THE ROOTS TO LAUNCH OKAYPLAYER RECORDS



FIRST RELEASE SET FOR THIS SUMMER FEATURING THE HOTTEST UNDERGROUND ARTISTS


TWO UNSIGNED ACTS TO BE SELECTED FROM OKAYPLAYER.COM WEBSITE STARTING JANUARY 20



-Partnership with Decon and Red distribution will be the first in a series of albums-


- Unsigned artists entries can only be submitted from January 20 - Feb 13 -



The Roots have announced they will partner with Decon and Red Distribution to launch the new independent label Okayplayer Records. The first and yet-to-be named album set for release this summer will feature some of the hottest underground artists -- some of whom were part of the hugely successful "Winter Break" tour -- as well as two unsigned acts to be hand selected by the band from entries submitted to the Okayplayer website.



Between January 20 through February 13, Okayplayer Records will be accepting submissions from unsigned artists to be among the two chosen for a spot on the first album -- details can be found at Okayplayer.com. Thus far, the compilation includes tracks from members of the legendary Roots crew, Skillz, Jean Grae, Madlib, Aceyalone, Little Brother and Dilated Peoples. Roots drummer and founder Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson is the Executive Producer for the project.


"There is an array of untapped talent out there especially from the people who are members of the Okayplayer.com community. The Roots have always been a magnet for talented artists. This deal is important to us because we can now provide a vehicle for bringing deserving artists to the forefront. The Little Brother story is one that motivated us to put together this label," says Thompson.


Underground rap group Little Brother started out posting their music on the Okayplayer site and soon developed a following made up of Okayplayers (as the members are called) including founder ?uestlove. The band has opened for The Roots and was one of the featured acts on the recent tour, Also, Little Brother member and producer 9th Wonder was a featured producer on Jay Z's 'The Black Album.'


The deal further expands on the Roots' brand Okayplayer, which started with the website, founded in 1999 by Thompson to be the official website for the band. Okayplayer.com is now home to a number of artists including Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli, D'Angelo, Common, Dilated Peoples and Meshell Ndegeocello, and directly connects the musicians with the music consumer. With the support of the Okayplayers, the site also launched the first in a series of Okayplayer concert tours in 2000.


As a company, Decon brings together all the best in multi-media design and entertainment. Founded in 2000 by Peter Bittenbender and Jason Goldwatch, the company started as a small film production outfit and over the past 3 years, has rapidly grown into a successful design shop, independent record label and film/video production company Last year, Decon co-produced the Def Jux "Revenge of the Robots DVD" and a documentary for The Neptunes entitled "The Eighth Planet". During that same year, Decon signed hip-hop legend, Aceyalone, and released two albums through their deal with RED Distribution.

>THE ROOTS TO LAUNCH OKAYPLAYER RECORDS

it's here.

>FIRST RELEASE SET FOR THIS SUMMER FEATURING THE HOTTEST
>UNDERGROUND ARTISTS

rawkus called . . .independent as fuck.

>TWO UNSIGNED ACTS TO BE SELECTED FROM OKAYPLAYER.COM WEBSITE
>STARTING JANUARY 20

*The Lesson comes in*

Fr-fr-freshhhhh

more expansion to hit okp. very admirable move.

i just wonder how many more posters are gonna flood in following the creation of the label.

*shrugs*

All im gonna say is...remember the name....point black period...

* Yng. Tkr. *

Kellys got some big ass tittaasss -- Dave Chappelle

Bout freakin time man.

Yall need a poet though *coughcough*

-

"It's no love lost, cuz there was never none there..."---Billy Danz, "Hood Musik"

5/25/05...the end is coming

-, straight got the monkey dick...Get me soap and water quick...

We traveled some rough seas to get to the shore of sunshine. But the sun shines a brief time cause the clouds are in your mind...

5/25/05...the end is coming

If I'm on it. LOL!

*prays that one of the artists chosen is one that works w/ him*

peace.

...

Get to it.........Make the music breathe!

n/m

not sure of his label status though, but still he's a significant part of the community.

if they have control, i see big things

now what happens to motive?

I think we should be able to buy stock in the record company!!!!

He's magically delicious-
Damon !

i disagree with a public move, but other investment would be dope

« machine p'ra covets »

He's magically delicious-
Damon !

great.




****************************** http://www.msnusers.com/lilken/shoebox.msnw ...me and the baby









****************************** "when life puts bad juju on you, you gotta be like me, you gotta have your gris-gris"(c) Gary Bartz

.

I'm glad to hear it.

so how do we submit material?

............okayplayer records...........
GIVING YOU TRUE HIP-HOP SINCE 2004

*****-*-***** - *****-*****

Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn't you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music?

The fool says in his heart,
"There is no God."

