Mello Music Group Archives

Oddisee Goes Against Time In A Stimulating Visual (Video)

Oddisee easily captures the viewers attention in his new video for his song, "CounterClockwise" which will be on his upcoming solo album, The Good Fight (May 5). The cut is about "being there for people, and them going against you as a result, which leads to you becoming the bearer... Read more

April 6, 2015 Video

Pete Rock Signals More Petestrumentals & Unleashes A 20 Year Old Groove (Audio)

It's hard to believe it's been nearly 14 years since Pete Rock released Petestrumentals. Following Jay Dee's (p/k/a J Dilla) Welcome To Detroit, Soul Brother Pete laced BBE (Barely Breaking Even) Records' Beat Generation series (Marley Marl and will.i.am were among those who would follow). Pete struck the Hip-Hop/R&B charts... Read more

March 30, 2015 Audio, News

Rapper Big Pooh Releases His Finest Music Since Little Brother (Album Stream)

Rapper Big Pooh has had a host of quality releases since his days with vaunted group Little Brother with Phonte and 9th Wonder. From 2005's Sleepers to his entire Fat Boy Fresh series, Pooh has stayed working. However, his recent union with Apollo Brown has produced some of the best... Read more

March 24, 2015 Audio

yU & Slimkat’s 1978ers Get Celestial While Tracking The Distance In Far (Video)

Diamond District is a heralded group with two celebrated studio albums, and a remix effort that excites as much as any in the last few calendars. However, outside the group, Oddisee, X.O., and yU beautifully exercise their individually. For the last of the three, yU, he regularly channels a Spoken... Read more

March 23, 2015 Video

Oddisee’s Songmaking Is Reaching New Levels. Mainstream, Take Notice… (Audio)

Oddisee is more than 10 years deep in the music game. Still, the Diamond District front man always seems to put his most interesting sounds in the now. "That's Love" takes the expression commonly heard and often diluted and restores its essence. A love song, a life song, this funky... Read more

March 12, 2015 Audio

Here’s the Story of How Mello Music Group Defiantly Built a Haven for Real Hip-Hop (Interview)

For the better part of the last decade, as independent label mainstays have been closing up their doors, going on hiatus, or reconfiguring their audience, Mello Music Group has secured a foundation. The Tucson, Arizona-based label has cultivated new voices, redeveloped lyrical legends, and built an industry model rooted in... Read more

March 10, 2015 Food for Thought

Oddisee, Apollo Brown & More Show Off Their Persona On New Compilation (Album Stream)

Today (March 10), indie record label Mello Music Group is releasing their annual compilation album, Persona. Celebrating eight years of being in business, Mello Music Group has prided themselves on their focus on artist development, and Persona is meant to show how the label has grown and developed over the... Read more

March 10, 2015 Audio

Rapper Big Pooh Provides Heartfelt, Soulful Accounts Of Hard Livin’ (Audio)

Two weeks removed from Words Paint Pictures (March 24) Rapper Big Pooh & Apollo Brown continue to show that the Mello Music Group album may be a critical milestone for the Little Brother co-founding MC. Pooh gets deep, soulful, and especially thoughtful in much of what Heads have heard. "How... Read more

March 9, 2015 Audio

Rapper Big Pooh Flips Through His Rhyme Book While Apollo Brown Digs In The Crates (Video)

A month from yesterday (March 24), Rapper Big Pooh & Apollo Brown will release Words Paint Pictures on Mello Music Group. The Virginia-to-Michigan tandem got together to record the LP, and to film "Augmentation." The soulful cut finds each artist in their first loves, rapping and diggin', showing the culture... Read more

February 25, 2015 Video

Ras Kass Explains Why He Wrote How To Kill God. It’s Not What You Think.

One of the more celebrated independent Hip-Hop albums of 2014 was Ras Kass & Apollo Brown's Blasphemy. The Mello Music Group release returned Ras Kass to the studio album format, and—after work with O.C., Guilty Simpson, and The Left, gave Brown a West Coast collaborative full-length. Part of Blasphemy's charm... Read more

February 13, 2015 Fresh

Finding The GOAT (Round 2): Kool G Rap vs. Ras Kass…Who You Got?

