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RPL-SoundparlorInterview

London’s Apex Zero, one half of First and Last who describes his style as “neo-hardcore tru skool hip hop” came up through the city’s live scene, notably the End of the Weak and Speaker’s Corner events.

It’s only in recent years he’s turned his focus on the recording side, initially as part of First and Last and then releasing his mixtape “The Pulse of the Awakening” in 2012 ahead of his debut solo album “Reality Provoking Liberation” which releases on 28th October 2013.

This young emcee and producer has taken his time to study renowned figures in music and public life. With eclectic listening tastes that range from John Coltrane to Rage Against the Machine to Motown, he has been influenced by the lyricism of Tupac, Wu Tang, Immortal Technique, Dead Prez, Nas and fellow British artists Skinnyman, Klashnekoff. With a personal interest in figures such as Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey & Huey Newton, and having studied socialist philosophy, politics and African history, his style is comparable to contemporaries such as Lowkey, Triple Darkness, Melanin 9 and Akala

American online magazine Soundparlor took time out recently to speak with Apex Zero about his early days & influences, his goals and challenges he faces and his new album

The feature acts as an excellent insight into the key inspirations for this young artist, the mindset and thought process behind his music with some surprising twists & turns added into the mix. Read the whole interview HERE

Apex Zero will be premiering his new single “A Meeting of the Continents” on US online The Rap Up on Tuesday 27th August, and the track features Hasan Salaam and the newest member of London’s Triple Darkness crew, Iron Braydz.

From the album, he has already released several videos, most recently “Chaotic Revolt”

Look out for much more news on this release over the next few months. Any media, press or dj inquiries can be addressed to UrbanElite PR HERE

Follow Apex Zero on twitter @ApexZero00 and the magazine @_soundparlor_

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SoulOnFire-ClashMag

The new Rapture & Verse hip hop column written by Matt Oliver is live today in the UK’s Clash Magazine

In what’s been a huge summer of record releases & tours, the column is a summary of the month’s hottest news, mixtapes, videos and albums from around the world. This month includes coverage of Nas, Drake, Riff Raff, Eminem, Earl Sweatshirt, Breaking the Illusion, Meek Mill, Dr Zygote, Cappo, G Frsh, Chaotik Stylz, Del the Funky Homosapien, Tony Touch and many more, including news on the new Soul on Fire album by Los Angeles (via North Carolina) emcee EtheMadAssassin.

Releasing on 17th September, the contemporary production combined with powerful lyricism – all still drawing from key elements of the Golden Era in which he started performing – is drawing plaudits for its style & approach

The piece is summarized:

“Carolina native Ethemadassassin spits unequivocally with gruffness reminiscent of a Rasco or Bun B. Definitely not a believer in dead air, ‘Soul On Fire’ is a belly-burning blaze needing no second invitation to be stoked. Two beats to have you picking up dumbbells, and soul samples resting easy so ETMA can sharpen his bluntness – ‘80s and ‘90s’ letting splash misty-eyed twinkles, ‘Crazy’ a cool Cadillac spin – the Veteran Assassin exudes an air that you’re gonna have to earn the right to get past him.”

Read the whole column HERE

This week he launched his new single “80’s & 90’s” produced by the UK’s SciFi Stu with whom he has recorded the future Veteran Assassins LP.

Check the video for Can’t Get Enough

Follow E on twitter @EtheMadAssassin and the magazine @Clash_Music

Any djs requiring clean / radio edit mp3s of these tracks, or any press & media with inquiries about the release, should contact UrbanElite PR HERE

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SoulOnFire-RapEssence

Los Angeles / Greensboro artist ethemadassassin launched his new video today “Can’t Get Enough” produced by Wonder Boy

It was premiered by The Rap Up, and you can see what the guys there had to say about it HERE

Coincidentally, Stateside online Rap Essence are the latest to give his new album “Soul on Fire” the once over, in their track by track analysis. Releasing on 17th September, it includes production from the UK’s Sci Fi Stu, France’s Kyo Itachi, and stateside producers Wonder Boy (who takes the credits for Can’t Get Enough), Gav Beats, Akthentik Works and Devaron Benjamin, with a feature from fellow Veteran Assassin member Veteran Eye as well as Buck Hennessey and Sherman Way

The review reflects the different rock, soul and hip hop flavas present throughout thanks to the production samples, and also breaks it down as to E’s own subject matter, delivery and wordplay.

