and the Winter Dew Tour and countless other epic parties.

MTHDS just completed a solid tour with Chali 2na (Jurassic 5). Their new album "Trade" which includes features from Binary Star, Grouch & Eligh, & Chali 2na is expected for release in early 2012.

Billy Freekin Dee. In the beginning… there were turntables on a hardwood floor. DJ'ing for the first six months was done on the ground with a case of beer. Eventually he got a table a mpc and better. With this betterness he was able to release 2 mixtapes, produce 4 full length albums, win 2 DMC's and play hundreds of shows. He is now combining all of these experiences together to create one performance that you can dance to or sit back and enjoy. or hate.