Standing firm in your belief system can be trying. When the world around you is succumbing to a revolving door of trends, it takes dedication to stick to your guns and keep your feet planted. Bobby Bishop fell in love with hip-hop as a child. Raised in a quiet Boston suburb, it took some digging around and frequent trips to the city to wrap his head around the passion he heard from the mouths of his favorite emcees. As he grew, he realized his desire to participate, and share his own thoughts and convictions through rap. Authenticity is a funny thing, however. In all reality, typical hip-hop topics weren’t exactly a vibrant picture of the life he’d experienced growing up. With the need to follow his own conviction, Bobby began serving teenagers as a youth minister in gritty Lynn, Massachusetts in 1996, and has been there ever since. He began writing and recording rap music as a teenager himself, and the fusion of his faith in God and a passion for rap was a natural one. He realized his experience as a youth mentor and minister gave him the opportunity to reach out using hip-hop, particularly as he discovered his knack for storytelling. A church plant ensued in 2001, with the vision of pursuing a neglected city, and rap demos and independent CD’s were penned in conjunction with his community experiences. The determination to stay true to his initial convictions meant deliberately balancing national touring with day-in-and-day-out street ministry. Hip-hop’s pioneer’s birthed a sound expressing everyday life, struggle, determination, and redemption. Bobby was adamant from the beginning not to forget hip-hop’s roots, but to offer the hope of Christ as life’s solution.

Amy’s Song, the true story of a teenage rape victim, began to unexpectedly set the stage for Bobby’s national career, as it gained a tremendous amount of attention and exposure upon its initial release in 2002. Several indy projects and national tours later, and Bobby was offered his first national recording contract. Government Name released into the marketplace in 2005, and Bobby hit the ground running, balancing his local youth ministry with touring the country. Mtv, in particular, took to the record, and placed nearly the entire project into rotation on some of the network’s most popular shows (Pimp My Ride, Next, My Super Sweet Sixteen, Date My Mom, and more).

One Shot, Bobby’s second nationally distributed project, was released into the marketplace in 2006. Presented as a rap “hip-hopera,” this project tells a fictional story based on true events that took place in Bobby’s neighborhood, and is a start-to-finish musical story with a startling conclusion. Bobby’s new label home, Philadelphia-based Chosen Records, has brought this project to the screen in the video, One Shot. Utilizing this short film, Bobby and labe lmates The Wrecking, have been traveling the country as The One Shot Tour.

Bobby’s goal is to bring a music ministry presentation with heart, on the strength of community service and countless hours of stage experience. The aim is to be approachable and real, and to continue making honest, Christ-centered music.

Bobby’s newest project, “Everyday Man,” released 7/14/09 on Chosen Records/Executive Music/Universal Music Christian Group. This project is receiving rave reviews:

“Everyday Man is one of those releases that is going to get attention — either because it is so good or because it is going to make some folks extremely uncomfortable. Listening to songs about the life that Bobby Bishop willingly lives in order to help others can lead to a fairly ugly picture the next time you look in the mirror. Bobby captures and delivers a thought-provoking yet humbling journey as he shares his life, thoughts and discoveries about himself in this CD.”
-About.com

“…worth checking out.”
-Jesusfreakhideout.com

“Lyrically, Bobby encourages us in Christ by telling of everyday struggles. His sincerity and honesty connects, which is refreshing.”
-The Phantom Tollbooth

“Fresh hip-hop with Eminem’s lyrical dexterity and dcTalk’s melodies…Bishop’s third release boasts get-up-and-dance beats, instrumental flourishes, and select guest emcees, but the real star, as always, is Bishop. No trendy special effects or overdone samples here—Bishop’s vocal consistency and tight storytelling achieve the smooth, cohesive feel of his most accomplished record to date.”
-Christianity Today

“I can tell that Bobby invested valuable time on this album; I can hear the sincerity on each track. I can feel the vibe on each record, whether it’s an introspective track or a straight up hip hop track. The overall message of living life as an “Everyday Man” was certainly communicated throughout the album. This album get’s my vote for the “keep it knockin in your stereo for a while, while you take your long summer road trips and make sure you play it three times if you have to” award.”
-Holyculture.net

Resume:

-Years of youth ministry fused with hip-hop tours have resulted in trust-relationships with youth pastors across the country, where Bobby has been the key-speaker in conjunction with the music act.

-Bobby has several independent and two previously released national projects that formally introduced him to a broad marketplace.

