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» Add News | Apollo Brown and Ras Kass
Apollo Brown is different than most producers. He grew up on the Seals & Crofts—not The Isley Brothers—version of Summer Breeze. Born into a bi-racial family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, his early influences skewed more toward the music of Journey and the Carpenters than the urban genres his peers often cite as inspiration. This is not to say that once hip-hop came into play, Apollo wasn’t all in. Just as easily as he can praise the virtues of yacht rock, the 29-year-old beatsmith can name personal heroes—Gang Starr, Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, M.O.P., Nas, and Black Moon—from the early 9 ...read more
Apollo Brown is different than most producers. He grew up on the Seals & Crofts—not The Isley Brothers—version of Summer Breeze. Born into a bi-racial family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, his early influences skewed more toward the music of Journey and the Carpenters than the urban genres his peers often cite as inspiration. This is not to say that once hip-hop came into play, Apollo wasn’t all in. Just as easily as he can praise the virtues of yacht rock, the 29-year-old beatsmith can name personal heroes—Gang Starr, Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, M.O.P., Nas, and Black Moon—from the early 90s period in which, for him, beats and rhymes became life.
Apollo began making his own music in 1996 using now-archaic Voyetra audio software, then upgraded to Cool Edit 2000 in becoming a self-described bedroom beat-maker for roughly the next eight years. After graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in business administration, he moved to the west side of Detroit and immersed himself in the local hip-hop community, forming the Black Day in July production crew with high school classmate and Wu-Tang affiliate Bronze Nazareth. When the pair branched off into individual work, Apollo relocated to the east side of the Motor City and continued to build before becoming disenchanted with music and stepping away from production for two years.
It was the mid-2000s, and the upstart producer saw no future for his work—work he had dedicated his life to—in an industry where radio was setting a formulaic pattern for mainstream music. But he eventually began to miss the creativity in his craft and began producing once again, releasing the instrumental albums Skilled Trade (2007) and Make Do (2009). Apollo was soon in high demand, collaborating with Detroiters Finale, Magestik Legend, Danny Brown, Paradime, and Kam Moye aka Supastition. He went on in 2009 to win the Detroit Red Bull Big Tune Championships and competed in the national finals. Apollo then signed as a producer with the Mello Music Group in December of 2009, having left Michigan in late 2007 to take a position as a property inspector in Cleveland, Ohio. A week after signing, he was laid off from his job.
'Beautiful' was Apollo’s reaction, as he viewed the layoff as a blessing and prepared for what he terms his "one-year plan". Starting things off will be The Reset, a series of reworked tracks in true remix tradition, with new music and arrangements for verses by Rapper Big Pooh of Little Brother, Black Milk, MED, Grap Luva, labelmates Kenn Starr, Oddisee, and Diamond District, along with a host of others.
Next up was Brown Study with Boog Brown which features Miz Korona, Invincible, Kam Moye, and Kenn Starr. When the long-awaited Gas Mask LP by The Left with Dj Soko and MC Journalist 103 took the stage in late October 2010 Apollo cemented his place as one of the games best new producers.
Then early in 2011 Apollo released his first Mello Music Group instrumental album, Clouds, and dominated best of lists at the end of the year. 2011 also saw the release of the album Daily Bread, with Rochester, New York MC Hassaan Mackey.
After taking just under a year off to create a new masterpiece, Apollo released his biggest album to date with the legendary O.C. of D.I.T.C. entitled Trophies. The internet again became abuzz with talk of album of the year. Never one to rest on his laurels, Apollo spent the next 7 months both campaigning for Trophies and putting together another album, Dice Game, with Motor City compatriot Guilty Simpson. The result of his intense immersion in his work was yet another year with two albums (Dice Game and Trophies) ending up on people’s Best of 2012 lists.
Apollo’s credo is simple: "Everything I make, I try to make it my favorite album of all time".
