Mello Music Group: “The lead single from the upcoming Red Pill solo album “Look What This World Did To Us” coming 4/7 on Mello Music Group.”

From Bandcamp: “Red Pill, having just signed a multi-album deal with MMG, decided to let Mello fans know that he has put in his 10,000 hours and is ready for the solo artist limelight.

His opening track is produced by new-teammate Oddisee, who back in 2011 after watching Red Pill preform at SXSW spoke to Apollo Brown suggesting he produce something with him. “Red Pill was thoroughly impressive on the mic and in front of the crowd,” says Oddisee about the experience. Apollo then went on to form the group Ugly Heroes with Red Pill & Verbal Kent in 2012 before releasing their first group record in early 2013. Interestingly Red Pill had purchased production for Oddisee about 5 years before and sat on it, waiting until he felt ready enough to do it justice. Cut to five years later and Red Pill has signed a deal as Oddisee’s teammate and is working alongside him. Appropriately, this forms the first track of the “Learning To Punch EP” and is titled “Smile.”

The second song on the album is the heartfelt journalism of “All Of Us” – an emotional and well thought out response to the violence and brutality recently shoved into the forefront of American communities. Finally west coast producer Duke Westlake brings an introspective soundscape over which Red Pill unleashes the angst of being hungry and the focus of turning “one day” into today. “Learning To Punch” is a concise power punch combination from the newest Mello emcee, and an indication of the musicality to come.”

Jonathan Kim writes: “After releasing two successful records with his Ugly Heroes brethren, touring 12+ countries in Europe, and honing his craft to a precision point, Detroit writer & emcee Red Pill has signed a multi-album solo artist deal with Mello Music Group for 2015 & 2016.

Mello Music Group producer, Apollo Brown, describes Red Pill’s drive as “what every artist should have, along, with his humility and willingness to learn” while remaining relatable to a broader audience as his music is blue collar and is for the everyday person.

Mello Music Group’s Director of Operations, Michael Tolle says: “He’s a writer first and that comes through with his every verse. It’s apparent he’s committed to the craft of emceeing – able to command and speak to a live audience – but at the same time he is committed to all the same thing Raymond Carver, Amy Hemple, James Baldwin, or any amazing writer would be – verisimilitude, having a political soul, and creating art that moves people.”

With more info on upcoming releases coming soon, today, enjoy the free mp3 download for the song “All Of Us” produced by long-time supporter and Ugly Heroes group member, Apollo Brown. The song is a in-depth look into recent events surrounding the police killings of Eric Garner, Michael Brown and others while reflecting on his own position as a White man.”

While West Coast legend Ras Kass was recently in Detroit with Apollo Brown they called together some low key D legends – MarvWon, Noveliss of Clear Soul Forces, Miz Korona, and MMG’s own Red Pill of Ugly Heroes. Director Jay Brown captured the whole thing, and put together this 6 minute highlight of the late night session.

If you read the description of Apollo Brown, Verbal Kent and Red Pill’s Ugly Heroes project on the Mello Music Group website, you know their definition of “an ‘ugly hero’ is the everyday blue collar individual that makes the world go ’round.” And hey, who doesn’t want to honor those guys? With gratuitous celebrity running rampant, a shift of attention is a breath of fresh air. But if you actually listened to the project you know that it’s anything but refreshing.

Released in late May, Ugly Heroes is fifteen tracks of working-class Midwestern gloom. Still, everything is done right from a technical standpoint. Apollo Brown’s beats are as expected, well-orchestrated yet moody boom bap. Both emcees kick hard knock rhymes that validate the everyday struggle. All that’s missing is the hope.

From the start the experienced Chi-Town native and Michigan bred newbie set the tone of tribulation with “Desperate.” Between Kent’s “I have rope, I could end it all,” and Red Pill’s “everyone I know is feeling downtrodden,” we’re left feeling we don’t know what the fuck we’re supposed to do either. The album doesn’t stray much from this format. Even “Heart and Soul,” an ode to love and the women holding it down through hard times is somber and sonically dreary.

It’s not until the end of the project that the mood lifts a bit. On “Just Relax” Brown crafts an easygoing track that is cheerful compared to the others, while Kent and Pill remind the listener “life’s so hard, just relax.” Bonus track “Ugly;” featuring scratches by DJ Eclipse, is the star of the story, showcasing the emcees’ lyrical dexterity in a way that the album’s theme thwarted.

Verbal Kent and Red Pill have amazing word play, flow variation and are the things great emcees are made of. To boot, Apollo Brown is one of the most consistent producers of the past decade. But Ugly Heroes is more ugly than heroic, more dark than enlightening. Instead of opening a door to the realities of working class life it firmly shuts one, weighing down not only the listener but the artists’ talents as well.

Today, Ugly Heroes drops their first music video from their recently released self-titled album for the song “Hero’s Theme.” The mild mannered beat from Detroit’s Apollo Brown features jazzy piano chops with Red Pill and Verbal Kent dropping working class hero rhymes that beautifully compliment the tone of the music underneath them.

The origins of Ugly Heores stems from Apollo Brown wanting to do a heavy blue collar album that paints a real picture of life out there. Not a gangsta record. Not a hipster record. A record that paints life as it is today for a lot of the working poor. And as much as we all want to act like we aren’t the working poor – truth is, most of us are living check to check with moments of glory intersparsed with notices from electric companies that the disconnect is pending. Emcees Red Pill (Detroit) and Verbal Kent (Chicago) lay some of the rawest slice of life narratives in the game today over 15 tracks produced by Apollo Brown. Think soul drenched beats with moody horns and heavy drums. We all listen to these rags to riches stories most people sell us, but this is that rags and still hoping story…

Their words: An Ugly Hero is considered a myth. Growing up, the heroes we saw in cartoons and movies were perfectly chiseled, intelligent, and had senses none of us possess. An UGLY HERO is the everyday blue collar individual that makes the world go ’round. These are the heroes that work hard all day, everyday to help ensure that the lives around them are taken care of, and do it all without recognition. They wear themselves into the ground and sacrifice vanity for family.