Album: Souls of Mischief x Adrian Younge – There Is Only Now
Legendary West Coast Crew Release Epic Album in Four Formats: CD, Digital, Picture-Disc Vinyl, Cassette Tape
08.26.2014
The Album:
As USA Today instructs, “Grab a seat, ladies and gentlemen: Souls of Mischief has a story to tell.” The legendary Hieroglyphics sub-group is proud to release their sixth studio album, There Is Only Now, today in four formats: CD, digital, picture-disc vinyl, and cassette tape. The concept album, is a collaborative effort with acclaimed producer and multi-instrumentalist Adrian Younge. It features the Hieroglyphics sub-group at their finest, showcasing a level of dedication, discipline, and skill rarely seen in hip-hop today. Following the release of their recent Noisey premiered single “Finally Back,” from which the outlet confidently claimed, “The legendary hip hop crew from East Oakland are here to fuck your shit up,” the group has constructed a harrowing narrative throughout the album, detailing a near-fatal incident involving Souls of Mischief early in their careers. “We were hanging outside of a club, at a party, and a guy walked up to us pulling a ski mask down, telling everybody to get down, and as he said that, a shot went off,” recalls Souls of Mischief rapper Tajai to The Wall Street Journal.
There Is Only Now was recorded much like a blaxploitation film and details a storyline full of love, loss, and revenge. Ali Shaheed Muhammad narrates the unfolding tale as the DJ for a fictional local Oakland radio station. Busta Rhymes makes an appearance as the story’s villain, Womack, on the track “Womack’s Lament.” William Hart from The Delfonics lends his falsetto, Snoop Dogg adds his perspective on young love on the title track, and Scarub from Living Legends plays the role of Stoney, who is dating a character named Miriam, whom Womack is trying to steal away. Along with the Okayplayer debut of their lyric video for the track “Ghetto Superhero,” the jazz-tinged single “Panic Struck,” which premiered via The Wall Street Journal, and the Billboard premiere of Snoop Dogg featuring lead single/video, “There Is Only Now,” the album has everything in it needs to become a hip-hop classic.
The entire album was recorded solely on 2-inch tape together as a group in Adrian’s LA-based studio and will serve as the inaugural release for Adrian’s newly launched label, Linear Labs. The album is available for pre-order in several formats: CD, digitally, double-LP, and cassette tape. All formats, including the 7 inch vinyl that features the title track on the A-side and “All You Got Is You Word” on the B-side are available here: http://linearlabsmusic.com/store.php
This Thursday, August 28th, the Souls of Mischief and Adrian Younge will be performing at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City with Adrian’s 13-piece ensemble Venice Dawn and ATCQ’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad, celebrating the album’s release. Souls of Mischief are also performing the album in its entirety alongside Ali Shaheed Muhammed, Adrian Younge and Venice Dawn, The Pharcyde, Blu & Exile, Phife Dawg, DJ Rhettmatic, House Shoes and more, September 4th at The Mayan Theater in Los Angeles. You can buy tickets here.
Purchase There Is Only Now On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/id890335149
Check out the USA Today premiere: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/08/25/album-premiere-souls-of-mischief-there-is-only-now/14490557/
Stream the album: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJLCTosMQk1DXq_aY91cGX-xNVe5713Qb / https://soundcloud.com/linearlabs/sets/tionclean
For more information/interviews regarding Souls of Mischief and Adrian Younge, contact Michelle or Rory.
Souls of Mischief Background:
Starting with their landmark debut ‘93 ’til Infinity, Oakland’s four-person rap group Souls of Mischief has blazed the trail for hip hop’s evolution. Members Tajai, A-Plus, Phesto, and Opio have left their mark sonically, lyrically, and stylistically on Kanye West, Just Blaze, Big Sean, Big K.R.I.T., P. Diddy, Vampire Weekend, John Mayer, and many more who have cited them as cultural icons and influencers. Souls is also credited as having pioneered the independent label movement when they started Hieroglyphic Imperium Records in 1997 following their departure with JIVE Records, creating the infrastructure blueprint for other successful independent hip hop labels. Co-founders of the Hiero label also include emcees Del Tha Funky Homosapien, Casual, Pep Love, and producer Domino. Souls’ also forged hip-hop’s relationship with the skate, surf, and snowboard communities after iconic skate brands included their music in their VHS videotapes in the mid-90’s. The group’s creative output and legacy as a whole continues to thrive, and they show no sign of stopping. In 2013, Souls celebrated the 20 year anniversary of ’93 til Infinity, prepped a documentary film, embarked on a 50-city “Still Infinity Tour,” and released a joint 20th anniversary limited edition tee shirt capsule collection with Ecko Unlimited. They are now prepping for the August 26th release of their sixth studio album, There Is Only Now, a cinematic collaborative effort with renowned producer Adrian Younge on Adrian’s newly launched Linear Labs record label.
Links:
official site | twitter | facebook | youtube
Purchase There Is Only Now: http://linearlabsmusic.com/store.php
“Ghetto Superhero” Lyric Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnzLlt0Soto
“Panic Struck”: https://soundcloud.com/linearlabs/souls-of-mischief-panic/s-zAoBz
HYPETRAK Video Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44uBxjQmNek
“All You Got is Your Word”: https://soundcloud.com/linearlabs/07-all-you-got-is-your-word
“There Is Only Now” feat. Snoop Dogg & Ali Shaheed Muhammed: http://youtu.be/4jLqfrBrDTw
Bio, pictures & streams available here: http://www.audibletreats.com/souls-of-mischief
Linear Labs store featuring all seven formats of the album: http://linearlabsmusic.com/store.php