Afforded a 4 / 5 rating, read the whole review HERE

Meantime, check out the video

All media & press with enquiries regarding the album, or djs looking for the full quality clean mp3 of this track, should contact UrbanElite PR HERE

Meanwhile, you can keep up to date with everyone on twitter via @ethemadassassin, Wonder Boy at @_NazarMark_, or connect with @TheRapUp and @Rap_Essence

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With just over a week and a half to go until the general public release of Melanin 9’s debut album Magna Carta on 3rd December, one of the UK’s leading online specialists for hip hop & rap music, Hip Hop Kings, is the latest to give the release their endorsement.

HHK regularly present exclusive freestyle and interview filmed content, are involved with some of the live events taking place in the north of England, and of course cover reviews, latest video and single releases and more

“There’s no doubt that Magna Carta is one of the most soulful, heartfelt and honest pieces of music Ive heard in a long time” begins the review

Its this aspect of Melanin 9 as an artist, combined with his wordplay and lyricism that has established him as one of the most respected UK emcees, and has earned much media attention to this release

The review summarizes :

“The support I’ve seen M9 receive is a testament to the quality of Magna Carta, and his decision to be truthful with his music and the direction of this album. I will be using this album as a reference to U.K Hip-Hop for many years to come, as certain elements of the music are unrivalled by M9’s peers”

Read the whole review HERE

The review comes hard on the heels of the launch of his new video “White Russian” featuring Roc Marciano, produced by Anatomy, and premiered on New York’s Nah Right

This Friday also sees his album launch night upstairs at The Vibe Bar, 91 Brick Lane, London where he’ll be joined by DJ 279, Genesis Elijah, Rewd Adams, Iron Braydz,Cyrus Malachi, Logic, Phoenix da Icefire and Skrblah Dangogh. Entry is £5.00, nearest tube Aldgate East, 18 + over

You can also hear him live on Guess Radio in London from 7.30pm GMT / 2.30pm EST with DJ Sammy Jay on the Xposure show at http://www.guessradio.co.uk Thursday 22nd November.

You can order CD versions of the album via http://m9ether.bandcamp.com

Follow him on twitter @Melanin_9 and Hip Hop Kings @HHKDotCom

Any further press, media or dj / radio station enquiries about the release can be addressed to UrbanElite PR HERE

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Props to Eskay and his team at Nah Right in New York

Nah Right have today, 20th November, premiered the new official video by London’s Melanin 9 ft Roc Marciano “White Russian”, produced by Anatomy

Taken from the album Magna Carta which releases on 3rd December, with CD versions available by pre – order via http://m9ether.bandcamp.com

Its rare for a UK hip hop artist to receive this level of Stateside support, however Melanin 9 has already featured in The Source last week via his performance for SBTV’s SkooledBy series, and with coverage coming in key UK publications MOJO and Q Magazine, it’s testament to his skills as a lyricist and wordsmith, and refreshing to see it being recognized at such a wide level

Check the video on Nah Right HERE

Follow them on twitter @Melanin_9 @RocMarci and @NahRight

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London’s Melanin 9 will be launching his new video “White Russian” featuring Roc Marciano & produced by Anatomy on Tuesday 20th November 2012

New York’s renowned online portal for rap & hip hop music Nah Right will be premiering at 4pm GMT (11am EST) www.nahright.com

Taken from his debut album “Magna Carta” which drops on 3rd December, M9 has enjoyed a lot of international media attention on the release, and his freestyle for performance for SBTV’s new SkooledBy Series went live on the internet on Monday 12th November. It was subsequently picked up by The Source Magazine in the United States

His new video interview with Blatantly Blunt has just been aired today

Currently named as The Guestlist Network’s “Album of the Month”, expect to see a lot more media coverage in the weeks ahead including MOJO and Q Magazine

