FEBRUARY 17, 2009
FR: ALEXANDRA GREENBERG/SHAZILA MOHAMMED
MSO
‘SMOKE N MIRRORS’
FEBRUARY 24 ON AUDIO HUSTLAZ/DUCK DOWN RECORDS
ALBUM FEATURES GUESTS SNOOP DOGG, DAMIAN JR GONG MARLEY,
SEN DOG AND YOUNG DE
RAPPER TO HEADLINE PAID DUES INDEPENDENT HIP-HOP FESTIVAL
RECORD RELEASE PERFORMANCES CONFIRMED FOR
NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES
Leading up to the release of Smoke N Mirrors, B-REAL will perform release shows Saturday, February 21 at Social Hollywood in Los Angeles and Wednesday, February 25 at SOB’s in New York City. B-REAL is also set to headline the Paid Dues Festival at the NOS Events Center in Southern California on March 28 and will follow with a North American tour presented by Guerilla Union (Rock The Bells). Dates and cities will be announced at a later date.
With platinum plaques, classic singles, Grammy nominations, a Billboard Award, appearances on Saturday Night Live, successful world tours and hip-hop icon status all on his resume, B-REAL is ready for the next chapter in his storied career. Fans’ first taste of his brand new flavor is the gritty street single “Don’t Ya Dare Laugh.” Produced by Scoop Deville and featuring B-REAL’s Philadelphia protégé Young De, the record offers up a vivid depiction of life on the streets of L.A.
The official lead single, however, is the Damian Jr. Gong Marley-guested smoker’s anthem “Fire,” which finds B-REAL flexing his beat-making skills behind the boards—a practice he employs several times on the album. Peter Relic’s three and ½ out of four star single review in Rolling Stone stated, “The breezy boogie is buoyed by panpipes and hand claps, with a booming 808 breakdown where B-REAL claims, ‘Mi moto es puro.’ Put that in your Google translator and smoke it.” Other key highlights include contributions from Snoop Dogg (“Dr. Hyphenstein”), Buckshot (“Everything You Want”), Too $hort & Kurupt (“When We’re F***ing”) and Sen Dog & Malverde (“One Life”).
B-REAL still maintains his allegiance to rhyme partners Sen Dog and DJ Muggs. “I’ve been wanting to do a solo project for a while now, but had always dedicated my creative time to Cypress,” confirms B-REAL, who was honored alongside his fellow bandmates during VH1’s Hip-Hop Honors 2008. “Since we weren’t in a rush to record a new Cypress record, I took the time to explore my own thing as an artist, producer and label owner.”
Check out additional critical quotes regarding B-REAL’s Smoke N Mirrors:
“Smoke N Mirrors is laced with some terrific production, particularly on the Alchemist-helmed "6 Minutes" and Soopafly's "Everything U Want" with Duck Down frontman Buckshot, of Black Moon.” –SMOOTH
"…sonically, the funk filled disc is all California Love. What B-Real manages to accomplish is a solid effort minus all of rap's usual smoke and mirrors.” –XXL
"As the frontman for Cypress Hill, B- Real has been one of the most distinct voices in Hip-Hop since 1991. Listening to Smoke N Mirrors its clear that the rapper/beatmaker doesn't want to shed his history with Cypress Hill–he's just flipping it." — REMIX
“…noticeably improved, in terms of cadence, speed and word choice. Smoke N Mirrors is a solid street rap album, stocked with lurching boom-bap and tenacious raps.” — YRB
For more information on B-REAL, contact:
MSO 818-380-0400
Alexandra Greenberg x223, agreenberg@msopr.com
Shazila Mohammed x238, shazila@msopr.com
MAC MEDIA
Matt Conaway, Matthewbrn@aol.com
DUCK DOWN RECORDS
Noah Friedman, NoHa@duckdown.com
http://
HIP-HOP ICON B-REAL MAKES SOLO DEBUT WITH ‘SMOKE N MIRRORS’ FEBRUARY 24 ON AUDIO HUSTLAZ/DUCK DOWN RECORDS; ALBUM FEATURES GUESTS SNOOP DOGG, DAMIAN JR GONG MARLEY, ALCHEMIST, XZIBIT, BUCKSHOT, KURUPT, TOO $HORT, SEN DOG AND YOUNG DE; RAPPER TO HEADLINE PAID DUES INDEPENDENT HIP-HOP FESTIVAL IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MARCH 28; RECORD RELEASE PERFORMANCES CONFIRMED FOR NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES