Talib Kweli, David Banner, Little Brother and B.O.B. Merge Rhymes and Live Instrumentation on the 2nd year of the Groundbreaking National Hip Hop Live! Tour
Talib Kweli, David Banner, Little Brother and B.O.B. Merge Rhymes and Live Instrumentation on the 2nd year of the Groundbreaking National Hip Hop Live! Tour
HIP HOP LIVE!, the groundbreaking national tour presented by Flow TV, (www.flow.tv) and produced by The Agency Group, is proud to announce the sophomore version of their critically acclaimed annual outing. Beginning September 28th at Cane’s in San Diego and making its way east to end at the Nokia Theater in Times Square, NYC on October 25th, Hip Hop Live! brings you Hip Hop notables Talib Kweli, David Banner, Little Brother and B.O.B (who split duties as the tour’s opener). Each of the acts will take the stage backed by heralded 10-Piece live band Rhythm Roots All Stars for unique versions of the songs they have made mainstays.
The 19 city run will make history again featuring the cultural straight shooting of visionary Talib Kweli, moving forward full steam off his incredibly successful and acclaimed Ear Drum LP; David Banner riding the success of his chart topping smash single “Get Like Me” off his new album The Greatest Story Ever Told; Little Brother, fresh off a wave of high profile festival appearances, bring a top-notch, high energy live show; B.O.B., much hyped guitar wielding ATL rapper and producer, rounds out the dynamic line up. Also, look for special guest appearances in various cities along the tour.
The Rhythm Roots All Stars are a collective of the industries best musicians, who have performed/recorded with such notables as Black Eyed Peas, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Outkast, and the list goes on.
Last year’s Hip Hop Live! Tour featured Ghostface Killah, Rakim and Brother Ali, all backed by the All Stars, and was a huge success, selling out nearly all of the 18 shows.
“Hip Hop Live! proved that hip-hop lives”, XXL Magazine
THE DATES:
(w/ Little Brother)
Sun-Sep-28 San Diego, CA @ Canes
Tue-Sep-30 Los Angeles, CA @ House of Blues
Thu-Oct-02 San Francisco, CA @ Grand Ballroom
Fri-Oct-03 Portland, OR @ Roseland
Sat-Oct-04 Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theater
Sun-Oct-05 Seattle, WA @ Showbox Sodu
Wed-Oct-08 Boulder, CO @ Fox Theater
Fri-Oct-10 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
Mon-Oct-13 Bloomington, IN @ Bluebird
(w/ B.O.B.)
Sat-Oct-18 Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre
Sun-Oct-19 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
Mon-Oct-20 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Thu-Oct-23 Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
Fri-Oct-24 Boston, MA @ Showcase Live!
Sat-Oct-25 New York, NY @ Nokia Theatre
DAVID BANNER TO PERFORM INTIMATE MYSPACE RELEASE SHOW WITH FULL BAND IN NEW YORK CITY AT KNITTING FACTORY NYC ON JULY 17
NEW ALBUM “THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD” OUT JULY 15 ON UNIVERSAL MOTOWN RECORDS
MySpace Music is proud to announce that David Banner will be performing a free show for his MySpace friends in New York City on July 17 at 8:30 p.m. at Knitting Factory NYC – a show being powered by Saints Row 2. With his new album “The Greatest Story Ever Told” slated for release on July 15, Mississippi’s favorite son David Banner is eager to showcase his fresh body of work with opening act Maino in tow. Early wristband pick-up for the performance will begin at 7 p.m. on July 17 on a first come, first served basis.
Putting Jackson, Mississippi, on the map, David Banner is more than simply a musical artist and actor. Having spent his days since Hurricane Katrina helping out in philanthropic efforts to rebuild the region, David Banner is now ready to properly follow up his widely-received 2005 album “Certified” with a set of fiery tracks synonymous with his name. Featuring guest shots from the likes of Lil Wayne, Akon, Chris Brown, Snoop Dogg and Chamillionaire, “The Greatest Story Ever Told” is a piece of social commentary expressing Banner’s passionate viewpoints, his recent experiences, and the type of heartache he’s endured over the past few years.
About MySpace:
MySpace, a unit of Fox Interactive Media Inc., is the premier lifestyle portal for connecting with friends, discovering popular culture, and making a positive impact on the world. By integrating web profiles, blogs, instant messaging, e-mail, music streaming, music videos, photo galleries, classified listings, events, groups, college communities, and member forums, MySpace has created a connected community. As the first ranked web domain in terms of page views (*), MySpace is the most widely-used and highly regarded site of its kind and is committed to providing the highest quality member experience. MySpace will continue to innovate with new features that allow its members to express their creativity and share their lives, both online and off. MySpace’s international network includes localized community sites in the United States, France, Germany, Australia, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Japan, Sweden, Latin America, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Brazil and the United Kingdom. Fox Interactive Media is a division of News Corp. (NYSE:NWS) (NYSE:NWS.A) (ASX:NWS) (ASX:NWSLV).
Check the new official video for David Banner’s “Get Like Me” featuring Chris Brown and Yung Joc. This the new single off of David Banner’s highly anticipated album “The Greatest Story Ever Told” in stores JULY 15.
“The Fight” is the first installment in David Banner’s Greatest Stories series. This story is about a misunderstanding between two friends that takes an unexpected turn.
“I beat him and her up!” – David Banner
Check David Banners new single “Get Like Me” featuring Chris Brown off his upcoming album “The Greatest Story Ever Told” in stores SUMMER 2008.
“For me music is about honesty, pain and a willingness to cry as well as fight,” said Banner. “As a rapper and producer, my goal is to unite with the audience, not trying to reign over them.”