Meanwhile, Roc Marciano has just released his eagerly anticipated new album Reloaded on Decon Records

The Magna Carta album launch party takes place Upstairs at The Vibe Bar, 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL on Friday 23rd November. 8pm – 1am, £5 entry (18 +), nearest tube is Aldgate East. He’ll be joined by Choice FM’s DJ 279, Host for the night Iron Braydz, and there will be further performances from Genesis Elijah, Rewd Adams, Cyrus Malachi, Logic, Phoenix da Icefire & Skriblah Dangogh. There will also be live graff and Caribbean food on offer – all the details are at the FB event page HERE

The album in CD format can be pre-ordered at http://m9ether.bandcamp.com

So be sure to check it out this coming Tuesday, 20th November at 4pm GMT / 11am EST, the video launch of Melanin 9 “White Russian” featuring Roc Marciano via www.nahright.com

Artists on twitter @Melanin_9 and @RocMarci Nah Right on twitter @NahRight

For further media & press enquiries about Melanin 9’s release, contact UrbanElite PR HERE

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London’s Melanin 9 sat down with Nick from UK online magazine Blatantly Blunt recently ahead of the release of his new album Magna Carta which drops on 3rd December

In this video interview, he speaks on starting out as an emcee, the inspiration he draws from politics, social justice, the Black Panther and Civil Rights Movement, reading and the broad spectrum of life to write.

He acknowledges the influence played by artists such as Wu Tang, Nas, Jay Electronica, producers Pete Rock, DJ Premier and Hi Tek and reveals who he’d like to work with in the future, as well as his thoughts on operating as an independent artist and new plans with Triple Darkness.

Its an excellent insight into how Melanin 9 operates, and also addresses the general saturation of music on the internet compared to a more methodical traditional approach to releasing videos, singles and albums

Check it out

His new video “White Russian” will be released on Tuesday 20th November, details to follow very shortly

The album launch party takes place on Friday 23rd November upstairs at The Vibe Bar, 91 Brick Lane London E1 6QL. 8pm – 1am, £5 entry and 18 + event, nearest tube is Aldgate East approximately 5 minutes away. Joining him will be Host Iron Braydz, DJ 279 and there will be further performances by Genesis Elijah, Rewd Adams, Cyrus Malachi, Logic, Phoenix da Icefire and Skriblah Dangogh

Pre order CD versions of the album directly from http://m9ether.bandcamp.com

Any further press or general media enquiries about the release should be sent to UrbanElite PR HERE

Keep up to date with him on twitter @Melanin_9 and Nick and the guys @BlatantlyBlunt

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Anyone involved in the UK scene will know all about Jamal Edwards’ SBTV, one of the leading Youth Broadcasters online platforms

He has just developed his latest SkooledBy Series, dedicated to hip hop emcees going back to the classic Golden Era all the way up to the present day, celebrating and showcasing the people who laid the foundations for the next generation.

We know the names he’s filmed so far and it will DEFINITELY be a series worth keeping an eye on. All of it will be brand new footage

Only the 2nd episode was launched to the internet today and features London’s Melanin 9 going in hard with some barz exclusive for the station

His album Magna Carta is on general release from 3rd December, but can be pre-ordered in CD format from http://m9ether.bandcamp.com

Currently Guestlist Network’s “Album of the Month”, there will be a lot more media coverage on this release in the weeks ahead

His album launch party will take place upstairs at The Vibe Bar, 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL 8pm – 1am on Friday 23rd November. Entry is £5.00 and as well as performing himself, he will be joined by host Iron Braydz, DJ 279 from Choice FM, and there will be further performances by Genesis Elijah, Cyrus Malachi, Rewd Adams, Logic, Phoenix da Icefire & Skriblah Dangogh

Keep up to date with him on twitter @Melanin_9 for more news on the release, live dates and radio appearances, and link up with SBTV on twitter @sbtvonline

Any media / press enquiries about the release can be addressed to UrbanElite PR HERE

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