Audible Treats at 13: E-40, T.I., Mike WiLL Made It, Kreayshawn, Young Dolph, and Many Others
Our 200th Podcast Is an Engaging Glimpse Into the Rap Game’s Evolution Since The Days Before YouTube, SoundCloud and WorldStar
3.27.2017
The Podcast
13 years ago in March 2004, Audible Treats promoted its first single: Boston rapper Edo G’s song, “Wishing,” featuring Masta Ace, produced by the legendary Pete Rock, which was a Bush-era protest song that remains shockingly relevant today. Three presidents, three Popes, and three Sean Combs name changes later, our company is stronger than ever, pushing great music from hot young newcomers and experienced veterans. From the conscious positivity of Talib Kweli to the paranoid street rap of Maxo Kream, from the ill mind of Hopsin to the ghost rides of E-40, Audible Treats was there, navigating the new rap language with our digital savvy. Our story is not just the story of a mom-and-pop shop becoming one of the Hip-Hop industry’s most respected marketing and publicity firms, it is the story of the Internet’s evolving relationship with rap music.
Here are some of our most memorable career highlights:
- Before YouTube became the premier destination for videos on the web, websites and publicists hosted their own promo servers to stream new songs and videos. In 2006, we hosted the first video stream for E-40’s smash hit “Tell Me When to Go,” which drew over a million viewers, crashing our servers in the process.
- In 2007, T-Pain forever changed the sound of rap music with his massive, infectious auto-tuned hooks. When we worked his platinum album Epiphany, we serviced and delivered a promotional widget for fans’ Myspace pages (Myspace! LOL) that allowed fans to play the video for “Buy U A Drank,” stream a snippet of the whole album, watch a short interview with the artist, and view several photos. All on their own Myspace pages! But Myspace wasn’t the only game in town: the widget could be used on long-dead services such as Imeem, Bebo, and even Friendster, to help push our artists in the nascent social media landscape.
- We engineered one of the first YouTube dance contests in 2006 for Huey‘s classic “Pop Lock & Drop It.” Thousands of fans participated for the chance to win a new HDTV and surround sound system by submitting dance responses to Huey’s challenge, hosted on our YouTube channel. The winning video had nearly one million views and the viral contest propelled Huey’s hit to the Billboard Top 10.
- Before SoundCloud provided the ability for artists to host millions of songs with little to no loading time, sharing MP3s was a clumsier affair. For our campaign for Too $hort’s famous “Blow The Whistle,” we serviced and pitched blogs with Real Audio and Windows Media streams. Remember those? Us neither.
- In 2012, we helped Mike WiLL Made It earn his first cover story in Billboard Magazine. Since then, Mike has become one of the most popular and in-demand producers in the music industry.
- Our longest-standing professional relationship is with Bay Area rap collective Hieroglyphics. We ran campaigns for Souls of Mischief, Opio, Tajai, APlus, Casual, and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien over the years, and since 2012, we’ve celebrated 9/3 as Hiero Day, as officially recognized by the mayor of Oakland.
- Our client Kreayshawn scored one of the most popular and controversial rap hits of the 21st century when she dropped “Gucci Gucci,” an infectious screed against basics that gained rapturous critical acclaim and gained over 57 million views on YouTube.
The brainchild of Michelle McDevitt, our President, and Marketing Director Gavin Rhodes, who founded the company after graduating with Master’s Degrees from New York University, Audible Treats has shaped the careers of hundreds of artists big and small. Joined today by a sharp and motivated staff, including Senior Publicist Dharmic X, Junior Publicist Isabel Li, Marketing/Publicity Assistant Dan Cobert (a fellow NYU alum), and our interns, Mike Orent and John Henry Frankel, Audible Treats is a small and mighty operation dedicated to getting the most out of our clients’ publicity campaigns.
To celebrate our 13th birthday, we are happy to share the special 200th episode of the Audible Treats Podcast. Super-sized and packed with the greatest hits from our client roster, our podcast runs the gamut of styles and personalities. Focusing mainly on the past 5 years of music, with older hits sprinkled in, the songs featured on this podcast combined for hundreds of millions of YouTube views and made a considerable mark on Hip-Hop culture. Featuring recent smashes like Fat Joe & Remy Ma‘s “All The Way Up” and throwback jams like Roach Gigz’ “Can I Rap,” the 200th episode of our podcast is our birthday gift to you. We look forward to celebrating many more milestones with you.
Listen to Audible Treats Podcast Episode 200: https://soundcloud.com/audibletreats/audible-treats-hip-hop-podcast-200
Subscribe to the Audible Treats Hip-Hop Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/audible-treats-hip-hop-podcast/id111088410?mt=2
Audible Treats Podcast Episode 200 Tracklist:
- Edo G – “Wishing” feat. Masta Ace (prod. by Pete Rock)
- Sage The Gemini – “Gas Pedal” feat. Iamsu!
- T.I. – “Check, Run It”
- E-40 – “Tell Me When To Go” feat. Keak Da Sneak
- Young Dolph – “Royalty”
- Mike WiLL Made It – “23” feat. Miley Cyrus, Wiz Khalifa, & Juicy J
- Hopsin – “Ill Mind Of Hopsin 5”
- Roach Gigz – “Can I Rap?”
- Too $hort – “Blow The Whistle”
- YFN Lucci – “Key To The Streets” feat. Migos & Trouble
- Eric Bellinger – “Black Beatles (Cover)”
- T-Pain – “Bartender” feat. Akon
- Ralo – “My Brothers” feat. Future
- Nelly – “Party People” feat. Fergie
- Kreayshawn – “Gucci Gucci”
- Black Milk – “Sound The Alarm”
- Maxo Kream – “Big Worm”
- Fat Joe & Remy Ma – “All The Way Up” feat. French Montana & Infared
Please contact Michelle, Gavin, or Dharmic for more info.
Links:
Subscribe to the Audible Treats Hip-Hop Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/audible-treats-hip-hop-podcast/id111088410?mt=2
Episode 200: https://soundcloud.com/audibletreats/audible-treats-hip-hop-podcast-200