Baltimore Gutter and Hip Hop producer and deejay Aaron Lacrate [click to read] spoke to HipHopDX this week about next month’s B-More Club Crack album, produced and compiled by he and partner Debonair Samir. “It’s exciting, because so much has happened [in the last three years]. It’s really been a great build-up. The timing is now, and this is going to be a big year for Baltimore.” “Oh My Gosh” by Mr. Vegas featuring Verb, as first single, with new artist Milkcrate Records artist Mz Streamz on the B-side. “I think Koch is working both [songs] on nationwide radio right now. I think ‘Oh My Gosh’ just got added to Power 106 mix-show. They just started one week ago, so both records are getting a really good response.”
The release, coming the same March 10th date as Lacrate and Bubba Sparxx [click to read] are the first urban releases since the famed New York independent Koch label changed its name to E1. Lacrate was particularly enthused about Mz Streamz, his most recent artist.”She’s a 17 year-old girl from Baltimore, who’s really dope.“
The release welcomes these new talents, while also including veteran Baltimore acts like B-Rich and Mullyman. “It was a culmination of me and [Debonair] Samir‘s collaborations. Some artists he’d been working with for a while, on the local scene, like Mullyman, B-Rich, D.O.G. and Tim Trees. Of the real veteran Hip Hop names of Baltimore, those are the guys that everybody’s waiting and watching for. They’ve been grinding it out, and this is a great opportunity. We’re looking for this to be a big thing for them as well.”
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With this comprehensive guest list, Lacrate says it’s a homogenous blend of fast and slow tempod. “It’s very much on a Hip Hop tip.”
The release also affords Lacrate the opportunity to further his video editing and directing pursuits. “I’ve got the first video. It’s ‘Tear It Up’ by Mz Streamz. It’s a dope video; I really like it. We just shot her new video too, for ‘Everybody On It.’ We shot it in Baltimore, in a roller-rink. For me, that was an amazing thing. I went from doing the YouTube thing, and re-editing, like we did with Young MC [‘Know How Theme’] to re-cutting an actual video – getting all the footage and re-cutting an entire video [like ‘Tear It Up’] to having a hand in the entire process and co-directing this ‘Everybody On It.’“
Although his fashion line, deejaying and work with Lily Allen has allowed Lacrate‘s name and sound to resonate abroad, this is an opportunity for the man to return to his roots, a city that he says he visits every week. “This release, I’m focusing a lot on the city of Baltimore. I feel in many ways, I’m more famous in other countries than I am in Baltimore. [Laughs] We just did the official Madonna remix for ‘Miles Away,’ that she hand-picked, wanting a Baltimore/Gutter mix from us. That was a huge thing as well. It’s all new plateaus, which is really exciting. I’m going step-by-step; I’m not trying to leap.”
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Having worked with Busta Rhymes, Juelz Santana and Delicious Vinyl Records, Lacrate can utilize his network to remix various records off of the release. “We’re gonna definitely go to the remix level. I don’t want to inundate it too quickly, because that will probably be more of a summertime thing. There’s gonna be a variety of people coming and remixing stuff, and there’s also talk of getting a few people to jump on some tracks, ’cause Koch loves the production so much. We don’t know that’s gonna be yet. Some major Hip Hop people [though].”
Presently, Lacrate, DJ Assault and Verb will be in Germany for the Coca-Cola DJ Culture Tour. Blogs from the artists and well as dates are available [click here].
