Directed by Khil Datta produced by Surock. Taken from the interactive album Murderland, available now. Also peep the remix by Jenova 7 via Soundcloud below.

New music from the high exhaulted one.

Copywrite celebrates the life of Big Pun on this unmixed freestyle cut.

Today, Columbus-based rapper Copywrite releases his free album Carbon Copy’s Phony Art Pub Scam through Man Bites Dog Records. The title of the album, which was premiered by OkayPlayer, is a play on The Beatles’ famous record Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and starting with the album cover, it’s a mix of honorary sampling coupled with what can feel like irreverence. However, there’s nothing but genuine excitement in this project which is, for Copy, his way, “of paying homage to one of my favorite groups and albums of all time.”

Feeling burnt out on hip-hop after releasing two albums in the past year, Copy was craving something different. He went on a Beatles and Beach Boys binge, and one day, while listening to Sgt. Pepper’s, he recounts, “I had the headphone jack halfway in and it played only the speaker with the music and not the vocals.” Immediately struck by the unorthodox time signatures, Copy was excited by the challenge of it. “I love rapping complex and crazy, but I never really have the platform for that,” says Copy, “It was perfect.”

Lennon’s lyric “It was 20 years ago today” resonated with Copy’s long history with the genre. “I started when I was 14 and now I’m 34,” says Copy explaining the way it hit him, “I felt as if Lennon was talking to that young emcee out of bumfuck Ohio.” He continues, “I’m rapping about things I’ve never rapped about in my 20 years of emceeing.” There’s a brooding weight to the tracks, which are often self-reflective, darkly personal narratives. Dealing with new territory in subject matter also influenced its production. “I’m rapping using a different delivery on this,” Copy says, it’s “more close to my regular speaking voice.”

Stand-outs “ADHD Quality”, “Read A…” and “When I’m (In The) Six (One) Four” incorporate delicate melodies with very recognizable samples from the classic tracks, a complement which adds gravity to Copy’s verse. Despite the seriousness of the songs, Copy adds that “I had a lot of fun with this, more than any album I’ve made before.” That enjoyment shows because throughout, the production is considered carefully with layers of news clips, radio and television samples mingling with Beatles parts. Tracks like “I Love Lucy”, “High With Friendz” and “Your Life In A Day” stick more closely to the themes of the original songs, while others veer off in very different directions. There’s a lot going on in Carbon Copy’s Phony Art Pub Scam, but for Copy, it comes down to some simple and important things. He says, “I just hope I can turn some kids on to the fab 4 and push the envelope a little!”

Man Bites Dog Records has been on a tear over the past couple years, with recent albums from MHz Legacy, Stu Bangas & Vanderslice, Copywrite, Vast Aire, and more. And with a busy year still ahead, including upcoming releases from Eddie B & Harry Fraud, Illogic & Blockhead, Roc Marciano, and others, label founder R.M.L. is first excited to release MBDR Volume 2, out today and available for free download via the label’s SoundCloud.

Volume 2 is full of original, exclusive songs that will only be available on this album, and the project includes features and production from the likes of Copywrite, Bronze Nazareth, Hayze, Curly Castro, Killah Priest, Stu Bangas, Double A.B., Vanderslice, Kount Fif, Reef The Lost Cause, Jason Rose, and more. And while the label could have easily released this project through retail, label founder R.M.L. is instead offering the project for free download as a thank you to the label’s supportive fans. “In this climate, anyone can download music illegally,” remarks R.M.L., “so I wanted to reward our fans that do the right thing and pay to support our records.”

As a follow-up to MBDR Volume 1, released a few years back, Volume 2, which was mixed and mastered at Royal Crown Studios offers fans an updated look at the label’s talented roster. “I think this is a good introduction to some of the new faces on the label, both emcees and producers,” explains R.M.L. “For fans, it’s a nice warm welcome to what makes Man Bites Dog Records special.”

