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.”

Man Bites Dog Records proudly presents the new music video from Hayze’s mixtape The Smoker’s Section featuring & produced by Apathy. Video Directed by Camacho for Flawless Visuals.

New London, Connecticut, might not be the first city that comes to mind as a breeding ground for talented lyricists, but Hayze, still in his late-teens and hailing from the northeast city, is looking to change that. Discovered by Apathy, the Demigodz rapper known in his own right as one of hip-hop’s premier wordsmiths, Hayze recently signed with Man Bites Dog Records, and is now planning to release his debut mixtape, The Smoker’s Section, on March 7th.

Today, Hayze is releasing a brand new single from the tape, “Life Is Hell,” which features Apathy and serves as a perfect introduction for the hardened, quick-witted lyricism that caught Apathy’s attention when he first heard Hayze rap less than a year ago. “He sounded mad different from anything I was hearing,” recalls Apathy. “Most fans would probably expect me to champion someone who has a similar sound as Demigodz, or Army of the Pharaohs, but that’s exactly the opposite of what I heard from him and what I dug about his music.”

Connecticut emcee Hayze has recently joined the ranks of Esoteric, Bronze Nazareth, and MHz Legacy as the newest member of Man Bites Dog Records’ roster, and has also become Apathy’s young protégée. With the support of his potent new team, Hayze is gearing up to release his mixtape The Smokers Section, due out this December.

Hayze linked with fellow Connecticut rapper Apathy by pure chance when the King of CT walked into Hayze’s recording session at Smoke The World’s studio. “He sounded mad different from anything I was hearing at the time,” says Apathy. “Most fans would probably expect me to champion someone who has a similar sound as Demigodz or AOTP, but that’s exactly the opposite of what I heard from him and what I dug about his music.”

For first offering from TSS, Hayze is releasing the video for his single “Creepmode”. Along with discovering and mentoring Hayze, Ap also jumped behind the boards to produce the hard-hitting beat that compliments Hayze’s silky flow and clever wordplay, resulting in a banger with a classic east coast hip-hop vibe. The opening scene of the video, directed by Flawless Visuals, shows Hayze in a cemetery before taking it the block and introducing the world to the environment that shaped him and the lifestyle of countless others.