We have reached the second round in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). We are asking you to help us rank who is the greatest MC to pick up a mic. We will take over 35 years of Hip-Hop into consideration, pairing special match-ups... Read more

February 11, 2015 Fresh

Kenn Starr & Black Milk’s Collaboration Says A Lasting Goodbye (Video Premiere)

Every so often, an MC completely captures the love of the art, with the jaded response of those who receive the music (fans and otherwise). Records like Main Flow & Talib Kweli's "Hip-Hop Worth Dying For," Little Brother's "The Listening," Torae & Marco Polo's "Crashing Down," catches the zeitgeist of... Read more

February 10, 2015 Video

Rapper Big Pooh Says the Shooting of Unarmed People of Color Must Stop (Audio)

More than two months ago, Ambrosia For Heads gathered some intel that Rapper Big Pooh might be crossing paths with Apollo Brown for a project called Words Paint Pictures. It's 2015, and not gloating or anything, but we were right. The artwork and March 24 EP release date were confirmed... Read more

February 3, 2015 Audio

yU Gets A Mind-Melting Beat From Nottz & Gets To Storytellin’ (Audio)

In an era when the compilation seems obsolete, Mello Music Group is focused on fighting the great fight. Following Phonte and Oddisee's deeply-compelling "Requiem," the upcoming Persona (March 10) sheds another captivating track. Diamond District's yU, who has released a series of strong solo albums with Mello, combines with fellow... Read more

January 30, 2015 Audio

Kenn Starr’s Comeback LP Features Some Scorching Black Milk & Kev Brown Sounds (Album Stream)

Tomorrow (January 27), DMV music scene veteran Kenn Starr will release his sophomore album, Square One. As the title suggests, the LP is a return to form for one of Oddisee's earliest collaborators, and a member of the Low Budget crew that includes Oddy, Kev Brown, Peter Rosenberg, and Sean... Read more

January 26, 2015 Audio

Red Pill Goes To Work While Oddisee Goes Diggin’ (Audio)

Red Pill is moving fast with a battery in his back. After a few years of payin' dues (or as he says on "Smile," 10,000 hours), the Lansing, Michigan MC and Ugly Heroes member may have found the perfect home at Mello Music Group. Fresh off of speaking up about... Read more

January 20, 2015 Audio

Phonte & Oddisee Channel Pain Into Beautiful Art, Reacting To The World Today (Audio)

In the wake of the 2014 murders of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and so many other Black men at the hands of law enforcement, there was a large outcry for artists to react, reflect, and somehow find the words we, the people, could not. Those expressions are indeed... Read more

January 13, 2015 Audio

Red Pill Speaks From His Heart On Race & Differences On An Apollo Brown Groove (Audio)

Red Pill has been one of the budding forces at Tucson, Arizona-based Mello Music Group. A member of Ugly Heroes with Verbal Kent and Apollo Brown, the Lansing, Michigan native announced this young week that he has signed a multi-album deal with the label that's been a home/outpost for Oddisee,... Read more

January 6, 2015 Audio, Fresh

Oddisee’s Onetime Partner Kenn Starr Is Back, This Time With Black Milk (Audio)

Kenn Starr's album is called Square One, a testament to how the DMV veteran from the Low Budget Crew (Oddisee, Peter Rosenberg, Kev Brown, Sean Born) sees himself. Years ago, a Halftooth Records artist (see 2006's Starr Status), Kenn (and Oddy) made noise together, before the MC took a lengthy... Read more

December 20, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Ras Kass & Apollo Brown Just Dropped The Visual To A Blasphemy Centerpiece (Video)

To understand Blasphemy, "Deliver Us From Evil" is an appropriate starting point. Beyond just some of the finest rapping Ras Kass has displayed in an already-illustrious career, the track deals with organized religion, contradiction, and the themes that made this Mello Music Group a true highlight within 2014. Capturing all... Read more

December 18, 2014 Fresh, Video

Large Professor, Diamond D, Nottz & Black Milk Rework Diamond District’s LP (Album Stream)

In October, Diamond District delivered another potent album in March On Washington. An ode to their home city, Oddisee, yU, and X.O. maintained their level of range and consistentcy on the Mello Music Group release. Two months later, it's the Redux. Mello's in-house squad of Apollo Brown, Quelle Chris, and... Read more

December 16, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Finding The GOAT: Murs vs. Ras Kass…Who You Got?

As we continue the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time), we are asking you to help us rank who is the greatest MC to pick up a mic. We will take over 35 years of Hip-Hop into consideration, pairing special match-ups in a sequence not... Read more

December 9, 2014 Fresh

Ras Kass Joins Some Detroit Bad Boys Around A Barrel Fire For A Cypher (Video)

This year, West Coast MC vet Ras Kass linked with Detroit, Michigan's Apollo Brown to make a celebrated, highly-cohesive LP in Blasphemy. Keeping things focused on Motor City, Ras circles up around a barrel-fire, Doo Wop-style, to unleash a monstrous cypher. Apollo's beat seems to pay careful homage to Diamond... Read more

December 8, 2014 Fresh, Video

Big Pooh Is In The Zone, Is He Hinting At A New LP As He Drops Off Hotness? (Audio)

Was anybody paying attention to Twitter or Tumblr the last few days? Rapper Big Pooh was/is in Detroit, Michigan. While Pooh and Slum Village's T3 are tight homies, that's not why. In between the tweets, it could be hinted that the Little Brother alum is the next subject to sit... Read more

December 2, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Leave It To Ras Kass, Apollo Brown & Sean Price To Punch ‘Em With A Bonus Cut (Audio)

Two stellar lyrical alumni of 1996, Ras Kass and Sean Price come together yet again. Over another string-heavy Apollo Brown track, Ras and Ruck link up for "Impossible Dream." Hardcore as you might expect, the breakaway from the Blasphemy sessions was unearthed, and finds cross-coastal MCs demolishing a beat from... Read more

November 25, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Diamond District Mines New Gems In March On Washington, Evidenced Here (Video)

Diamond District is compromised of three vastly different artists in Oddisee, yU, and X.O. If only basing a union on their solo projects, this is an improbable trio. However, for two full-lengths, the Washington D.C. natives have mirrored the complexities of their city in extremely current, hard-hitting, forward-thinking music. March... Read more

November 20, 2014 Fresh, Video

Ras Kass & Apollo Brown’s How To Kill God Is Everything You’d Expect It To Be (Video)

The revealed original title for Apollo Brown & Ras Kass' Blasphemy was How To Kill God. Thereby, the Soul-charged indictment on organized religion by Razzy Kazzy functions as a title track from the newly-released Mello Music Group album. The jarring title (to some) is met with hard-nosed opinions and facts... Read more

November 12, 2014 Fresh, Video

Ras Kass & Apollo Brown Allow All To Hear The Blasphemy (Album Stream)

Today (October 28), Ras Kass & Apollo Brown release Blasphemy. As label Mello Music Group likes to do, the album is available for free, full stream, enticing your support, should you feel so compelled. This MC/producer tandem brings the Carson, California veteran lyricist to the Michigan-based beat-master/member of The Left,... Read more

October 28, 2014 Audio, Fresh

If You Love When Ras Kass Challenges Organized Religion, Check This (Audio)

Ras Kass has challenged organized religion since Soul On Ice. The voracious reader proves that he's up on the sacred texts on "How To Kill God." For an MC once criticized for never getting great beats on his albums, Apollo Brown supplies this Blasphemy banger with an undeniable beat that... Read more

October 23, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Ras Kass, Xzibit, Royce Da 5’9″ & Bishop Lamont Are On A Brutal Lyrical Safari (Audio)

Whoa! From Ras Kass & Apollo Brown's upcoming Blasphemy album, the tandem releases "Giraffe Pussy." While the title possibly conjures up some difficult images, the song itself is one of the biggest, most brutal lyrical super-collaborations this year. Xzibit, who rocked with Razzy since the Golden State Warriors days (with... Read more

October 16, 2014 Audio, Fresh

March On Washington With Oddisee & Diamond District (Album Stream)

Mello Music Group has offered—as they always seem to—the latest album stream from the Tucson, Arizona-based label. This one comes highly anticipated, the sophomore group effort from Diamond District. The Washington, D.C. trio of Oddisee, yU, and X.O. March On Washington over 14 tracks based around lyrical darts and thumping... Read more

October 14, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Diamond District Really Has Something In Their March On Washington (Audio)

After sharing their "First Step" towards sophomore album, March On Washington (October 14) a month ago, Oddisee, yU, and X.O are back for more. "Lost Cause" is a very experimental beat from Oddy, with some powerful lyrics on the hopelessness and recklessness in society, this song really leaves marks. With... Read more

September 23, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Ras Kass & Apollo Brown Slice Down That Humble Pi (Video)

They say "necessity is the mother of invention." That adage speaks to the careers of Ras Kass and Apollo Brown. The MC, Ras, was among the brightest hopefuls of early '90s Los Angeles lyricism. However, troubles with the law, a label under a new regime, and shifting attentions in the... Read more

September 16, 2014 Fresh, Video

Ras Kass & Apollo Brown Trade Memories With Pharoahe Monch & Rakaa (Audio)

Apollo Brown beats beckon reflection from MCs. Whether O.C., Journalist 103, or Roc Marciano, rappers tend to get nostalgic when they get an opportunity to touch one of these soul-sampling gems from the Michigan native. On "Memories," Ras Kass steps in to recall his days in Watts (before moving to... Read more

September 2, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Diamond District’s First Step In A March To Another Album (Audio)

Diamond District's March On Washington is coming on October 14. With the Mello Music Group release from Oddisee, yU, and X.O. available for pre-order, the acclaimed District of Columbia trio dropped off some highly anticipated new music. "First Step" is a fitting first glimpse from the March. With an electrofied... Read more

August 26, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Murs Joins Apollo Brown’s Ugly Heroes Asking Why Good Things Die (Audio)

Both Mello Music Group and Murs are based in the deserts of Tucson, Arizona. The former Warner Bros. Records artist and the thriving indie are working more together. Thereby, Murray joined Ugly Heroes, the trio of Michigan's Apollo Brown and Red Pill and Chicago vet Verbal Kent. "Good Things Die"... Read more

August 19, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Diamond District’s yU Makes A Heartfelt Dedication To His Late Father (Audio)

Diamond District's yUthe78er has been one of Mello Music Group's best kept secrets. As a soloist, yU made one of the best Hip-Hop songs about Native American heritage in "Natives," and gave Heads hope in "Fine." In "Never Burning Out," one of the rare songs released by the Washington D.C.... Read more

August 16, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Apollo Brown Gives The Perfect Visual Illustration For His Latest Roc Marciano Link (Video)

Apollo Brown's beats are just so grim. The Mello Music Group mainstay has this amazing ability to create a frigidness on the track, even in the dead of Summer. For "Lonely & Cold," his latest link with Roc Marciano, Brown hit the parks for a street-stuck journey in gritty black... Read more

July 28, 2014 Fresh, Video

Roc Marciano & Apollo Brown Link Again For That Grim Apocalyptic Flyness (Audio)

As O.C., Ghostface Killah, and Kool G Rap have all sounded extra-crispy on Apollo Brown tracks, perhaps one of the tightest fits has been Roc Marciano. Marci's nostalgic delivery, bygone images of street codes and fly attire complement the Detroit, Michigan-based producer's dusty loops, vocal samples, and hissy presentation. Following... Read more

June 26, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Roc Marciano Fits Snugly On A Cold To The Bone Apollo Brown Beat (Audio)

Mello Music Group's Apollo Brown lines up with regular label affiliate Roc Marciano for "Lonely & Cold." The bonus cut from Thirty Eight lives up to its name as the Detroit, Michigan mainstay producer/member of The Left links with the U.N. veteran, in his latest in a series of top-shelf feature spots.... Read more

May 20, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Think You’ve Got Bars? Try Tackling Apollo Brown’s Cigarette Burns Instrumentals (Free EP)