MHz Legacy took 15 years to release their debut effort, the self-titled MHz Legacy via Man Bites Dog Records, and so it’s no surprise that, since release, the group hasn’t slowed down a bit. Following last week’s release of the video for “Somewhere,” a single with production helmed by the group’s in-house producer RJD2, the collective, comprised of rappers Copywrite, Tage Future, Jakki Da Motamouth, and Camu Tao (who passed away in 2008 following a battle with lung cancer), are now releasing a new video, this one for fan-favorite album cut “Mass Temple.”

Atop producer Jason Rose’s keys- and guitar-laden production, Copywrite opens with something of a mission statement, not only a testament for this song but for the group, for the album. “To whom this may, or may not, concern,” he begins, “we’re here. Fashionably late, by only 14 years. Been beat up; stayed up-beat through ungodly amounts of hate… Meanwhile, we lost a brother. I lost a father, lost a mother. Almost lost my mind.”

The video, directed by Dan Gotti plays off the somber theme of the song and places Copy and Tage in front of purple sky as the two emcees trade bars back and forth, each opening up about their personal failures and successes. “I expect to win,” raps Tage. “To not try is far worse than to fail in that/ Then telling that to my unborn child.”

Today, as MHz Legacy continues to celebrate the release of their self-titled debut album, they’re taking part in the tradition of Throwback Thursday with one of the rarest songs from their vaults, “The Only Weathermen Song.” The song, accompanied here by new, exclusive artwork, stands apart as a classic from the early 2000s era of hip-hop and marks one of the only times that Copywrite, El-P, Camu Tao, Tage Future, Cannibal Ox, Jakki Da Motamouth, and Yak Ballz (otherwise known as The Weathermen) were all in one studio at the same time.

Reminiscing on the song, Copywrite says:

“Back in 2001, 2002, Camu and I where living in Middletown, New York. Cage lived there too, which is why I moved out there. We where supposed to go on a tour with all of the Eastern Conference Records artists, but Mad Skillz pulled out to vacation, so the tour fell through. Cage wasn’t too fond of Camu back then but ‘Mu expressed to me how bad he wanted to go to pursue music with me and I told him to come along. In those days, we would always drive my Ford Explorer from Middletown to Manhattan to record at DJ Mighty Mi’s spot on Lexington, and then we’d go visit El-P in Brooklyn and crash for several nights at a time. Vast Aire and Vordul Mega, of Cannibal Ox, had their own room downstairs and El’s studio was right next door, so there was always music going on.”

“This song was recorded around the time I was working on my debut album, The High Exhaulted, and Cannibal Ox was working on their album, The Cold Vein. It was a rare occasion to have Tage Future, Camu Tao, Jakki Da Motamouth, Cage, Cannibal Ox, El-P, and myself all in the same room at once, so I told them we needed to seize the moment and record something. El started pulling up beats and we all instantly agreed on this one. The beat played and we wrote – whoever had their verse first hit the mic booth, which, at that time, was El-P’s closet, and the rest is history. Camu was probably smokin’ a blunt with Vordul, so neither of them is on the song; I don’t know why El didn’t drop a verse. Back then we titled it “The Only Weathermen Song,” since it was so tough to get all of us together at the same time.”

The history of Columbus, Ohio’s MHz is perhaps one of the most intriguing stories in underground hip-hop lore. They first stepped on the scene in 1998, via a handful of vinyl only singles on Bobbito’s legendary Fondle ‘Em Records imprint. While these 12-inches hardly made them a household name, they did catch the ears of a few important figures of the time – Definitive Jux’s El-P and Eastern Conference’s DJ Mighty Mi. Friendly competition between the two pioneering indie hip-hop imprints would see the signing of solo deals for both RJD2 and Camu Tao on Jux, while Copywrite would sign with E.C. Both RJD2 and Copywrite would deliver debut solo LP’s in 2002 – both critically acclaimed – with other MHz members Jakki, and Tage Proto waiting in the wings. Camu teamed with both Cage and Metro for a pair of collaborative projects, Nighthawks and S.A. Smash, respectively; and the fusion of MHz, with many of the other Def Jux and E.C. artists, would form an ultimate supergroup called The Weathermen, who released one mixtape before disappearing forever.

