Critical Praise:
“E-40 is a national treasure” – Stereogum
“Whoever you are, and whatever your low-grade malaise, E-40 is here to banish it. The Bay Area rap forefather is a human exclamation point, a superhero whose power is remaining helplessly in love with his work. E-40 works harder and more joyfully at making great rap music than you or I have ever worked on anything” – Pitchfork
“The Bay Area’s ambassador E-40 is one of those rare veterans in hip-hop that gets better with time.” – Complex
The Album:
One of the most celebrated rappers of all time, Vallejo, CA’s E-40 has attained legendary status in hip-hop. Teaming up for a project with his cousin and first collaborator B-Legit, 40 shares Connected & Respected, 40’s first full-length collaborative album as a duo with another rapper. Displaying the chemistry they’ve perfected since the Reagan era, 40 and B-Legit form a brilliant yin and yang, with B-Legit’s deep-voiced manifestos grounding E-40’s wordplay and elastic flows. Delving deep into the duo’s extensive history together, the album boasts a cover featuring a vintage photo of 40 and B-Legit together in their junior high band uniforms. Packed with classic Bay Area slappers like the P-Lo-featuring dancefloor jam “BOY,” Connected & Respected is a master-class in rhyming and a treatise to the importance of keeping it in the family.The Click, P-Lo, Rexx Life Raj, Uncle Murda, 4rAx of The Mekanix, Stresmatic, JT the 4th and others, Connected & Respected arrives via Sick Wid It Records.
Growing up in Vallejo, CA, Earl Stevens (E-40) and Brandt Jones (B-Legit) were inseparable from a young age, developing a close friendship and creative partnership strong enough to last decades. Stevens and Jones used their street smarts to turn a negative situation into a positive, playing together in the junior high school marching band, rapping, and earning enough money to get by. In 1986, B-Legit was accepted to Grambling State University in Louisiana, and 40 followed, fearing that he would go down a dangerous path without his cousin and confidante. At Grambling, the two became campus celebrities when they won a talent show, creating a rap version of the school’s alma mater song. Inspired, the duo moved back to Vallejo to pursue music full-time. Keeping their ambitions in the family, Stevens and Jones recruited Earl’s brother Danell (D-Shot) and sister Tenina (Suga T) to form MVP, a new rap group. By 1992, the group refashioned itself as The Click, hustling their way into becoming one of the most popular acts in rap, selling more than 200,000 copies per release and securing a distribution deal with Jive Records for E-40’s Sick Wid It Records. Though The Click dropped its last album in 2002, B-Legit and E-40 remain close friends and collaborators, frequently guesting on each other’s tracks. On Connected & Respected, E-40 and B-Legit recapture the old magic that made The Click one of the most unique rap groups in history, highlighted by 40’s gonzo wordplay and insane alchemy with his bandmates.
Buy/stream Connected & Respected: http://smarturl.it/E40BL
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/3RXaP3Adt3TLsnIKRPBb1x
Apple Music: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/connected-and-respected/1357786796?ls=1&app=itunes&at=10lc2j&ct=f1mmpo
Watch “Meet the Dealers” feat Stressmatic: https://youtu.be/iGO0bGuEvV4
Connected & Respected tracklist:
Please contact Michelle for more info.
The Background:
Known for pioneering the independent rap business and paving the way for indie powerhouses such as his friends Cash Money and No Limit Records to flourish, few rappers have the longevity or influence of Vallejo, California’s E-40. Now, he is re-connecting with his cousin and one of his earliest musical collaborators, B-Legit, for a full-length album a first in their 30+ year history as partners-in-crime and in-life. They released Connected & Respected on April 6th.
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E-40 & B-Legit’s Connected & Respected: http://smarturl.it/E40BL
E-40 & B-Legit – “Boy” ft. P-Lo: http://open.spotify.com/album/0ASTdzXTS7QEs5T1JOQCDq // https://youtu.be/KZqy-DCTRL8
“Straight Out The Dirt” ft. Yo Gotti & NBA YoungBoy: https://youtu.be/KZqy-DCTRL8// https://soundcloud.com/e40/e-40-straight-out-the-dirt/
“Fo Sho” w/ B-Legit ft. JT The 4th: https://youtu.be/KJD1Mygkl4U // https://open.spotify.com/album/3rjXXmhZuvwRX3NBTSZu0q // https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/fo-sho-feat-jt-the-4th-single/id1252151926
The D-Boy Diary: Books 1 & 2: http://smarturl.it/TheDBoyDiary
“Petty” ft. Kamaiyah: https://soundcloud.com/e40/e-40-petty-feat-kamaiyah
“All The Way Up” Westside Remix ft. E-40, The Game & Snoop Dogg: https://soundcloud.com/empire/fat-joe-remy-ma-snoop-dogg-the-game-e-40-all-the-way-up-westside-remix
“Choices”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPtXW7L0dfQ
30-Second Beats By Dre Advertisement featuring E-40 & Draymond Green: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23cchXZnEdY
90-Second Beats By Dre Web Advertisement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G_9RPyF6nE
“Choices” (Warriors Remix): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfYvtz3NbKE
“Tell Me When To Go”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GZbaXdK8Js
Bio, press photos, music and more at www.audibletreats.com/e-40