Check out the new mixtape from David Banner below:
DOWNLOAD: David Banner – Spare Clips: The Mixtape (featuring Snoop Dogg, Akon, Lil’ Wayne, Bun B, Lil Jon, T.I., Rick Ross, Busta Rhymes, Pimp C, E-40, Lil Boosie, Marcus, 8Ball, Yola): http://www.sendspace.com/file/azv8ws
WHO IS David Banner?
Let’s cut to the chase: David Banner is one of the most underappreciated rappers to emerge from below the Mason-Dixon Line in the last five years. Since his SRC/Universal debut Mississippi: The Album in 2003, many have been enthralled by Banner’s obvious dedication to lyrical craft, roaring tracks and b-boy stance. Still, while past tracks like the cranked “Like a Pimp” from his debut to the electro-bounce of “Play” (Certified, 2005) has helped build a loyal fan base, with the release of The Greatest Story Ever Told this country boy is finally connecting on a larger scale.
Exposed to all kinds of music while growing up, Banner’s musical palette is never lacking. From the funky head nod of the Akon-produced first single “Speaker” to the dark path of “Suicide Doors,” featuring UGK to the textured grooves of “Cadillac On 22’s Part II,” David Banner proves he can do it all. “UGK, Sun-Ra and The Police all have had their influence on what you hear in my music,” he laughs.
In 1999, as a member of the Mississippi rhyme duo Crooked Lettaz, Banner became part of the dirty south revolution, releasing the critically lauded and criminally slept-on Tommy Boy Records debut Grey Skies. A year later, Them Firewater Boys Vol. 1, his introduction as a soloist, saw Banner blazing through the underground; both XXL and Murder Dog named it one of the best albums of the year. Soon the major labels were knocking on Banner’s door, sparking off a bidding-war. When legendary music executive Steve Rifkind (Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Big Pun) signed the self-contained Banner and his b.i.G.f.a.c.e. Entertainment imprint to Rifkind’s SRC label, the music industry took notice.
Having recently released his first single, “Speaker,” which features Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg and producer Akon, it obvious that David Banner has concocted the perfect hip hop banger. “When people listen to my songs, I want them to consider them the soundtrack to their lives,” David Banner declares. “I’m not just making songs for the moment; I’m creating material that I hope lasts in their minds forever.
“2006 was a difficult year for me,” Banner continues. “So, for 2007 I wanted to come out celebrating. To me, “Speaker” is a celebration of hip-hop and what it can represent. Rap gets blamed for all the ills in the world today; I just wanted folks to know there is a lot of love in the music too.”
In the last year, David Banner has also made the transition from the studio to the screen, having appeared in Black Snake Moan and the forthcoming movies This Christmas and Days of Wrath. “I started taking acting classes soon after ‘Like A Pimp’ came out,” Banner states. “Now, making movies is like my new love; it’s hot to be able to go from one art form to the next.”
A complex man who is both street-wise and book-smart, Banner has carried many burdens over the last few years. From working closely providing aid for Katrina victims (his foundation and concert Heal the Hood raised $500,000) to burying his father earlier this year, his heart has been heavy. “The world isn’t a nice place. Often, my music was an outcry of my pain,” he says. “But, a lot of my music has been too dark and depressing; right now I’m trying to bring some light into my life.” The brightness of Banner’s optimism blares brilliantly on the hypnotic “Get Like Me,” a track that features collaborations with Young Joc, Jim Jones and Chris Brown.
Produced by the man himself, who has stirred massive pots of musical gumbo for T.I. (“Rubberband Man”) and Trick Daddy (“Thug Holiday”), Banner has constructed his most mackadelic track to date with “Get Like Me.” “Chris Brown is like my little brother,” Banner says. “It’s been amazing for me to watch him grow as both an artist and a man. I knew from the beginning, that I wanted him on this track.” But, what about the song’s production? “I’m a real producer, not simply a beat-maker,” he explains. “When I’m in the studio, I’m thinking beyond just samples, I’m trying to build something special. Unlike a lot of other people, I’m still a fan of music and it’s that fan in me that I’m making music for.”
Combining an old-school sensibility with new-school grooves, one of the standouts on The Greatest Story Ever Told is the amazing “Hold On.” Revolutionary in its execution, this sweeping song has the cinematic appeal of a ‘70s blaxploitation flick playing down at the local movie theater. Yet, instead of getting caught-up in a web of blown-out afros and leather pimp coat clichés, Banner has a deeper tale to relate. Deep as quicksand and soulful as a steaming plate of catfish, “Hold On” is social commentary at it’s finest. “A lot of rappers today don’t tell stories,” Banner comments, “but, on that track, I went through an entire lifetime. Nobody does that anymore.”
David Banner has been busy perfecting his skills. “For me music is about honesty, pain and a willingness to cry as well as fight. As a rapper and producer, my goal is to unite with the audience, not trying to reign over them.” Coming straight out of Jackson, Mississippi with a license to thrill, The Greatest Story Ever Told is a crowning achievement for a rapper whose moment of recognition has come. No longer on the outside looking in, David Banner is ready for his close-up.
David Banner
THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD
IN STORES OCTOBER 9
Universal Motown/SRC Records www.myspace.com/davidbanner
NEW VIDEO: David Banner – Speaker featuring Akon, Lil’ Wayne and Snoop Dogg
…that at the first Rock the Bells date on July 26th at Tweeter Center in Boston, David Banner took issue to having to perform before Immortal Technique (as originally planned). According to witnesses, when Banner was told that no changes would be made to the line-up, he “threw a tantrum,” left the venue and dropped out of the remainder of the tour. Banner did not appear at the two RTB New York dates since.