The revolution will not be televised/it will be waged and revised/by the principalities/to remove all falicies/so the truth can and will be known/have you now been shown? - the5philosopher

When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.

congratulations.

been a long time comin...

glad ?uest finally listened to what we've been sayin all along!

this project sounds great tho. start small. underground mixtapes. see what happens. and its tight they're featuring okps.

?uest, u gotta put science fiction on there tho, even tho he is signed. the album got 4 stars from URB. second biggest success story next to lil bro it seems. hit up nicolay too!

great news.

on the real

its been a long lime coming, good luck guys

Kumasi.

The truth.

He's being looked at by quite a few labels right now ... Getting demos out and working things out.

I'm rich biatch!

"Apparently, the type of performance-enhancing drugs the Raiders were using aren't the kind that help you pressure the quarterback, stop the run, or establish a goddamn passing game." ---What Do You Think? from the Onion

http://www.mrmuztafa.blogspot.com

That's me on the left of the avatar.

between Kumasi and this cat from philly named Elixer, they could really do something.

tis time to help change the world y'all

>Kumasi.
>
>The truth.
>
>He's being looked at by quite a few labels right now ...
>Getting demos out and working things out.


CO-SIGN! CO-SIGN! CO-SIGN! CO-SIGN!
The brotha has serious skills.

:)

they changing the rules and shi'ite

puh-puh-puh... please listen to my demo (c) Michael Bivens

i remember reading about that in a post by dan a few months back, and then i think i read more about it in the billboard magasine interview with quest last month. what a great idea. im just so glad its finally happening. glad to be a part of the selection comittee.

How do you submit your album for review?



www.strangefruitproject.com <--- A Big Surprise For 2004!!

Aight, no games, how do I get down with this?
------------------------------------------
QUOTES TO LIVE BY:
"Van, you a funny dude man"- Karriem Riggins

"Only niggas doper than me are Bobby and Whitney"-Vandal

"What's next/What's next/ What's N-X-E-T"- Warren G

"Red or Green Pill/ You live and you learn" (The pill was blue)- Jay Z

"I'ma mushroom cloud layin muthafucka!"-Jewels (Samuel L Jackson)

You got more, leme know and I'll add.....

"I'ma MC like Mike Krzyzewski" - Cam'ron

!!!!!!
Congratz ;)

this just made my day.

holla for album artwork. lol

holla for a music video AT COST!
example:
www.homepage.mac.com/ricstefano79/iMovieTheater1.html

Congrats to ya'll!!

.....can't wait!

This might work, at any rate - check out my stuff anyway! Even if it doesn't work out! haha

PEACE

Founder of M.W.S
(Insert comment here) We insert all the time!

Bootleg my stuff by the millions! - me

Hear our old stuff on...
www.soundclick.com/Schematix

intro

but looks like it hasn't been heard. HOW DO YOU SUBMIT?!?!?!?

i'm not impatiant, i'm jus' really anxious.

anyway great news. an' congratulations . . . especially to those who get chosen. good luck y'all.

p.s: most groups have music that's more diverse than whut's featured on their still-under-construction website.

'later

the signiture starts now:

Buy the ILLIANCE album: "Under The Bridge." based in detroit, we're jus' tryin' to get our name out. Try the site: www.illiancerecords.com
it has mp3 downloads and feel free to file share them.

I assure you, we're better than the top ten artist out today . . . not that that's really hard to be, but styll, ya'll get the idea. try an' support our up an' comin' artist. peace.

outro.

the roots leading an independent label?
that is fuckin dope as hell. and they are getting current underground stars and ppl from this site to make music for the first compilation? this is fantastic.

right on.

`·.¸¸><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º>¸..·´¯`·..><((((º>

More importantly, are u registered to vote?

R U undecided? OK
R U elephant? OK
R U green? OK
R U donkey? OK

Educate yourself and take your ass/voice to the polls. See you at the booth americans, for this is our time 2 take the struggle into our hands/hearts - VOTE.

Warn the children.

One mind. One vote >>>
http://www.hsan.org/Content/User/Register.aspx

im w. dean.

i know peeps are pissing in their pants with excitement. shoot let me get some new tracks up. hey i'm cool i aint ready for all that yet. but it sure would be nice. enjoy the opp. all.
peace
tselote

Producers? We need love too.

step into the arena.

best of luck with this.

I am so excited!

Don Will! Sign him up, okay playas??

Man.

This is great news!

