.@TedoStone was born to play rock and roll. Growing up in a family with a musical father and where brothers handed down bass guitars to younger siblings like old sweatshirts, Stone was fronting a band and playing in motorcycle bars around his hometown of Covington, Georgia, when he was 12 years old.

Now living in Atlanta and with a searing new album, Marshes, due out on September 18 via This Is American Music, Stone is making a name for himself with an enthralling fusion of throwback southern vibes, indie rock hooks and a wall-of-sound resonance.

A lifetime of listening to classic country and soul artists like Patsy Cline and Otis Redding imbued the young songwriter with a retro pop and strong vocal appreciation from a young age, though finding his own voice has been an ongoing process. His 2013 debut album, Good Go Bad, saw Tedo delving into glam jams and alt country rock, though Stone admits he wasn’t fully assured of his sound yet.

While hanging out in Athens, Georgia and playing with the endless array of talented young musicians there, Stone realized his songs were sounding different live, evolving into a mixture of Dinosaur Jr’s wailing guitars and Neil Young’s raw emotion; and he liked it. Taking that new energy into the studio last year, Stone recorded Marshes straight to tape, live in a room with a core group of friends. Under the guidance of producer and engineer Drew Vandenberg (Deerhunter, of Montreal), Stone this time around establishes himself as a pure rock and roll songwriter, with invigorating rhythms, addictive hooks and keenly layered guitars.

Certain tracks throughout the album, like “By Your Side” and “Home to It” seamlessly infuse myriad musical elements at once, simultaneously echoing 60’s sock hop riffs, T. Rex-styled big amp fuzz and soaring post-rock solos, all while Stone fearlessly croons with a fierce timbre. Reflecting the swampy mires that Stone grew up around, Marshes is an album of deep grooves and assured writing that will find its way into your rotation with an endlessly repeatable appeal.

First Kings Entertainment and Styngray recently released the new single and video entitled “Till The Casket Drop.” The single debuted at #108 and has climbed to #83 on Digital Radio Tracker’s top 150 chart for independent artists. The single, which is produced by up and coming producer AMP, is also streaming at over 800 spins a week according to Digital Radio Tracker. The Crucial Flix-directed video was shot in Atlanta, GA and is a tasteful compliment to the excitement surrounding the single. This anthem encourages artists to fight for their dreams and to use positive effort to accomplish them as Styngray states, “they don’t have to sell drugs to make it.” Styngray is a seasoned artist with a unique sound that is rooted in his intense love for Hip Hop, that passion is then transformed into a charismatic live on stage and visual performance.  Styngray is currently in the studio working on new hits toward a new project on the way for 2018.

For booking & other inquiries: FirstKingsInfo@gmail.com / 917-202-8642

Facebook: @StyngrayFKEChosen
Instagram: @styngraychosen
Twitter: @styngraychosen
Website: firstkingsent.com

Enjoy!

Kirkwood, Atlanta’s very own, Ebo Da Don gives us an inside look into his world. Coming from the streets, Ebo Da Don has nothing but love for the life he’s lived, from the hustle of getting money and shinning it brings with it. His life serves as inspiration for the music, he feels as though with movies there is an element of pretending, but with music, some try, yet what makes music great is telling your real-life story. Ebo Da Don has been grinding for the last 5 years and would love to work with greats, such as Gucci Mane, Drake, and Young Thug. Ebo has always had a natural ability to rap, but chose to invest in his artists, but when they did not deliver, he decided to take matters into his own hands and get his label off the ground. Gearing up to release his forthcoming album, he remembers living life in the streets and how he got money, which is something he is not ashamed of and that is why he named it Chapo. Ebo Da Don states “Chapo is everything to me, it is a label, brand, and movement! When you say Chapo Ent., you will think about Ebo Da Don.”