-National tours with The Seven Project, spot dates, festivals and tours nationally, shared stages with countless Christian music artists (from John Reuben to Jars of Clay….)

-Authored for American Bible Society, FEED Magazine, CMCentral, On Course, and more.

-Recorded songs with KJ-52, Pigeon John, The Wrecking, and more.

-Featured on multiple nationally distributed projects including:

DJ Maj The Ringleader (Gotee Records/EMI)

Beatmart Records Best of the Submissions Volumes 1,2&3 (Beatmart Records/Sony BMG)

Pee Wee Callins Street Soul (Beatmart Records/Sony BMG)

Fresh Digress (Beatmart Records/Sony BMG)

Strength in Numbers (Beatmart Records/Sony BMG)

Michael Sweet “Stronger” (2003)

More reviews:

“Bobby is catchy, smart, relevant, and can lay down thoughtful
lyrics and still he is able to keep that street tenacity.”
-The Phantom Tollbooth

“… an eclectic mix … delivered with authenticity and passion.”
-CCM Magazine Paul Colman’s “One’s To Watch”

“Artists such as.. Bobby Bishop are now some of the most
buzzed-about names in Christian hip-hop.”
-CCM Magazine “Plain White Rapper”

Featured in CCM Magazine’s “Rap Sheet: 65 Hip-Hop Artists You
Should Know”

49 in the 2007 “My CCM 100″

“By the time we got home we were on track four and the (Bobby
Bishop) CD disappeared into the house with my son. I’ve seen it once
since then but I’ve heard it several times coming from his room!
Bobby Bishop reached my kid with this CD and that was no small feat.”
-Kim Jones, Christian Music Guide, About.com

“…he has quickly become a household name and a fan favorite.”
-sphereofhiphop.com

“…impressive”
-All Music Guide

“A lot of Bishop’s heart shines through these songs, as does his
genuine love for the genre and his desire for its standards to be
upgraded.”
-Suite 101.com

“Bobby has talent as an MC; he owns a respectable flow, a keen
lyrical ability, and the comprehension of how to put a good song
together.”
-Rapreviews.com

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Jonah Sorrentino (born June 26, 1975), better known by his stage name KJ-52, is a Christian rapper from the United States. The “KJ” part of his name refers to “knowledge and justification”. “52″ (which is pronounced “five two”, not fifty two) is a reference to the Biblical story of Jesus feeding the multitude with five loaves and two fish. He was awarded the Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year for “Never Look Away” and Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards of 2007. On July 28, 2009, KJ-52 released “End of My Rope,” which is the first single for his album “Five-Two Television.”

Raised in Tampa, Florida, Sorrentino was the product of a dysfunctional family. He began writing rap songs at the age of 12, and at 15 became a born again Christian; he wrote his first Christian rap song while at home with a broken nose (sustained while pole vaulting.) While a teenager, he began working in youth ministry at an inner-city church. He also recorded a demo, but it was largely ignored (although he later called it “really horrible”). Around this time, he met a young, likeminded rapper named Goldinchild; the two formed the Sons of Intellect and began performing throughout Florida. Soon Goldinchild moved on and the Sons dissolved.

In 1998, Sorrentino stepped down from his youth minister position to pursue his Christian rap dream full-time. He has said he still considers himself to be in the field of youth ministry, however, as the main consumers of hip-hop are teenagers and young adults. He fills a significant portion of his songs with messages intended for the current generation of youth, addressing a multitude of issues regarding the church, and Christians in general.

A relationship with Gotee Records’ Todd Collins led to a deal with Nashville CCM label Essential, who released 7th Avenue, in April 2000. The LP featured collaborations with the Cross Movement and Knowdaverbs.

In 2002, Sorrentino released his second album, Collaborations. The album’s title referred to the numerous contributions made to the album by guest artists, including Ill Harmonics, Pillar, and Thousand Foot Krutch. Collaborations also represented his first nomination for a Dove Award, for “Rap/Hip Hop/Dance Album of the Year” in 2003.

KJ-52 has won four Dove Awards, three in the “Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year” category. He took the 2004 award for It’s Pronounced Five Two, the 2006 award for Behind the Musik, and the 2007 award for Remixed. He received an additional honor in 2007, for “Never Look Away” from Behind the Musik, in the “Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song” category. KJ never tried out for American Idol, but suggested such in his song “Fivetweezy”.

