DEAD PREZ - BIG DAY OUT Sydney side show
TrentSlingshot presents…
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AUSTRALIA - DEAD PREZ
BIG DAY OUT Sydney side show
Thursday 21st January @ The Gaelic Theatre
Dead Prez videos links:
HIP-HOP - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jNyr6BJZuI
SUMMERTIME - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v21poim3KQw
Finally the wait is over for one of Hip-Hop’s most powerful groups to hit Australia with their high energy show and thought provoking, action taking lyrics.
With a guest appearance on Dave Shappelle’s Block Party movie/dvd, Dead Prez have build a reputation for themselves of bringing knowledge, wisdom and understating in a way people can still party too.
Inspired by self defence parties such as the Black Panthers, Dead Prez (short for dead presidents) is the most politically-conscious group since Public Enemy.
After fleeing a dangerous drug situation, M-1 arrived in Florida and became tight with Stickman. At first, they were united in a national activist organisation which allowed them to travel around the country. Realising that they also had to make a living, they decided to channel their energies towards music. Obviously, the first interpretation of the term dead presidents is the dollar bill, but dead presidents represent a spectrum beyond capitalism, addressing the common issues of the most endangered members of human society.
Following in the steps of politically minded acts like Public Enemy and KRS-One, the Florida-based outfit known as Dead Prez has been crafting challenging, left wing, and border-line revolutionary hip-hop since the late 1990s. Taking inspiration from the social activism of Malcolm X, Sticman and M-1, the duo who comprise Dead Prez, have released two proper albums and two underground mix-tapes of highly political hip-hop that is heavily aligned with challenging the status quo, prompting London’s Daily Telegraph to say, “Dead Prez use music not to lie about having expensive cars or girlfriends with big bottoms, but to rail against the inequities in American society. They do so with an insight and honesty that are rare in any art-form, let alone hip-hop.”
Sticman and M-1 first started collaborating when they met on the campus of Florida A&M University. M-1, who was obsessing over the writings of Malcom X, infused a sense of Black pride in his newfound friend. Both began to become fascinated with politics, joining numerous community groups in Florida to do their part. Finding that they both had a strong opinion to voice and a way with rhyming, the two picked up and moved to New York City to start a rap group.
Once in New York, the group dubbed themselves Dead Prez (after “dead presidents,” a slang term for money). A chance meeting with Brand Nubian’s Lord Jamar led the group to sign with Loud Records. However, before the band even signed on the dotted line, they collaborated with various artists, and dropped mix tapes to secure their spot in the underground. In 1997, the group first appeared on the Loud 97 Set Up tape, with “Food, Clothes and Shelter.” In 1998, M-1 and Sticman collaborated with mainstream hip-hop artist Big Punisher on his Capital Punishment release, contributing to singles “Police State With Chairman Omali” and “It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop” (the latter of which hit number 43 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Singles chart in 2000). It was these two collaborations, along with a strong live show, that amassed a major buzz for the group, leading up to the release of their debut for Loud--2000’s Let’s Get Free.
In 2004, Dead Prez capitalized on the two tours, and released RGB: Revolutionary But Gangsta for Sony. Featuring, amongst other things, a collaboration with Jay-Z on the remix for “Hell Yeah (Pimp the System),” the record again pushed political buttons and promoted often-extreme social activism.
In the band’s official biography, Sticman explained, “We always have a new sound vision where we want to fuse certain things. We think about music that we like and certain artists from back in the days to right now whether it be Dr. Dre or Lil’ Jon or Trick Daddy or Sade or Portishead. We take all these different things and we fuse elements from that and we feel like it captures what we’re trying to capture.” Summing up the group’s aesthetic, Sticman said, “A man gotta be balanced. You can’t just be about the pleasures.”
Check out DEAD PREZ on their first Australian tour across the country for The Big Day Out (Auckland, Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne) and some exclusive side shows in Sydney and Melbourne.
TICKETS for Sydney:
Tickets on sale Friday 18th December from Moshtix outlets and online:
http://www.moshtix.com.au
ARTIST WEBSITES:
http://www.deadprez.com/
http://www.myspace.com/deadprez