 

Album Review: 2 Chainz – Based on a T.R.U. Story

2 Chainz’s rapid ascent to fame over the past year, which included verses on hits such as Nicki Minaj’s “Beez in the Trap” and Kanye West’s opus “Mercy”, is bewildering. The artist formerly known as Tity Boi had dwelled in the world of obscure mixtapes since the late nineties — what made his rocky flow suddenly attractive to some of pop music’s biggest names? The Georgia rapper’s Def Jam debut, Based on a T.R.U. Story, leaves that question unanswered, as the album is at its best when guests take the microphone and falls short nearly everywhere else.

Nine of the 13 tracks here have featured verses, and the result is that 2 Chainz ends up a guest on his own album. Drake’s extended chorus and verse on single “No Lie” carry the song, just as Nicki Minaj’s characteristically bipolar delivery on “I Luv Dem Strippers” makes the uninspired beat and chorus tolerable. “Birthday Song”, the club-ready collaboration with Kanye West, strikes a better balance, with 2 Chainz “in the kitchen, yams everywhere” and Kanye manning an understated verse over trap and bass-heavy production.

For better and for worse, not all of T.R.U. Story is about “criz-nack” with harsh trap beats. “Ghetto Dreams”, with crooner John Legend, ends up being the album’s strongest offering. But the majority of the experiments outside of 2 Chainz’s comfort zone, like slower, R&B jams “Extremely Blessed” and “Stop Me Now”, expose his flow as incompatible with tempo change. The lengthy chorus by The-Dream on “Extremely Blessed” spares the song from complete ruin, but the slowed flow on the rap verses affords too much time to think about the mundane lyrics. Redundant punch lines and unsurprising material (obscene wealth, women, and cars) plague what are otherwise solid beats. The extent of 2 Chainz’s cleverness tops out with vulgar quips like, “You are what you eat/ but I’m not a pussy.”

The overall lackluster quality notwithstanding, Based on a T.R.U. Story is at least entertaining. That is, if you accept 2 Chainz as a caricature of old Southern rap and enjoy drunkenly shouting things like “yaaaah”, “truuu”, and “All I want for my birthday is a big booty ho.” (Don’t we all?)

 

Enormously popular throughout the World and the US, people of all races, nationalities, and ages are attracted to Young Dread. As a result, Young Dread is one of the highest online searched artist that is effectively increasing his ever-so-popular international fan base. Young Dread’s songs of determination, rebellion, and faith are finding audiences all over the world.

Born June 30, 1982 in the “low country – Geechee Island region of South Carolina”, Young Dread developed his unique slang known as Geechee. His heroes included all of the 75% of slaves that came through the Battery (the auction block in Charleston, SC) and held on to the unique Gullah culture. The Gullah people are directly descended from the slaves who labored on the rice plantations, and their language reflects significant influences from Sierra Leone and the surrounding area. This language can be heard in the lyrics of Young Dread’s music and has influenced him and his music greatly. Young Dread was raised by his single mother who went back to college at the age of 33 in order to show Young Dread and his brother and sister that anything is possible if one puts his or her mind to it. Young Dread witnessed his mother work several jobs while she attended the University of South Carolina while managing to stay on the Dean’s and President’s List. After his Mom graduated from the University Cum Laude, Young Dread always realized that, like his mom, he could achieve anything, and he maintains this thought process to this day. Despite the fact that Young Dread’s father ran away after getting his Mom pregnant, his mother never let that stop her from trying to provide the best life possible for all of her children. And despite the fact that Young Dread’s father got caught up in the lucrative drug game in Miami, Florida, which soon lead to his ultimate fate as an overdose victim, Young Dread has always prevailed. Because of this, his other hero is his Mom since she was able to overcome various tragedies as an African-American single parent and do what was necessary to raise her children.

Young Dread went to high school at Dreher High School in Columbia, SC and graduated in 2000. After graduating with honors and in the top 10% of his class he obtained a full academic/athletic scholarship to Fisk University. After attending Fisk he transferred to the School of Audio Engineer in Nashville and graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in Audio Engineering. He developed his unique dance moves through his training at Ebony Dance School, DeeCrump School of Dance, and University of South Carolina (Summer Institute for the Arts and Dance).