On October 2008, he released his album, The Yearbook: The Missing Pages, a re-release of his album, The Yearbook. It comes with the original record with a slip over cover that has a code to download the 13 songs.

His most recent album, Five-Two Television, released September 2009. The first single from the album, “End of My Rope,” was released July 28, 2009, with a music video expected to be released as well. KJ also plans to release a free mixtape with the purchase of the album for ministry purposes.

The most controversial track on Collaborations was entitled “Dear Slim”. The track presented an open letter to Eminem, in a similar style to Eminem’s song, “Stan”. “Dear Slim” was premiered on MTV’s Total Request Live, but was cut short, as is common for the show. The cutting short of the song upset Sorrentino by portraying the song as an open attack on Eminem. Sorrentino later said that the song was not intended to be controversial or as an attack on Eminem. His song “Dear Slim Pt. 2″, which was included on his next solo project, It’s Pronounced Five Two, addresses these issues.

On Eminem’s new CD, “Relapse,” there is a song called “Careful What You Wish For” part of which is (expected to be) addressed to KJ-52:

I got a letter from a fan, that said He’s been praying for me Every day and for some reason It’s been weighing on my mind heavy ‘Cause I don’t read every Letter I get, but something told me to go ahead and open it, but Why would someone pray for you when they don’t know you? You didn’t pray for me when I was local And as I lay these vocals I think of all the s*** I had to go through Just to get to where I’m at I’ve already told you at least A thousand times in these rhymes I appreciate the prayer, but I’ve already got God on my side.

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Vision has many dynamics. Vision gives us the capability to see objects. It can help guide a lost man down unfamiliar surroundings. It can even turn a blank canvas into a masterpiece. The Scriptures communicate that ‘Without vision, people perish’. Any sensible human can comprehend how vision is important. As inhabitants of earth how do we envision life? As people, we are all responsible to see life through the proper perspective. But first we must see our Creator for who He is.

With his sophomore project 20/20, not only does Trip Lee challenge all listeners to evaluate every area of life through the lens of Scripture, but also desires for the listener to have a proper view of God and how they are to relate to Him. Trip set out to encourage seekers, as well children of the King, to see God as He has revealed Himself. In Christian hip hop it is easy to merely focus on the horizontal necessities of the faith. Trip Lee urges us not to forsake the importance of our vertical understanding and worship of Jehovah.

The album 20/20 showcases a more diverse sound from a more mature artist. While serving at a local church and attending Bible college in Philadelphia, Trip has been challenged, not only in his personal growth, but also in his contribution to the growth of others. A southern swagger and love for the East Coast sound brings a unique stylistic mixture and the album satisfies a diverse blend of musical tastes. 20/20 offers the listener everything from southern bass to live instrumentation. There are feature guest appearances from all Reach artists (Lecrae, Tedashii, and Sho Baraka). Flame, JR, Diamone, Cam and shai linne also lend their giftings to his sophomore project. Production credits range from Joe Prielozny (notable Amped Producer), veterans DJ Official and Tony Stone, to promising newcomer G Styles. 20/20 provides the fan with 15 tracks of non-stop banging exaltation.

Music can easily deceive the listener with aspirations of shallow and futile desires. But Trip’s primary goal is for the listener to fall more in love with God. Once we have an accurate view of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit, then we can begin intimacy with Him. Trip Lee’s prayer is that through the album listeners will be introduced to Christ Jesus and His people will rejoice and reflect on His goodness.

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Mars ILL is an emcee/DJ hip-hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia. The duo consists of Gregory Owens (manCHILD) and Nathan Corrona (DJ Dust). They are also part of the hip-hop collective Deepspace5.

Coming together in 1998, Mars ILL has released several albums and EPs through independent record labels and two albums on Gotee Records. Their success in the underground hip-hop movement in the early 2000s led to their performing at Scribble Jam in 2003 and 2004 and, ultimately, their signing to Gotee and switching to Christian hip-hop.

Before Nate and Greg met, Nate was the DJ for deadpoetsociety, a hip hop group based out of Indianapolis. The group consisted of three members, Nate Corrona (DJ Dust), Michael Porter (Rahlo), and Joel Wilson (Thin King), and performed at various venues in and around Indianapolis and the Mid-West from 1995 to 1999. In 1998, Nate attended a hip hop conference in Florida and met Greg Owens, who was at the time an MC for The Pride, living in Atlanta. Greg was then asked to be a part of deadpoetsociety and subsequently toured with the group until around the end of 1999. At that point, Joel had left the group to return to his home in England, and the three current members all decided to change the group name because, as Greg mentioned in an interview, “there [are] a lot of Dead Poets Society’s around.” Nate then decided to move to Atlanta, feeling that the group would have better opportunities in that city, musically and ministry-wise. Michael chose to stay in Indianapolis and soon afterward began his own group, The BackSoil Project.

The name “Mars ILL” is a shortened version of Mars Hill, mentioned in Acts in the Bible, (Acts 17:19). “ILL” is capitalized for clarity, as it’s often mistaken for the Roman number 3, or “iii”.

The group’s first album was called Raw Material, released on Sphere of Hip Hop Records, in early 2000. It was considered a success in the underground hip-hop movement, garnering rave reviews from both secular and Christian critics alike. In 2002, Uprok Records (a child label of Tooth & Nail Records) offered to re-release the album. With this release, a few track changes were made: Under the Sun and The End from the Sphere of Hip Hop release were replaced with Sphere of Hip Hop (original), Fade to Black, and The Abolition of manCHILD.

Following the 2003 release of Backbreakanomics, Dust and manCHILD began work on a new album titled ProPain with a 2004 release date. As excitement built for the new album, EMI executives began to get involved to the project which they planned to release as a major Gotee Records release. However, on review of the track line-up, they discovered that certain tracks had uncleared samples, and they put the project on hold until further notice. As Dust worked to clear the samples on some tracks and modify others, the release date was continually pushed back. To ease fans’ disappointment and frustration, the group released Pirate Radio, showing their resilience through this trial. ProPain’s legal issues continued, however, and anticipation mounted through a premature release and recall, and several re-releases of previous albums. The waiting finally paid off in May 2006 when the CD finally came out shy a few tracks of the original, but with new songs to help complete the project. Lead singles included: “More” featuring Ahmad of 4th Avenue Jones and Anthony David, and the revolution-minded “Sound Off”.

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Tobias “Toby” Kevin Michael McKeehan (born October 22, 1964 in Fairfax, Virginia), professionally known as tobyMac, is a Grammy Award winning artist, producer, and songwriter. He was first known for being a member of the Christian trio dc Talk, staying with them from 1989 until their announced hiatus in 2000. He has since continued a successful solo career with the release of three studio albums: Momentum (2001), Welcome to Diverse City (2004), and Portable Sounds (2007), as well as two remixed albums of the first two albums titled Re:Mix Momentum and Renovating Diverse City, respectively. TobyMac has had six #1 hit CHR singles including, “Made to Love,” and, “Lose My Soul.” His live concert CD+DVD combo album, Alive and Transported, was released in 2008 and received the Grammy Award for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album at the 51st Grammy Awards in 2009.

The trio formed the band DC Talk in 1987. DC Talk’s original sound was Christian hip-hop, but in 1995 they reinvented themselves with the release of the guitar-heavy Jesus Freak. Although they’d already won a Grammy for their earlier work, this album was a significant milestone, selling over two million copies, making it a double platinum record.

DC Talk’s latest album was released in 2001. The album Intermission: the Greatest Hits was a dc Talk compilation put together when the group members started their “intermission.” The members were pursuing individual careers then, and at the time assured fans that DC Talk had not split up, but rather they were simply taking “an intermission.” More recently though, comments from the band members, most notably from Kevin Max, have implied that dc Talk will not regroup. Kevin Max writes on his official website’s message board, “DC Talk is something of the past. In order for DC Talk to be anything of the future, it will be up to each individual member to come together to create something that is lasting and substantial. There is an audience out there interested in seeing DC Talk back together as a group and as an entertaining and creative force, but I feel that the spirit of the thing is dead. I appreciated the time that we had together those many years, and I thank God many times over for allowing me to be a part of something that was so far reaching and helped so many people, but to be honest, just doing a show to do a show is not interesting to me. It must be thought out, creative and passionate.”

DC Talk reunited to perform a song on the album Let’s Roll about the events on September 11, 2001, on TobyMac’s second album Welcome to Diverse City (They appeared on the song “Atmosphere (Remix)”), and also on Kevin Max’s album The Blood in the song “The Cross”.

Toby Mac’s solo music differs from DC Talk’s rock-based musical style, leaning toward a more urban, hip hop sound. His sound is much more reminiscent of what was heard when dc Talk originally started out, on the albums, DC Talk, Nu Thang and Free At Last.