~SOOOOUL STAAAARRUAH~

way to go connections and moreee,dats what i'm talking bout.

t-shirts, coffe mugs, handbags,shoes,earrings,rings, socks, clothing line,cars,houses,corporate headquarters,architectural designers--hit every market/create known/unknown to mankind!

err song,poem is the digestion of a book that needs to be turned into a made for tv/and or, full length movie ! anddd more!

no positive limits on the imagination if desired.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER. MORE,DATS WHAT I'M TALKING BOUT !

and "movinn on up to the east side" with george jefferson and weezie.
bring in jj, thelma....

last, certainly not least sure wish i could see a "Things Fall Apart"--911 Movie.

scene: quiet, still of the morn---sax player atop a roof airing out mellow frustrations.

hours later "Things Fall Apart".....fo real and ain't mended yet !

i hear the drummer/with the feet rumblings from the wtc...more
i hear the sax,the trumpet,drummer get faster,guitar(cody chestnut).....

yeah in his own way D'ANGELO was underground,bring him in with a remix of "how does it feel", as people in the street are interviewed--today's feelings post 911...

MOVIE OF THE CENTURIESSSSSSS
REMIX ALBUM OF THE YEAR "THINGS FALL APART"

and beingst usama bin laden in the mix--remix "BREAK U OFF".
tell him --"we're cominn to break you off in the worse way"...ahh, "WHO" ever it...

Black Thought rap fast with it like the rapper in the song with Jamie Fox near the end.

OK. I'M DONE NOW, BUT SOMEDAY "I'LL BE BACK !"

Hi,D'ANGELO,
waitinn, "however long that.... take~~Alicia Keys(on following thru with your dreams--intro on Fallin album and ya on FIYAH--"HeartBurn").

It's about time!!!!!!

M.O.H.+G.O.D.+K.O.S.=SJB


Prom night might excite a fight like white blood cells just fails and the common cold rebels night gets jealous of day play is no longer the smell is so stronger than ammonia stinks inhale! Andre 3000

My album niggas wasn't expectin' but now my water broke! Common

Our words make you cry an ocean and sweat rivers it's just in us! Wordsworth

I'm glad to be a part of this web site.

How please?

the title of the thread says "more details coming soon"

Also check the front news page. www.okayplayer.com

*jumps up to quick and drops water all over pants*

This is the first I've checked okaplayer in a few weeks. Ummm... basically... wow. Trying to get my crew's submission in.

are they just accepting singer/rapper demos or are they also looking to sign beatmakers?

I mean here in South Africa nad want to know if they're gonna release this record(s) outside america and if i submit something will they look at me.

i wanna enter. jersey/dc/philly/nyc/the entire northeastern region of the us.

Chyle has a refreshin' style to change up the pace!
just click below to listen!

***************************************************
I am a Cyberathlete... Okaygeek!

www.cdbaby.com/chyle -Ever wonder what a cosmic alien would look and sound like? -New album its "Bangin"

Dook, Sincy, L'Ville, hmmm pretty much every team that plays against my alum and the Tarheels sux!

Let's Go Charlotte 49ers: 11-4
Geo. Washington (L)????
NC A&T (W) of course
@Syracuse (W)woooooooo!
@UNC-Asheville (W) of course
@Alabama (L) WTF...$*%&%*$
@Old Dominion (W)...shootout 105-102 2OT Plavich hits a 30 ft. for game
Davidson (W)...crosstown rival went down!
App. St. (W) no doubt!
@URI...(L) to Rhode Island in OT, with a 5 pt lead and :30 left &#*@&$*@(&$&!*#
Delaware St. (W) blowout!
@So. Ill. Salukis (W) good road win!
@DePaul(W)Brown puts up 34!
ECU(W) 16pt. azz whoopin'
@Memphis(L)...91-69 we got blown the phuck out! ouch!
Marquette(W) the 3's were fallin'!

Taaaarrrr Heeeeels! 11-3...down goes UConn, down goes UConn!

http://members.cardomain.com/mikeonasis -site for my X! The Cowgirls are on page 2!
www.gettosake.com -Just go check it out!

COWBOY FANS: C. Dilla...C. Dilla...C. Dilla!

It's about mufuggin time!!

It's time to let that major label shit go, serious!
Indy lives! Make it happen!!

Chapter 13 will be hollarin at somebody....

is it a mailing address or something??

Do the lyrics need to be in english?

Nope

any plans being made yet, or is it to early?

does this pertain to creative sample manipulation of any kind, or just no looping up obvious untampered riffs of someone else's brain? do you have to have a keyboard or a band to submit?

That would hit a few of us quite hard. The joints I have in mind have samples. They're chopped and whatnot, but samples nonetheless. Otherwise, we'll have to Plan B it.

No Samples means do not submit anything that we would need to go out and pay money to get cleared

OR

Do not submit anything that could possibly be grounds for a lawsuit if used and not cleared.

