We’re just waiting on cassettes now. But vinyl and CD orders should be shipping soon! The vinyl has a cool cover design, faux wood look vinyl, and it comes with a 12″ x 24″ poster/lyrics page and a work lanyard DL card.
Listen to the four pre-order tracks here:
We also got in some new stickers that will be going out with orders, and some nifty sticker packs might also go up for sale.
What makes someone believe they have what it takes to succeed in today’s showbiz market? That’s the question posed and explored on “Showbiz” by Toronto’s No Town Vandal and featured guest Seuss Mace, a fast-rising chopper from Topeka, Kansas. The rate of success is rare when one aims for the top. It can put a target on your back and No Town Vandal is happy to join in the target practice. With rapid-fire deliveries, NTV proclaims he “never gave a damn about hitting the big time” while Seuss declares himself “on the cusp of greatness”. The backdrop is a bouncy trap beat by Croatian producer Zepelin that would serve as the perfect soundtrack to a cartoon sneak scene. A catchy tune that continues No Town Vandal’s string of hits since his recent rebranding, “Showbiz” is on ode to “the starving artists who never give up on superstardom”.
Written and performed by No Town Vandal and Seuss Mace Produced by Zepelin
A new sudden and surprise single/video from Fortunato & Sean One from their album, Blue Collar 2…
“Long Road”, the fourth single from Fortunato & Sean One’s Blue Collar 2 album, examines Fortunato’s extensive experience in the music business and how it’s shaped him as a person. Perseverance is the overlying message. One must forge ahead despite distractions and hopelessness as the only way to reach our goals. Sean One’s quirky boom bap beat blends guitar stabs and plinking piano over a solid drum loop punctuated with cymbal hits, all of which serves as a fabulous accompaniment for Fortunato The video was shot in Sudbury by Koncept and features several iconic landmarks and a pitbull co-star. It’s a beautiful capture of Northern Ontario nature.
Written and performed by Fortunato Produced by Sean One
The new single from Mickey O’Brien featuring Adam Bomb & D-Sisive (aka Low U) and produced by Fresh Kils is a big one!
Mickey O’Brien enlists the aid of rap super duo Low U (aka Adam Bomb and D-Sisive) to tackle the subject of anger on “Alchemy”, the third single from his upcoming album, Orebody, a collection of concept songs, each about a different emotion. For this powerful posse cut, the trio of MCs rage over a big, banging beat by Juno-nominated producer and MPC master manipulator Fresh Kils and co-produced by O’Brien. Beefing up the beat even more is Geoff McCauslan on violin, Zach Clement on keys, and DJ Versatile’s crazy cuts on the hook. The combination of all this talent results in a track that is truly epic! But for those who need more, prolific producer Factor Chandelier provides a deeper, darker remix that emphasizes the bass, brings in elements of reggae and electronic music, and replaces the hook between rappers with an intro and outro toasting from additional guest Xoolu.
The accompanying video was shot in and around Toronto’s iconic Play De Record and features a cameo from its legendary owner, Eugene Tam, an instrumental figure in the Toronto urban music scene. The black and white grittiness of the video along with the chaotic camera work and frenetic editing of Boom Shoal’s Dan Jardine adds perfectly to the intensity of the song. The video also serves as Act 2 in a 3-part series that features an angelic female spirit guiding the artist and helping him navigate life.
Written and performed by Mickey O’Brien, Adam Bomb and D-Sisive Produced by Fresh Kils Co-produced by Mickey O’Brien Violin by Geoff McCauslan Keys by Zachary Clement Cuts by DJ Versatile Remix by Factor Chandelier Mastered by Dorc
Back in 2008, Hand’Solo Records had the distinct honour to release an album by Epic, who would go on to become one of our favourite rap homies. Aging Is What Friends Do Together would be his last proper album, although it was followed the next year by the very excellent mixtape release Scarf Face aka The Russian Album.
To celebrate the 15th Anniversary AND Epic’s return to making new music (he has several albums in the works, which should start dropping in 2024, including a new one on Hand’Solo), Aging finally gets the vinyl treatment, and it’s on black vinyl to appease Chaps. If you know, you know.
The vinyl is officially scheduled for release in November, but pre-orders will be mailed much sooner than that (end of September or early October), so get yourself a copy of just the vinyl, bundle it with a copy of the original CD, or get yourself one of the limited sleeping shirts. And feel completely confident wearing it out during the day because it’s really just a regular t-shirt.