KOCH RECORDS ENTERS NEW DEAL WITH BLACK HAND ENTERTAINMENT

FIRST RELEASE COMING THIS FALL

FROM QUEENS RAPPER GRAFH

(New York, NY) — KOCH Records announces a new deal with Chaz Williams and his Black Hand Entertainment.

The first release under this new deal will be the new album by New York rapper and Black Hand Entertainment President Grafh.  He is set to release The Evolution, on Black Hand Entertainment/KOCH Records this fall.

KOCH Records General Manager Alan Grunblatt says, “All of us here at KOCH Records are absolutely thrilled to be working with Grafh, he is truly a great New York artist.

This is the first big record we are doing via Black Hand and Chaz Williams. Chaz and I are pardners!”

Black Hand Entertainment CEO Chaz Williams adds, “KOCH Records has been at the forefront of indie music for some time. This is the perfect climate for what we do at Black Hand as an independent movement.”

The first single from Grafh’s The Evolution, “Like Ohh,” can be heard on urban radio now.  Grafh says, “’Like Ohh’ is the first in a succession of singles leading up to the release of my first commercial album, The Evolution.  It’s the perfect summer street record that recognizes the change in the climate of the music industry.”

The track is getting great reaction and attention from Mixshow radio as this past July 4^th jump off weekend proved. New York’s Hot 97 played the track 30 times during the weekend alone!  Look for the “Like Ohh” remix featuring Busta Rhymes to hit radio shortly.

Click here to check out the hit single “Like Ohh:”

http://kochent.edgeboss.net/download/kochent/radiohits/like_ohh_clean.mp3

Grafh acquired an early buzz on the mixtape circuit, and received early support from mixshow DJs in New York, and elsewhere. However, long before the public recognized his skill, lyrical finesse, and consistency, he became the flagship artist of Black Hand Entertainment, and his previous background at St John’s University eventually qualified him for double duty as president at the indie label Black Hand Entertainment.

Grafh’s songs have been heard on HBO’s Entourage, Fox’s Meth and Red, BET’s Ultimate Hustler and numerous video games, including EA Sport’s NFL Streets, Saint’s Row, and 25 to Life.

Ise Lyfe Performs Critically Acclaimed One-Man Play Who’s Krazy

“On the fast track to Superstardom, Ise Lyfe’s performance is awesome and far reaching. A critical commentary on what we consider to be normal.” -North Carolina Chronicle

(July 8, 2008 – Brooklyn, NY) Ise Lyfe, renowned spoken word hip-hop theatre artist, will be performing his one-man theatre piece, Who’s Krazy, at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood this week. The play, which is directed by Billy Hutton, was recently featured at the 18th Annual 2008 NAACP Theatre Awards. Ise Lyfe will also be releasing his sophomore album Prince Cometh on 7even89ine Music on August 19th in stores and July 15th digitally.

Who’s Krazy exposes the seemingly normal life of a 31-year old African-American working in Corporate America who adamantly rejects his blackness until one day he is forced to reckon with his identity. When speaking with HipHopDx.com, Ise Lyfe said, “This story is about a man who is born in the hood, goes corporate, and then fizzles out on his own hype. The hood is the 80’s, his corporate career is the 90’s, and when the piece ends with him on the ground moving his legs but going nowhere, he personifies and embodies the current state of this vast Hip Hop culture spawned from love, hunger, hopes, and bad decisions.”

A true renaissance man, Ise Lyfe has made a name for himself as an artist, activist, and educator. Realizing that he had become numb to the violence in his native Oakland, California, Ise began to find validation and encouragement through his rhyme books, journals, and teen poetry slams. Ise first gained national recognition in 2000 competing in the annual Youth Speaks Poetry Slam Finals and representing the San Francisco Bay Area at the Youth Speaks National Poetry Slam in 2001. Soon, Ise was asked to perform all over the country and abroad. Ise has been featured on Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam on HBO. He has also shared the stage with Dave Chappelle, Lauryn Hill, Talib Kweli, dead prez, E-40, Harry Belafonte, KRS-One, Martin Luther, Saul Williams, Ben Harper, Erykah Badu, Zion I, and The Coup to name a few. Ise co-founded the P.O.W.E.R. Movement, a multi-faceted Oakland-based organization that addresses the educational, social, and political needs of young people, founded Lyfe Productives, and has been an active educator in Oakland schools through Youth Speaks.

Who’s Krazy show times:

Friday, July 11th: 8 p.m.

Saturday, July 12th: 8 p.m.

Sunday, July 13th: 3 p.m., 8 p.m.

Stella Adler Theatre

6773 Hollywood Blvd., 2nd Floor

Hollywood, CA 90028

Tanya Morgan – “How Low”

The Song:

Tanya Morgan’s modern “Electric Slide” begs the question “How low can you go?” Like an old school jam playing at the roller rink, it’s hard not to break it down to the dance beat infused synths and rhythms of the new single, “How Low.” Tanya Morgan’s feel-good, infectious singsong hook “Roll bounce, Roller Skate / B Boys show ‘em how you break” sets the tone for the most fun song of the summer, bound to snap even the stiffest critics into limbo-like positions. While the beat sounds like an old favorite, Tanya Morgan puts a fresh spin on it with saucy rhymes like “When I roll by wit’ the glow they gotta close they eyes / But they can’t close they thighs” and playful lines like “Pretty biddies wanna be in my committee / if not then it’s a pity” keep you singing along. Warning: suppressing the urge to dance to this beat, and showing the boys of Tanya Morgan just how low you can go may lead to personal injury.

The Background:

In 2003, Brooklyn resident Von Pea teamed up with Cincinnati’s Donwill and Ilyas to form Tanya Morgan. Three years later, the group’s Moonlighting LP took the rap world by storm, receiving a 3.5 mic rating from The Source and high praise in XXL’s Chairman’s Choice column. Donwill describes the group’s uniqueness and appeal: “Instead of jam-packing our releases with different producers and guest emcees for attention, we carefully choose who we work with because we make it a priority to cultivate our own sound and identity. We look to groups like Eric B and Rakim, who honed their own sound and rarely collaborated with other artists.” After a brief hiatus from center stage, the crew is back in 2008 seeking the hip-hop triple crown: the release of a mixtape, EP, and LP, all in the same year. Tonya Morgan has performed with Ghostface Killah and has had videos featured on multiple MTV channels. The Bridge EP is available now on via Bay Area label Interdependent Media.