Single: Pac Div – “First Baptist”
The SoCal Trio Reunites After a 6-Year Hiatus With a Complex-Premiered Psychedelic Single, Sampling The Association’s 1967 Hit “Never My Love”
03.21.2018
Critical Praise for Pac Div:
“The outrageous, super dope trio from California are back after five years in hiatus.” – Okayplayer
“One can’t talk about the height of blog era raps and Los Angeles’ growing alternative Hip Hop scene without mentioning Pac Div. BeYoung, Like and Mibbs proved the Internet offered unlimited possibilities since they released their debut mixtape, Sealed for Freshness: The Blend Tape” – HipHopDX
“Pac Div has proudly represented the West Coast from the birth of its career, and has done so independently.” – Billboard
The Song:
Building a loyal legion of fans with sophisticated, spiritual, and relatable rap music, Los Angeles trio Pac Div are unsung heroes of West Coast Hip-Hop. Returning with their first new music after a six-year hiatus, Pac Div shares “First Baptist,” a standout new single. Flipping a psychedelic sample of 60’s classic “Never My Love” by The Association, LIKE, BeYoung, and Mibbs fall right back into the easy chemistry that propelled them to hero status in the L.A. Underground. Trading bars and interacting with the classic sample, the three rappers twist their flows in lockstep with the gauzy instrumental, dwelling on their relationships with God and engaging in Grade-A shit-talk: “So I drink holy water, say my prayers, and go to mass/But if you say something slick, I’ll slap the shit out yo’ ass.” Premiered by Complex, “First Baptist” is the opening salvo in a new chapter in the career of the acclaimed crew, while they prepare their first album since 2012’s GMB.
“It feels like we never left,” explains LIKE. We’re relieved to finally release some of the stuff we’ve been cooking. More to come!”
Formerly known as Pacific Division, Pac Div formed in the early ’00s, when the three members were in high school. Comprised of brothers LIKE and Mibbs and their friend BeYoung, the group first gained attention with Sealed For Freshness (Blend Tape), their debut mixtape, earning comparisons to L.A. legends like The Pharcyde and Freestyle Fellowship. Winning high profile fans such as Snoop Dogg, Questlove, and others, Pac Div built buzz with a series of popular mixtapes. In 2011, Pac Div released their debut album The DiV, which featured production from DJ Dahi and No I.D., and quickly followed it up with GMB, which peaked at #15 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and debuted at #57 on the Hip-Hop/R&B chart. After GMB, the group focused on solo endeavors–LIKE became an in-demand presence as a rapper and a producer (landing a production credit on “Sing About Me” by Kendrick Lamar), Mibbs released a series of albums with Scoop DeVille (Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg), and BeYoung released a series of mixtapes. Though they pursued separate projects, The Div never forgot their roots–now they are back with a brand new song, with a full album in the cards for later in 2018.
Listen to “First Baptist”: https://soundcloud.com/itsthediv/pac-div-first-baptist
Check out the Complex premiere: http://www.complex.com/music/2018/03/pac-div-first-baptist
Please contact Michelle for more info.
The Background:
In line with their church-themed releases over the last decade, Southern California’s Pac Div is a holy trinity for colorful, relatable Hip-Hop. Since the mid-2000s, group founders Like, Mibbs, and BeYoung are pioneers to a movement that has since of Hip-Hop passion, accented by storytelling, in a quest for good times, girls, and gear. Five years removed from sophomore album, GMB, the trio reforms like Voltron to own their contributions and give music fans some daily bread with a new album in 2018.
Links:
twitter l instagram l youtube l soundcloud
“First Baptist”: https://soundcloud.com/itsthediv/pac-div-first-baptist
“Posted”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP-vA7KzPjM
GMB: https://open.spotify.com/album/16V5AmvBTXossOkYl0OHTR
“The Return” ft. Ty Dolla $ign: https://soundcloud.com/itsthediv/pac-div-the-return-ft-ty-prod
“Cross Trainers” ft. Kendrick Lamar & Blu: https://soundcloud.com/itsthediv/pac-div-cross-trainers-ft
The DiV: https://open.spotify.com/album/7y1Ixx4VaY8CNv7H3mFx5E