Hieroglyphics Co-Founder Casual Celebrates 20-Year Anniversary of Fear Itself with Tour & Remastered Instrumentals
Casual to Perform His Classic Album Fear Itself in its Entirety on National Tour
04.16.2014
News:
Hieroglyphics co-founder, who is considered to be one of your favorite rappers’ most respected rappers, Casual, is kicking off the 20 year celebration of his formidable and influential album Fear Itself by announcing a commemorative tour where he will perform the original album in its entirety. He is also releasing a digitally remastered version of the instrumentals. Respected and recognized as one of the most skilled and versatile rappers, his Fear Itself debut was responsible not only for introducing Casual’s dizzying rhyme styles to the world-at-large, but also for strengthening the foothold of his crew in an age when few equated lyrical hip-hop with the West Coast.
Fear Itself is also widely-recognized for its richly-layered and jazzy beats, many of which were produced by Casual himself. The sample selection and arrangement led to the album being cited as one of the “Top 20-plus Hip Hop Albums of All Time from a Beat Fanatics Perspective” in a 1995 column in Rap Pages, which was one of the few hip hop magazines with nationwide distribution during that pre-internet era. Even with a coveted 4-mic rating in The Source and a strong debut at #104 on Billboard’s Pop Album Charts, the label (Jive Records) never quite gave the album the boost it deserved to catapult Casual to the success many had predicted. Still, Fear Itself quickly gained a cult status to a wide range of hip hop enthusiasts, and was later ranked at #15 of The Most Slept-On Albums of All-Time in The Source in 2011. Casual’s lyrical stylings kept listeners on edge with his never-predictable internal rhyme schemes, and many eventually associated the album with a freestyle battle on KMEL’s “The Wake Up Show” against Saafir that is often mentioned among the most memorable battles in rap history.
Not long after finishing high school in 1992, Casual was able to showcase his already-polished talent to several label execs and A&Rs, and a bidding war ensued. Bypassing Elektra (where his co-hort Del Tha Funkee Homosapien was signed), he eventually chose Jive Records, which was not only where his Hiero crewmates Souls Of Mischief had signed, but was also home to Too $hort, KRS-ONE, and A Tribe Called Quest. The album was finished by February 1993, and the anticipation of the album would swell nationwide thanks to the lead single “That’s How It Is,” widely-traded freestyle recordings from Stretch and Bobbito’s WKCR radio show in New York, and his appearances both rapping and producing on Del’s No Need for Alarm and Souls of Mischief’s 93 Til Infinity albums. Despite a tepid promotional campaign by Jive and numerous delays, Fear Itself would finally be released in June 1994.
In commemoration of the anniversary, Casual, joined by the rest of the Hieroglyphics crew, will host an official celebration in San Francisco at Brick & Mortar, Saturday April 19. A tour throughout the U.S. performing the album will follow in May and June, with a European tour coming in Fall 2014.
Fear Itself 20 Year Anniversary Tour Dates:
April 20th – @Brooktrails Lodge – Willits, CA
April 26 – @19th Broadway – Fairfax, CA
May 2nd – @Chrome Lotus – Santa Rosa, CA
May 3rd – @The Back Bar – San Jose, CA
May 4th – @The Catalyst – Santa Cruz, CA
May 11th – @Crocodile Cafe – Seattle, WA
May 15th – @The Palace Lounge – Missoula, MT
May 17th – @Cervantes Masterpiece – Denver, CO
May 21st – @Pub Rock – Scottsdale, AZ
May 22nd – @Green Room – Flagstaff, AZ
May 23rd – @Plush – Tucson, AZ
June 13th – @Coopers – Nevada City, CA
August 9th – @Shambhala Music Festival – Salmo, Canada
Purchase Tickets here: http://www.hieroglyphics.com/events
Buy the Instrumental Album here: http://casual1.bandcamp.com/album/fear-itself-instrumentals
Please contact Michelle or Rory if interested in talking with Casual.
Casual Background:
Casual first made his mark at the 1992 Gavin Convention when he, Souls of Mischief, Pharaohe, Monche, and Kurious broke into a spontaneous cipher that left heads speechless. By the time he returned home, his answering machine was maxed-out with messages from different A&R’s. He ultimately signed to Jive Records in 1994 and released his critically acclaimed debut LP Fear Itself. Despite being under-promoted, the album sold well and was awarded a rare 4 mics score from The Source Magazine. However, Casual’s frustration at the lack of creative control and under-promotion led him to leave the label. Together, with Del The Funky Homosapien, Souls of Mischief, Pep Love, and Domino, Casual established one of the first and most successful indie hip-hop companies of all time, Hiero Imperium, in 1997. Now, Casual has returned to Fear Itself’s 20th anniversary, announcing a commemorative tour where he will perform the original album in its entirety.
Links:
official site | twitter | facebook | youtube | instagram
Fear Itself – Remastered Instrumentals: http://casual1.bandcamp.com/album/fear-itself-instrumentals
Fear Itself: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/fear-itself/id284047531
He Still Think He Raw: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/he-still-think-he-raw/id522952719
Respect Games or Expect Flames: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/respect-game-or-expect-flames/id549250970
He Think He #Rapgod: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/he-think-he-rapgod/id482833276
Bio, pictures & streams available here: http://www.audibletreats.com/hieroglyphics/