Mello Music Group has been around for a decade now. It means a lot. In an industry – not to mention a genre – in which success, by any means, tends to be valued even more than skill, MMG (not Maybach Music, folks) has continued to provide music that offers, dare we say, something spiritual, even ineffable.
To both celebrate their time on this Earth, as well as to simply stand in defiance of pretty much everyone else, they’ve gathered their brethren and loyalest comrades for an absolute knock out of a compilation, Bushido, which drops next Friday, April 2. All the big guns are present: Open Mike Eagle, Oddisee, Kool Keith, Mr. Lif, Skyzoo, Joell Ortiz (whom, let’s not forget, has traded bars with Eminem on several occasions), superproducer Apollo Brown, Quelle Chris, and many more. The newer faces all take the moment to prove themselves, with Namir Blade in particular making a strong play for your playlists. Even B-Real pops by. Suffice to say, it’s an event.
To build up even more hype following the excellent showing by Open Mike Eagle on “Gold Gloves”, Beats Per Minute is proud to premiere Bushido’s latest offering. This time it’s Marlowe who are up to bat, and the duo of rapper Solemn Brigham and producer L’Orange breezily pull off a home run with the triumphant “One of the Last”.
Speaking on the track, L’Orange shares: “One of the Last” is a rare Marlowe song removed from a Marlowe album. It was an honor to contribute a track to the MMG compilation. In a world where music changes as quickly as trends, sometimes it’s easy to feel like we’re one of the last.“
“One Of The Last” finds Brigham sauntering confidently over L’Orange’s booming production, expressing their singularity in the world. It’s a perfect inclusion on Bushido, because Mello Music Group truly is one of the first and last bastions of quality independent hip-hop. Listen to Marlowe’s “One Of The Last” below.
Mello Music Group’s Bushido compilation drops next Friday, April 2 (pre-order from Bandcamp). The tracklist is:
01. Iron Steel Samurai feat Quelle Chris (prod by Alchemist)
02. Gold Gloves feat Open Mike Eagle (prod by The Lasso)
03. One Of The Last feat Marlowe (prod by L’Orange)
04. Yours Truly feat Homeboy Sandman (prod by Kensaye Russell)
05. No Trouble feat Oddisee (prod by Oddisee)
06. Gwan B OK feat Zackey Force Funk (prod by The Lasso)
07. Ya-Neishi The Vocals feat Skyzoo (prod by L’Orange)
08. Symbol Of Hope feat Open Mike Eagle & Namir Blade (prod by Elaquent)
09. Never Lived feat Oddisee (prod by Oddisee)
10. None feat Homeboy Sandman (prod by Iman Omari)
11. Bane Bran feat Quelle Chris & James Shanan (prod by Quelle Chris)
12. Black Rock feat Joell Ortiz, Stalley, Namir Blade & Solemn Brigham (prod by Namir Blade)
13. Outlast feat Dueling Experts & Joell Ortiz (Prod by Apollo Brown)
14. Black Man feat RJ Payne (prod by Apollo Brown)
15. Turnt Garveyite feat Murs (prod by Georgia Anne Muldrow)
16. Nightmare feat Cambatta (prod by Apollo Brown)
17. Rap feat Homeboy Sandman (prod by Eric Lau)
18. You To Me feat Oddisee (prod by Oddisee)
19. Zero Fux feat Kool Keith, B-Real & Joell Ortiz (prod by Nottz)
20. Banners feat The Perceptionists (prod by !llmind)
You can find Mello Music Group on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Marlowe is Solemn Brigham and L’Orange.