During a time where crew albums were all the rage (here’s looking at you, Terror Squad) and with all of these projects happening concurrently, it seemed like the reuniting of the MHz crew was inevitable. The Ohio collective had already produced each RJD2, Copywrite, and Camu Tao, so getting everyone back together for a crew-defining LP seemed like a no-brainer. Except it never happened. Rumors of in-fighting, falling-outs, and on-again-off-again friendships between various members of the crew always seemed to keep the reunion from happening. And then something happened in 2008 that sealed MHz’s fate for good: the early death of Camu Tao.

It’s 2012, and both Def Jux and Eastern Conference Records are defunct. RJD2 has moved beyond standard hip-hop production, Copywrite has struggled with broken relationships and backlash from fair-weather fans, while Camu rests in peace after succumbing to cancer. The idea of an MHz album at this point almost seems like a bad idea… but somehow they have pulled it off.

Copywrite leads the pack on MHz Legacy, while Tage has finally moved beyond “Proto” type status, and moved into a “Future” version of himself, finally ready to stand front-and-center with his more established peers. The MHz Legacy album largely revolves around these two emcees – quite easily the best of the camp – with minor contributions from Jakki and a posthumous Camu. The album begins with “Accidentally On Purpose”, which sums up the project in one line: “This is the album that wasn’t even supposed to happen / even after mastering, we couldn’t believe the rappin’ / a story about moving out the house / from a crew with a name nobody knew how to pronounce”. (It’s “megahertz”, in case you were wondering).

The chemistry between the crew on MHz Legacy doesn’t sound forced, even with Cam’s verses delivered from beyond the grave, such as on “Spaceship”, which finds Copy and Camu sharing rhymes, alongside guest Danny Brown, who seems like he would have been a natural collaborator with Cam. There are plenty of great posse cuts in the classic E.C. / Def Jux fashion, such as a pair of RJD2 produced heaters, “Hindsight” and “Four Player Mode”, or later on “Columbus Diss Patch”, each with a sound that suggests the Fat Beats 12″ era never died out. On the solo tip, Tage gets his time to shine on the RJD2 produced “Outta Room”, while Copywrite gets his on “Obituaries”. There are a number of notable guest collabos as well, such as “Yellow & Blue”, which features guest verses from Blu over a ridiculous track by Surock, or the drug-addled “Addicitionary”, where each Copywrite, Ill Bill, and Slaine recount their personal narcotic experiences. The album takes a more serious turn on tracks like “Mass Temple” and “Y’all Don’t Know”, both of which suggest that these cats are more than just witty punchlines, and also proves they aren’t always dependent on RJD2 for the album’s more meaty, musical moments.

While some of the fat could have been trimmed from the album’s 17 tracks, MHZ Legacy is a very solid, surprising effort, one that we thought would never happen. Posthumous albums never seem to work, and crew albums even less so. But in a rare occurrence, Copywrite, RJD2, and Tage have pooled their efforts into pulling this thing together, and it is nothing short of spectacular. Despite the indie hip-hop movement having it’s best days behind it, and the idea of this album being way past expiration, the end result shows that the Columbus crew has prevailed, and the MHz Legacy will live on.

Last week, MHz Legacy released their long-awaited album, MHz Legacy, via Man Bites Dog Records. Already the accolades have been rolling in, including a XL-rated review from XXL Magazine, and today, following the release of last week’s Blu-featuring “Yellow + Blue,” MHz Legacy is excited to release a new video, this one for the album’s latest single, “Mechanical Me.” The song is produced by Jason Rose, who also provides the track’s sung chorus, and, as the album closer on MHz Legacy, is one of the most adventurous, ambitious tracks the Columbus crew has released to-date, an up-tempo affair with clear, well-executed pop sensibilities.

The video, directed by R.M.L., and premiered today by PrefixMag, is equally ambitious. Shot in a tormented medical lab, the clip features Jason Rose as a mad scientist, working on his captured victims — Copywrite, chips implanted on the operating table; Tage Future caged awaiting his own transformation — alongside his own Frankenstein creation and tight-clothed nurse.