I don't want to restrict any of your creativity, however I also do not want to cause a potential liability for us and ultimately FOR YOU

of what we sampled and a snippet of what the original clip sounded like? would that help or am i dreaming? most of us have no clue, at this point in where we are, what samples would and wouldn't present a problem, but i guaruntee some of the best work coming out of the okayplayer community is unfortunately based on creative sample-manipulation. if no is no, though, it is very understandable and i'll approach a plan B.

as in scrathching someone's line or phrase into your song on like a breakdown? i mean, you heard Primo...lol

what if we sampled an artist that is linked to Okayplayer (i'm not saying who) but would that lessen the possibility of a lawsuit or sample clearance problems?

I just dropped an album. Does this mean I can't use any of the tracks fron it?

That's what I'm talking about.

**************
rS

--Any belief worth having must survive doubt--

"Only the educated are free." -- Epictetus

"The punishment we suffer if we refuse to take an interest in matters of government is to live under the government of worse men." -- Plato

Nice....... It's on kiddies

good shit.


"Relaxed like Dru Down's hair" --Common

In the IPOD:
1. Diverse - One A.M.
2. Immortal Technique Vol. 2
3. PUTS - Or Stay Tuned
4. Jay-Z - Black Album
5. DJ Lt. Dan Black Remixes
6. Justus League Mixtapes
7. Anthony Hamilton - Comin'..
8. Little Brother - Listening
9. Missy - This is Not a Test
10. Iomos Marad - Deep Rooted

I'm on it, gonna flaunt it, hope to sign my name on the dotted....................peace


lj

I'm new to the Okayplayer Family.My name is Big Lou and I'm from Detroit,Hitsville,USA...21 years old...I'm part of a crew called Red Handed which consists of E-Class(the first lady),Lock,and myself(Big Lou). I handle all the manager duties. Enough about me Okayplayer Records is a great opportunity for all the unsigned talent on this website. Good Luck to everybody!

http://washingtoncitypaper.com/cover/cover.html
(peep the link for the full article)

<<<At the Jan. 3 Rap Attack hiphop showcase at the Black Cat, lyricist Cy Young asked the crowd to tell him "How many ladies are in here?" One fan, unimpressed with the small Saturday-night turnout, shouted back "Two!"

The audience at the show, which featured locals Young, O.U.O, Sketch, Storm the Unpredictable, and Opus Akoben, wasn't large enough to fill the canyonlike second level of the 14th Street nightclub even halfway, but attendance wasn't as bad as it could hïve been for a local show bookended by a Friday-night performance by the Roots at the 9:30 Club and a Sunday-night appearance by J-Live at Ben N Mos. A few folks in the crowd even mouthed the words as Young launched into his latest joint>>>

www.onedropmuzik.com
www.strangefruitproject.com

nuff said

What if we want to just submit beats for the album? Is that possible?

Yo this is great... hope things go well so make sure that you guys for the sake of humanity don't go down the same road as Rawkus which really stood for something original and fresh!

having trouble downloading the submission form. i call up the pdf file and it says "there was an error processing a page. a font contains a bad C/map Encoding. file cant be understood." is there any other way to recieve the submission form?

let me just add........cogratulations, really i am delighted, how can we in the uk b part of this though?

Great to see! Go okayplayer!

finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i'm tryinta be on...


seriously...

I ain tryina beat no one in the head wit it so check it out - drop links - critique - I will check your links no doubt.
Halla

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/0/leswmusic.htm

This is soo freakin' hot i can't even voice it...
Props go out to Little Brother doin' the damn thing...
i'm really excited to see how this pans out...
congrats ?uest and company...

much love,
Kyle



Aceyalone..NEW ALBUM...June 03...Love and Hate...on tour NOW!!!


"but why oh why do you feel you need to take over the world when you already rule? " ~ calamity june

I don't know if its just me or what but I'm not able to download the form and thats all I need to put this package together and get it out the door. Can someone possibly covert it to a word document and email it to me or somethin.... @ draz@draz.net so I can get this show on the road already?

I haven't been on these boards too long or been able to contribute much yet but I have a live hiphop group of my very own. Am I bein a spaz or does it say somewhere where you're sposed to send demos?

and i can't access it...I get an error message....I see the address and all, but not th form.

to fill out...I can't get that to open so I can print it out.

Do the songs need to be sent by friday or you must receive them till friday. I'm from Slovenia and I don't know how long it will take.

both the submission form and the post say the deadline is friday february 13th, which implies that submissions received tomorrow will be considered.

?

It more than implies that it's due on the 13th, it plainly states it. Today is the 12th, not the 13th.

WTF?

the whole "send us a bio" part totally got past me for some reason. i sent in the form and a CD, but is it too late to email or regular-mail a BIO to someone? i really want this opportunity and i really hope i didn't eff it up by not sending a bio.

crazy shit.

*************************************
puttin it down like it burned my hand.