Young Dread is not only an International Recording Artist, but also a model, actor, and producer. He composes his own lyrics and music in conjunction with various producers in the industry. He has been a member of ASCAP since August 2000, was with Paradox Productionz from July 1999-March 2000 and then started Murderus Soundz Publishing in April 2000. He has performed at over 65 venues including an International Tour opening for U God of WuTang Clan. He has over 200 songs in his catalog and is the owner of an Atlanta based recording studio. He has 7 LPs online and in stores at this time under his belt. Young Dread continues to obtain 1000’s and 1000’s of new hits on www.YoungDread.com www.Twitter.com/TheYoungDread www.FaceBook.com/TheYoungDread and www.MySpace.com/YoungDread where new fans are viewing tons of updated pictures and listening to his new music. Many fans are finding him through all major search engines where there are numerous sites that are promoting this unique future award winning artist.

In May 2008, Young Dread signed an international publishing deal with TouchTunes, the largest out-of-home interactive entertainment network, providing innovative solutions to over 30,000 bars, restaurants, retailers and other businesses in North America and Canada. TouchTunes maintains a digital music library covering more than two million licensed tracks from every major record label, plus independent music distributors and a host of independent labels. Through this publishing deal Young Dread continues to add new audiences on an international level. Since October 2008 Young Dread has had over 85 program directors and general managers from various international radio stations contact him in regards to featuring his music on their stations. Young Dread has also created a unique relationship with various mixed tape DJs and online radio station DJs who continue to saturate the market with his future award-winning genre sound. In January of 2010 Young Dread fans worldwide are even happier because they are able to shop Young Dread on Verizon, Amazon, Shockhound, IMVU, iTunes, Jamster, Rhapsody, eMusic, Thumbplay, LaLa, AT&T, LimeWire, Napster, CMT, VH1, & MTV Mobile.

This artist’s unique style is one that listeners will not soon forget, and his music reminds the listener that originality is still alive in today’s music industry. He brings a new kind of style and energy to the scene that has been missing for some time, and his career is sure to grow exponentially as more and more people are turned onto his distinctive sound.

 

Interview with Blitz the Entertainer.

Tell us about where you are from and how you got to this position today. 

Blitz The Entertainer: I’m from Jacksonville, FL, Duval, County. I used to be in a group called F.L.A. (Front Line Alliance). I actually started the group and I was the youngest of the group. We had big dreams to make hit records. When it came down to the truth, all we really had was talent, cds, flyers and posters. The only thing that was missing was distribution, road manager, and direction. So I jumped on the Greyhound and moved to Atlanta, GA. In 2006, without knowing a soul, I got to where I am today by hard work, dedication, and staying true for what I believe in, music. I produce tracks for myself of course, Dem Franchize Boyz, Rico Suave’, Kilo Ali, Khia, Sweet of Stack’em Ent., Shawty Lo, and West Side Ink.

Tell us more about the current song you are promoting to everyone. 

“Blood, Sweat & Tears” is an anthem! If you ever had a hustle or achieved your goals you can actually say you’ve made it through the blood, sweat & tears.

Tell us about one of the hardest challenges you had to face in the industry? 

Leaving my hometown Jacksonville, FL, coming to Atlanta, and establishing personal relationships with artists in Atlanta.

What was one of the biggest set backs in your career and how did you bounce back? 

The whole situation is a set back until we make it. Being an artist in a group in Jacksonville with no backbone was a major set back. Now I have so much support and people backing me which all came from staying loyal to my craft.

What are some things artists need to be careful of?

Make sure you have your legal documents in order: copyrights, etc. Don’t trust everybody in the industry and go about doing things the right way. Avoid taking short cuts if you can. You never know who knows who, so don’t burn any bridges.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw40nfV6LtY