Collectively and individually, MHz has been one of the most influential underground rap crews of the past 15 years. Comprised of producer RJD2 and rappers Copywrite, Camu Tao, Jakki Da Motamouth, and Tage Future, the collective first came together in Columbus, Ohio, a loose group of basement freestylers talented enough to garner the attention of folks like Bobbito Garcia, releasing two now-classic 12″ singles, “World Premier” and “Rocket Science,” on Garcia’s iconic indie label, Fondle ‘Em Records. Since then, though, the members of MHz have spent the past decade-plus pursuing solo endeavors – RJ as a genre-bending producer; Copywrite as a boundary-pushing lyricist who spent the 2000s being courted by the likes of Roc-A-Fella Records; Camu Tao as a close companion and collaborator with El-P – and influencing a new generation. The one thing they’ve never done – release an official album.

Until now; on October 30th, MHz Legacy – the name change is in honor of Camu Tao, who passed away following a battle with lung cancer in 2008; he will appear on the album still with a number of never-before-heard verses – will release what amounts to their official debut album, a self-titled effort, via Man Bites Dog Records. The album will feature the likes of Danny Brown, Oh No, ILL BILL, Slaine, Blu, Slug, along with some outside production from Harry Fraud, !llmind, Stu Bangas and Marco Polo. Today, MHz Legacy is releasing the debut single and video from that album, for the Surock-produced track “Gone” which was premiered this afternoon by Billboard.

“Gone,” according to the crew, is a testament to the fact that the group, as a collective unit, has been off the scene for some time now — and also a testament to the fact that, in those years away, they haven’t lost a step musically or lyrically. “We’ve been ‘gone,’ as in off the scene,” says Tage Future, “but we’ve always been crafty writers. Now that we’re coming back out, we’re showing that our skills are ‘gone,’ as high level, as in outta here.”

The video is directed by R.M.L. and features Copy and Tage trading bars while showing off the lighter side of their personalities, letting loose as they speed around on go-karts and catch air on a local moon bounce. “I think everyone loves Go-Karts – I know I do,” says R.M.L. on the concept behind the video. “Rappers are usually trying to look so hard that they would never rock a Go-Kart in a video. We took it a step further and threw in the Moon Bounce too.” To top it all off, the video features Copy and Tage zipping around on “people movers of the future,” as R.M.L. put it, more commonly known as Segways. It wasn’t all fun and games, though. “The most challenging part,” recalls Copywrite, “was definitely the bounce. It’s easy to run out of breath when you’re bouncing as high as you can.”

The band gets back together for one last tour…. Legendary Fondle ‘Em supergroup MHz was just a bunch of nobodies when they first stepped on the scene. It wouldn’t be until they all went solo, that we would know names like RJD2, Copywrite, Camu Tao, Jakki, and Tage. Although the group previously has only had the compilation album, Table Scraps, to their name, they finally reunite after the death of Camu Tao. Due October 30th on Man Bites Dog Records.

1. Accidentally On Purpose (Producer: Rob Stern)
2. Hindsight (1998) (featuring Playdough, Producer: RJD2)
3. Four Player Mode (Producer: RJD2)
4. Out Of Room (Producer: RJD2)
5. Spaceship (featuring Danny Brown, Producer: Harry Fraud)
6. Soul Train (Of Thought) (featuring Oh No, Producer: Illmind)
7. Addictionary (featuring Ill Bill, Vinnie Paz, & Slaine, Producer: Stu Bangas)
8. Gone! (Producer: Surock)
9. Obituaries (Producer: Marco Polo)
10. Columbus Diss Patch (featuring Dom, Producer: J Rawls)
11. Mass Temple (featuring Steve (of Middle Distance Runner) Producer: Jason Rose)
12. Y’all Don’t Know D1) (Producer: D1)
13. Yellow & Blue (featuring Blu, Producer: Surock)
14. Satisfaction (featuring Slug (of Atmosphere), Producer: RJD2)
15. Tero Smith (featuring Aaron Livingston, Producer: RJD2)
16. Somewhere (2099) (Producer: RJD2)
17. Mechanical Me (Producer: Jason Rose)

