The
Video:
The month of March has been a busy one for Kyle Rapps. The hip-hop artist took a break from the 15 shows he has booked this month alone (!) to be the sole host and to perform songs from his debut EP, Re-Edutainment, at SXSW for Audible Treats’ annual showcase. Now, just a week and half later, Kyle Rapps releases Re-Edutainment, his revisit of the Boogie Down Productions classic. Clocking in at eight tracks, the EP features the Edutainment originator himself, KRS-One, as well as Joell Ortiz and U-N-I and producer Kev Brown, who pays homage by incorporating some of the same loops, chops, and breaks found in the original.
Also out today is the new music video for "Me," a single off Re-Edutainment that was first previewed last week. The funky track serves as an ample introduction to the world of Kyle Rapps, including set-backs, realizations, and accomplishments, "I got a Bill Gates grant and a Today show feature." Rapps also explained that on the track there was some heavy influence from his slam poetry group, Mayhem Poets, formed in college days, and the visual direction of Alex F. Ghassan reflects this well. The video throws a rhyming, edutaining Rapps in front of likely backdrops, a classroom, a library, a schoolyard, etc., complete with a visual filter reminiscent of crumpled notepaper. Throughout the video one thing is made clear, this is Kyle Rapps' assembly and he's announcing his debut to hip-hop on the auditorium stage, "I'm in the building chillen'/ trying to make a killin'/ Doin' what I'm feelin'/ If you got a hand go and lift it to the ceiling."
Kyle Rapps' debut EP, Re-Edutainment, is available for purchase here:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/re-edutainment/id428636974
Watch the new video for Kyle Rapp's "Me" here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-pe8z0xQk8
The Background:
With his roots firmly planted in concept driven hip-hop, Kyle Rapps exhibits witty and youthful yet insightful and catchy music. Under the moniker Black Skeptik, Kyle Rapps formed the acclaimed underground hip-hop group, Thought Breakers, who saw success opening up for such acts as Wyclef Jean, Fat Joe, Talib Kweli and Dead Prez, in addition to independently selling over 10,000 copies of their album, Episode One. More recently he released "Rent" ft KRS-One and "Frankenstein Saves Hip Hop (prod. Blockhead & video feat. Crazy Legs of The Rock Steady Crew)" under the same name. Solidifying a more positive out look on things, he changed his name to Kyle Rapps and release a third single, "Love, Love" (Featuring KRS-One and Homeboy Sandman), which reached #1 on the college radio hip-hop charts. Now, Rapps, eager to show people the benefits of combining hip-hop with education, is set to release his debut EP, RE-Edutainment in March, 2011.
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