McKeehan composed and recorded the song “Extreme Days” for the 2001 Truth Builder Productions film Extreme Days. The song was subsequently featured on the 2001 debut Toby Mac album Momentum and was used in the movie, Hangman’s Curse, based on the popular book by Frank Peretti. McKeehan also composed and performed the song “New World” for the album Music Inspired by the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. His song “The Slam” was featured in the film Never Back Down, advertisements for the films Transporter 2, Aeon Flux, and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, as well as advertisements for the television show Prison Break. The song was also featured in car commercials, men’s NCAA clips, NBA Finals (Miami Heat, 2006), World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) programming, NFL Football commercials, and “The Ultimate Highlight” on Sportscenter. “Diverse City” was featured in the Veronica Mars episode, The Wrath of Con. Ohio Valley Wrestling performer Matt Cappotelli (who currently is unable to perform due to a brain tumor) uses “The Slam” as his entrance theme. Many more of Toby’s songs have also been used in commercials. “Atmosphere” was used in a Volvo car commercial, “Burn For You” was used for cinnamon gum commercials (as well as on a Dr. Phil advertisement), “Ignition” is being used by ABC/ESPN to promote its coverage of NASCAR, and “Boomin’” has also been used to promote a new crime-drama, The Women’s Murder Club, on ABC, as well as others. His song “Get This Party Started” was featured on an episode of the TV show Roswell. His songs “Yours”, “Extreme Days”, “Get This Party Started”, and “Momentum” were all recently featured in the Xbox 360 video game Crackdown. In September 2007, his song “Feelin’ So Fly” appeared in the film The Game Plan starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. In the recent movie Never Back Down Toby’s song “The Slam” is featured in the main fight scene. Tampa Bay Rays player Ben Zobrist used “Ignition” as his entrance song when he came up to bat for the 2008 season and the first few games of the 2009 season (he has since switched it to a song by his wife). Recently, “Ignition” received worldwide exposure when it was used as the Arizona Cardinals entrance music during the pre-game of Super Bowl XLIII.

Portable Sounds sold 50,645 copies in its first week, debuting at #10 on the Billboard 200, and at #1 on the SoundScan Contemporary Christian Overall chart. The album also received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album. The songs “Made to Love” and “I’m For You” both hit #1 and were the second and third most played songs on Christian Hit Radio stations in 2007.

Toby’s fourth studio release is expected to be released February 10, 2010. The album’s single is entitled “City On Our Knees”. The released date for “City On Our Knees” was August 14. “City On Our Knees” went number 1 on Hot Christian Songs and 55 on Music overall. Chris Stevens and Dave Wyatt will join Toby in producing the album. They also joined Toby in the production of his 2007 release, Portable Sounds. Truett, aka TruDog, Toby’s oldest son, will once again be featured on at least one song like the previous albums. The album is expected to be a mix of pop, rock, hip-hop, and funk, a lot like Portable Sounds. The only other known song aside from the single Get Back Up, is Captured. It is unknown if it will be a single or not. According to Toby’s Twitter account, Chris Stevens will be producing Captured while Toby’s touring guitarist, Tim Roseanu, aka Timmy Rose, will be playing guitar on the track.

TobyMac has written two books with Michael Tait and Kevin Max entitled, Jesus Freaks: DC Talk and The Voice of the Martyrs – Stories of Those Who Stood for Jesus, the Ultimate Jesus Freaks, and, Jesus Freaks: Revolutionaries: Stories of Revolutionaries Who Changed Their World: Fearing God, Not Man (Jesus Freaks). These books are mainly focused on Christian martyrs. Toby Mac has also written two more books with Michael Tait, one titled, “Under God,” containing stories of America’s spiritual battles, and another book called, “Living Under God: Discovering Your Part In God’s Plan.”

TobyMac is also the president of the record label Gotee Records. Gotee features artists such as DJ Maj, Relient K and John Reuben. However, as a recording artist, TobyMac is under contract with ForeFront Records.

Listen and learn more about tobyMac at MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/tobymac

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Although various rock predecessors have examined spiritual issues – U2, Van Morrison, and Bob Dylan immediately come to mind – dc Talk has taken the notion to new lengths, both in commercial terms and depth of artistic exploration. Numerous Dove Awards, three Grammy Awards, one multi-platinum album, two platinum albums, two gold albums and two gold-certified long-form videos attest to the group’s ability to bridge the wall between religious and secular audiences. “We’re very open about our Christian faith,” says Toby McKeehan, “but when we make our records we want to create a musical experience that anyone can immerse themselves in. One of our goals is to encourage listeners to question themselves and to seek out truth.”

But McKeehan and his dc Talk partners Michael Tait and Kevin Max have more far-reaching goals than just marrying lyrical correctness to music. The smoldering “Consume Me”, from their 1997 album Supernatural, expresses spiritual devotion in intimate terms. “We view our relationship with God as very personal,” says McKeehan, “and some people might get upset because the relationship in ‘Consume Me’ is so passionate and real, rather than ritualistic. We wrote this as a spiritual song because to us, faith is a passionate, personal, committed love relationship with Jesus Christ.” “Yeah, part of us is message-oriented; another part is entertainment driven,” says Kevin Max. “I’d like the music to make an impact on as many levels as possible,” admits Michael Tait. “If that sounds like a lofty, ambitious goal, that’s okay. If one person likes the way it sounds, and another likes what the lyrics are saying, both are valid and both are important.”

After relocating to Nashville, dc Talk released a series of increasingly ambitious and successful albums, beginning with their self-titled 1989 debut; followed by their gold-certified 1990 sophomore album Nu Thang; the platinum-certified 1992 opus Free At Last; 1995’s Jesus Freak, a double-platinum watershed which afforded the group more mainstream success than ever before; as well as 1997’s platinum-selling Supernatural. In addition to their recordings, live performance has been a crucial part of the dc Talk story, and the group’s fiery on-stage delivery earned them respect from virtually all quarters. “Live music is what being a musician is all about,” says Max; “When you perform a song live, that’s when you really begin to understand the song’s meaning.” Tait adds ‘when you yourself are having as much fun -if not more- than the audience, that’s the essence of a live show.”

Whether forging strong bonds with concert audiences, or expressing their faith in the recording studio, dc Talk strives to treat their listeners as equals, rather than receptors. McKeehan says, “We want to make music that encourages people to think about the things we think about spiritual issues and truth.” Max adds, “Just as we all share the idea of caring and conscience, we also share the hunger to find truth and meaning in life.”

Visit dc Talk’s MySpace page:
http://www.myspace.com/dctalk

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Hip-hop artist Kaboose is poised to unleash his Syntax Records debut entitled Excuse Me on October 14th. Armed with only a microphone and the Syntax in-house production team, the Minnesota emcee serves up 15 heaters – all full of the unapologetic truth.

While it’s his first full-length album on Syntax Records, this is far from an introduction. Through years of pounding the pavement as a full-time emcee and his national appearances on the Night Owls series, he has already built a strong fan base that is more than ready for Excuse Me.

“In all honesty, it felt refreshing to go in the studio, because I knew it was finally my time,” Kaboose says. “Once Executive Producer Tim Trudeau and I got rolling, everything just fell into place. I feel like I was able to get out what was inside of me and am very pleased with the outcome.”

That outcome is a brave journey as told only through the eyes of this hip-hop soldier. Every aspect of this album was met with excellence including the artwork inside.

“The creative direction for Excuse Me goes far beyond that of previous releases in both consistency and depth,” says Syntax Records Creative Director Ian Polanco. “From the very beginning of this project, it was decided that the artwork would play an integral part in everything including the marketing. In an age of digital downloads, there needs to be an incentive for you to buy the hard copy. We’re going to offer you that incentive.”

Kaboose comes into his own on Excuse Me and brings a very special guest along with him, hip-hop veteran Royce da 5′9″. The rapper, who’s worked with Emimen and toured with Mobb Deep, collaborates on the song “Goin Outta Control”, which is also the first single.

“It was phenomenal working with Royce. We were able to really chop it up about the track and also about life in general,” Kaboose says. “I have much love and respect for this legend.”

A thin guest list of three is completed by the addition of labelmates RedCloud and MaxOne. With stellar production by sirROCDOMZ, Shane Newville and Tommy Percival, Excuse Me is a refined and focused release that is destined to stick out in an over-saturated music culture.

Excuse Me hits the street October 14, 2008. The album marks a banner year for Syntax Records, the label that also recently released a new project from Braille and is set to release the fifth installment in the compilation series Night Owls.

View Kaboose’s MySpace page:
http://www.myspace.com/kaboose

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