Earlier this month, Copywrite released God Save The King: Proper English Version. The album, a deluxe edition re-release of his God Save The King album released earlier this year, featured Copywrite enlisting a number of the UK’s brightest up-and-coming rappers to remix tracks from God Save The King, names like Dru Blu, Mystro, SAS, Akala, and Iron Braydz, along with Context, who was voted as MTV UK’s New Artist Of The Year in 2011, and who appears on this latest single, “Ghosts In The Machine.”

The song, “Ghost In The Machine,” finds Copywrite and Context taking aim at those jealous of their position in rap, and in particular at the rare breed of haters who waste their day leaving negative comments online. Copywrite opens the track forcefully, rapping, “You hide behind your blog/ I’m hiding behind your garage/ With a barrage of bullets right on your front lawn,” and continues to poke fun with slick lines like, “Ultimate compliment/ When a hater gets stalkerish/ Since they gave every compliment/ They have nothing to talk but shit.” The video, directed by R.M.L., humorously plays off the song’s concept, working together a mix of performance shots with a host of funny shots, as fans spend their days watching Copywrite videos and aimlessly directing their hate to the comments section.

Today, Copywrite is excited to release God Save The King: Proper English Version via his longtime label Man Bites Dog Records. The album is a deluxe edition re-release of his February album, God Save The King, and the new version of the project includes a number of remixes for God Save The King standouts, each featuring a collection of the UK’s biggest rappers, a list that includes Context, Dru Blu, Mystro, SAS, Akala, Iron Braydz, and more. The album also features a number of new exclusives, including recent single “More Sorrow,” and today, Copywrite is releasing a video for single “Got To Make It.”

“Got To Make It” is produced by Stu Bangas, a frequent collaborator for Copy who also produced recent single “More Sorrow,” and the track features fellow MHz Legacy rapper Tage Future, who Copywrite will again team up with this fall for the release of the long-awaited new MHz Legacy album. Along with “More Sorrow,” “Got To Make It” is one of the deeper songs from the album, as Copywrite uses the track to urge listeners to learn from his mistakes and not repeat them. “No one has their life as together as it may appear,” says Copywrite, explaining what inspired the track. “But the song,” he continues, “is about the feeling of having to make it in life regardless of what obstacles are in your way.”

The video, directed by Seanie G, who Copywrite has been working with since 2006, mixes performance clips of Copy and Tage with actual police tape footage, acquired by Copywrite’s lawyer, of an altercation the rapper had earlier in 2012 with the Columbus, Ohio, police. “I was charged with a DUI and resisting arrest,” says Copy, explaining what viewers will be seeing in the clip. “I thought it made sense to include that footage – it’s another warning of what not to do.”

The first half of 2012 has proven to be a triumphant year for Man Bites Dog Records, and now, the burgeoning hip-hop label is excited to announce a string of forthcoming releases. The rest of the year promises to be busy, as the label prepares for high profile releases from MHz Legacy, Stu Bangas & Vanderslice, Wais P, Bronze Nazareth, and Double AB & Dub Sonata.

Man Bites Dog Records first emerged in 2010, establishing its presence with the release of Killah Priest’s Three Day Theory and Copywrite’s Life and Times of Peter Nelson. With both albums receiving critical acclaim, MBDR followed the next year with Vast Aire’s OX 2010: A Street Odyssey, and in 2012, the label has continued to roll, with a new album from Copywrite, God Save The King, in addition to The Swashbuckler LP, from producers Kount Fif & R.M.L.

On August 7th, Copywrite will release God Save The King: Proper English Version, a remixed re-release of God Save The King that includes features from high profile UK artists such as Context, Dru Blu, Mystro, and SAS. On August 28th, producers Stu Bangas & Vanderslice will release Diggaz With Attitude, featuring Roc Marciano, The Alchemist, Evidence, Apathy, Ill Bill, Vinnie Paz, Blaq Poet, Celph Titled, Esoteric, and more. Their video for lead single “The Gusto,” featuring a who’s-who in the hip hop world with Apathy, Roc Marciano, The Alchemist, and Evidence, racked up over 20k views in the first 72 hours it was released on YouTube.