Last week, Detroit, Michigan-based producer Apollo Brown got one of his biggest looks in his lengthy career, care of a Chance The Rapper single, "The Writer." After working with O.C., Guilty Simpson, and his group, The Left, Apollo is known to release plenty of instrumental projects with his label, Mello... Read more

April 14, 2014 Audio, Fresh, Mixes

Chance The Rapper Teams With Apollo Brown, And The Results Are Explosive (Audio)

Chance The Rapper's growing movement has been mostly with in-house producers (Nate Fox Blended Babies), give or a take a few looks from the likes of Jake One or BrandUn Deshay. However, in a rather surprising move, C.T.R. let loose a joint he made with Detroit, Michigan-based Apollo Brown. Apollo... Read more

April 9, 2014 Audio, Featured-homepage, Fresh

Oddisee Takes A Trippy Nighttime Ride Through The Back Of His Mind (Video)

Producer/MC Oddisee has succeeded in capturing vibes throughout his 15-year career. That's why he's been sought out by everybody from J. Cole to J-Live to Joey Bada$$ (that's a lot of J's). The member of Diamond District and the Low Budget Crew continues to refine his craft when it comes... Read more

March 10, 2014 Fresh, Video

Blu Says “Made It To 2012 Just To See Romney Lose” As Part Of A New Cold Verse (Audio)

Blu takes long hiatuses in his career. However, when he comes back around, he usually returns in a major way. Such is the case when Johnson Barnes appears alongside frequent collaborator L'Orange on "Need You." Blu seemingly kicks the ol' Rap/lover metaphor, but he's got some ill fervor to his... Read more

March 4, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Rapper Big Pooh Signs With Mello Music Group, Plans To Release Album With Nottz

Founding Little Brother member Rapper Big Pooh has had a busy solo career for almost a decade. The Virginia native famously made Sleepers, the first solo project from the (other) LB Fam, back in 2005. He's followed with a series of retail mixtapes, albums, series, and a host of projects... Read more

January 31, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Quelle Chris Has Glow In The Dark Fun In Ghost At The Finish Line (Video)

Michigan native and Cali transplant Quelle Chris had a banner year in 2013. He released two critically-albums on Mello Music Group, and toured with collaborator Black Milk. The latter of those two albums, Ghost At The Finish Line, is still actively making its rounds. Chris dropped a bugged video for... Read more

January 13, 2014 Fresh, Video

Guilty Simpson & Planet Asia Switch Seats With Apollo Brown & Gensu Dean (Audio)

Mello Music Group loves MC/producer tandem projects—especially combining complete strangers. They took veteran D.I.T.C. MC O.C. and introduced him to Detroit, Michigan producer Apollo Brown for 2012's Trophies. In the last 12 months, they took Fresno, Cali vet Planet Asia and linked him with New Yorker Gensu Dean for Abrasions.... Read more

January 8, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Planet Asia & Gensu Dean Remind Us Why We Ought To Listen (Video)

While Gensu Dean's album with Planet Asia, Abrasions, dropped almost a year ago, Mello Music Group and the Queens-to-Fresno connect isn't done working the fan favorite. The pair drop a darker, poignant video for "Listen" from the LP. Bars and beats, to paraphrase Phonte, what more could you want? Related:... Read more

January 3, 2014 Fresh, Video

Quelle Chris Hits Us With Ghost At The Finish Line (Album Stream)

Detroit, Michigan MC/producer Quelle Chris has had a busy 2013. Following up the first half's Niggas Is Men, Black Milk's tour partner and Mello Music Group unleash Ghost At The Finish Line. The LP features Chris' homies including Alchemist, Oh No, Denmark Vessey, B.M., and Guilty Simpson. Per usual, the... Read more

October 29, 2013 Audio, Fresh

Oddisee’s Got A Lot To Say On Album Bonus Cut Yeezus Was A Mortal Man (Audio)

In releasing his latest album, The Beauty In All, Oddisee let the music do the talking. One of the biggest stars out of the Low Budget Crew has a bonus-cut, "Yeezus Was A Mortal Man." Like Lupe Fiasco's controversially-titled single, this could appear to be about Kanye West or 2013... Read more

October 20, 2013 Audio, Fresh