John Austin IV,(born September 25, 1976 in Carson, California), is better known by his stage name Ras Kass. He released his debut album Soul on Ice in 1996. The album built up considerable hype through the release of several independent singles, including 'Remain Anonymous' and 'Won’t Catch Me Runnin’". Soul on Ice saw little commercial success but was adored by the hip-hop underground, which appreciated both his sharp battle rhymes and his militant Afrocentricity. The latter also caused controversy due to the songs 'Ordo Abchao' and 'Nature of the Threat', which were tracks detailing the history of white-on-black racism, the latter lasting for well over seven minutes and likely his best-known song. Some claimed that Ras was extreme to the point of racism against Caucasians.
Ras Kass made a big push to make sure his second album Rasassination was commercially successful. As well as securing guest appearances from Xzibit and the Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA, he received considerable assistance from superstar West Coast producer Dr. Dre, who rhymed on the lead single 'Ghetto Fabulous', the video for which was supported by an extravagant video shot on a luxury yacht.
The album contained some of his most intellectual material to date ('Interview With A Vampire', a theological and spiritual exploration that featured Ras rhyming from the perspectives of God, himself, and the Devil) and occasionally addressed very personal subject matter ('It Is What It Is', concerning his relationship with his mother). Despite the single, his album didn’t sell well.
Ras Kass’ third album Van Gogh was originally intended for release in 2001. However, the nearly-finished album was leaked onto the internet months before the release date. It received excellent reviews,but the bootlegging caused his label Priority Records to push the release date back twice before the record was eventually shelved indefinitely. This further worsened the relationship between the label and Ras Kass, which was already strained due to disputes over several things, including the level of promotion Ras was being given, and the alleged block of the Columbia/SME Records release of his supergroup Golden State Warriors’ debut album. The unreleased Van Gogh album even featured the lyrics "Fuck Priority Records, like Prince I’m writing SLAVE on my cheek" (this was later fulfilled as Ras Kass appeared in popular hip hop magazine XXL with SLAVE written on his face).
The relationship between Ras and Priority reached breaking point when the label also shelved the intended Van Gogh replacement Goldyn Chyld, an album that featured tracks from Van Gogh as well as new material. The indefinite postponement was due to a dispute over the lead single: Ras wanted to release the DJ Premier-produced title track, while Priority wanted a Dr. Dre-produced track, against the wishes of both Ras and Dre. This prompted Ras to launch a Free Ras Kass campaign (supported by an on-line petition and T-shirts) to gain his release from his contract with the label.
In February 2004, Ras Kass went on the run from the authorities after a warrant was issued following an arrest for reckless driving. He then gave himself up during Memorial Day Weekend in May of that year. While incarcerated, he organized the independent release of a mixtape titled Re-Up, which featured himself and other artists. Priority Records unsuccessfully attempted to block this release. In the 2004 song 'Rise of the Machines', (which featured Ras) Vinnie Paz, front man of the hip-hop group Jedi Mind Tricks showed where he stood on the issue by saying the words "free Ras Kass" on the track. In July 2004, Ras filed a lawsuit against Priority Records, Capitol Records, and EMI in protest to his treatment by the label and claimed breach of contract in an attempt to have the mixtape nullified. Ras was denied his release from his recording contract with Priority/Capitol/EMI Records in January 2007, even though Priority was absorbed by Capitol during 2004.
The HRSMN was a collaboration between four emcees: Canibus, Ras Kass, Kurupt, and Killah Priest. Together the group released one album called The Horsemen Project during 2003 on Think Differently Music/Proverbs/Babygrande Records. Since that release, fans wait for another album. Although some members of the group kept calling it the Four Horsemen, Canibus always had the idea to add more people and form some kind of hip hop supergroup. A lot of names have been mentioned in the past, such as Pharaohe Monch, Kool G Rap, Pac-Man, Young Zee, Chino XL, Royce Da 5’9”, Journalist, Lyrisick, Common, Rakim, Pace Won, Keith Murray, Vinnie Paz, Lonnie B, Danja Mowf, and Crooked I. None of these emcees were made a member of the group (though some artists on this list were featured on tracks) « hide |
Similar Bands: The Left, Guilty Simpson, Ugly Heroes, Chino XL, Killah Priest Contributors: Deviant.,
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