On September 18th, MBDR will release the latest effort from rapper Double AB, Media Showers, a collaborative effort with producer Dub Sonata that includes features from Cannibal Ox, Evidence, Rhymefest, Sean Price, and more. The duo’s first video, for the single “Lord Knows What” with Roc Marciano, will be released in the coming weeks.

On October 9th, Wais P, will release his debut solo album Pimpin’ Saved My Life. The album will include production from Harry Fraud, Statik Selektah, The Bizness, Stu Bangas, and Vanderslice, and the project will also include guest features from the likes of Action Bronson, Smoke DZA, Joey Bada$$, Kokaine, and more. Prior to the album’s release, Wais P will release a free mixtape, Pussy Rich.

To wrap a productive fourth quarter, MBDR will release their biggest album to date, a new album from MHz Legacy, the beloved Ohio crew that includes Copywrite, RJD2, Jakki Da Motamouth, Tage Future, and Camu Tao, who passed away in 2008. Despite serving as one of the most influential collection of artists in underground hip-hop for over a decade, MHz, to date, has released only one album, Table Scraps, which was a collection of singles and b-sides. This new album is expected to offer some of the artists’ most accomplished work-to-date. Although not yet finished, the album is currently slated to include production from RJD2, Harry Fraud, Marco Polo, Stu Bangas and Illmind, in addition to features from Ill Bill & Slaine (La Coka Nostra), Oh No, and Slug. Longtime fans of the group will also be happy to hear that the group ensured that Camu Tao’s voice be heard and thus incorporated never before heard verses on several songs.

As Man Bites Dog Records uses the rest of 2012 to solidify itself as one of independent hip-hop’s premier labels, the label expects even bigger things for 2013 and beyond. “Making an impact in the music business takes a lot of hard work and talent from a whole team of people,” says label founder R.M.L. “We’re lucky to work with talented artists that have been working hard to make music that will impact the future. I am truly excited for all our fans, new and old.”

This past February, Copywrite released God Save The King, which wound up being not only some of his most personal work to date but also some of his most critically acclaimed. Now, on August 7th, Copy will team back up with his label Man Bites Dog Records for the worldwide release of God Save The King: Proper English Version. The album will include a handful of new exclusives, in addition to a number of remixes of God Save The King standouts, featuring a collection of the UK’s biggest rappers, a list that includes Context, Dru Blu, Mystro, SAS, Akala, Iron Braydz, and more.

Today, Copywrite is excited to release a video for the album’s latest single, “More Sorrow” which features Copywrite’s childhood friend Illogic. For fans of God Save The King, the song’s title will sound familiar – “Sorrow” was one of the album’s standout tracks, as Copywrite used the song to deal with recent loss. “More Sorrow” is in dedication to Copywrite’s grandmother, and the song was written and recorded the same night that she passed away, minutes before Copywrite was able to get to the hospital. “Walked in the hospital room, you were already gone,” raps Copywrite, reliving the events of the evening. “I kissed you on your forehead and held your sweaty palm.”

The song is produced by Stu Bangas, who, together with Vanderslice, will release Diggaz With Attitude on August 28th, and it was Stu’s beat that brought the pain and emotion out. The song is not all gloomy thoughts, though, as Copywrite turns towards his faith for resolution. “The song still has a triumphant vibe to it,” explains Copywrite, “which is why I decided to talk about Jesus. This life is a Rubix Cube, but there is a way out of it and to be victorious.”

The video, directed by R.M.L., initially incorporated a narrative structure, but Copywrite and the director later decided to stray from that narrative in favor of a more raw and interpersonal display of emotion. The result is a video that allows Copywrite to command the viewer’s attention, while putting the emphasis on Copy’s lyrics.