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Dilated Peoples, Dilated Peoples Expansion Team

Details

Title: Expansion Team
Release date: 23 October, 2001
Record label: Capitol
Single:
Official website: none
Wikipedia: Dilated Peoples

Tracklisting

1. Live on Stage
2. Worst Comes to Worst
3. Clockwork
4. Trade Money
5. Heavy Rotation
6. Self Defense
7. Phil da Agony Interlude
8. Proper Propaganda
9. Dilated Junkies
10. Panic
11. Pay Attention
12. Night Life
13. War
14. Hard Hitters - Black Thought
15. Defari Interlude
16. Expansion Team Theme

Dilated Peoples: the Expansion Team - Expansion Team

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This trio is far from new to the game. Having already stomped their footprints into hip-hop?s official underground scene leading LA?s hip-hop renaissance, Evidence, Rakaa (Iriscience), and Babu are about to take it to the next level and establish a new platform for themselves.

Don't be fooled by the title of Dilated Peoples' latest release "Expansion Team". This trio is far from new to the game. Having already stomped their footprints into hip-hop's official underground scene leading LA's hip-hop renaissance, Evidence, Rakaa (Iriscience), and Babu are about to take it to the next level and establish a new platform for themselves. Evidence explains, "An expansion team is a new team in the league. We're coming into the game. We've been doing this for a while, but this is our major league run."

Though "Expansion Team", which hits stores on October 23rd, marks Dilated Peoples' second major label release, it is still hip-hop in its purist form. With their usual blend of hip-hop elements (MCing, DJing, and graffiti writing), the LA-natives have expanded their sound to appeal to the masses.

"This album was recorded as a complete piece, so it will show more continuity and flow," says Rakaa, of the careful recording process that went into the record. "We have a broader range of topics to speak on. We're still showing our wordplay and battle rhyme skills, but on this record, we tried to stay away from doing just that. It's more concept-driven. We're still the same machine, just more oiled," Rakaa assures.

And that explanation is the science behind the soon-to-be anthem "Worst Comes To Worst." Produced by Alchemist, a close member of Dilated's extended family, the song shows Dilated at its best, complete with clever rhymes and a sophisticated backdrop. Evidence remarks, "It's a feel good record. We went through 100 beats and this is the one we picked."

In addition to handling their own production, Dilated has enlisted the help of a couple of East and Left coast heavy hitters, including the beat maestro himself DJ Premier, to add their expertise to Expansion Team. Dilated recruited Da Beatminerz to blaze "Trade Money" and on the Juju (of Beatnuts fame)-produced "Self Defense," the crew kicks battle rhymes that will have heads hitting their rewind button. Guest vocalists include Black Thought of the Roots on the Babu-produced "Hard Hitters" and Tha Liks on "Heavy Rotation" produced by Evidence.

Widely recognized for their solid performance skills, the group transfers that energy onto wax with "Live On Stage." On "Dilated Junkies," Babu showcases his ill-turntablism, making Expansion Team a more complete rap music experience.

Dilated Peoples will continue to build bridges that connect hip-hop purists to the masses. Babu sums up, "I feel like this is our first album. It's an album of all three minds on the same path. The growth is tremendous. I think it's going to open new ears, while still being true to original base."

BACKGROUND

Rakaa (Iriscience) made his way onto the hip-hop scene in 1984 via graffiti art. Involved in poetry since childhood and music since birth, he knew the combination of the two was both natural and powerful. Also involved in hip-hop through graffiti, Evidence took his expression to the next level, channeling his energy into MCing and perfecting the art of production. After freestyling at open mic sessions at The Hip Hop Shop in L.A., Rakaa and Evidence decided to record a song together. The natural progression was to form a group and the balance of the two represents the voice of Dilated Peoples.

The backbone of hip-hop is the DJ. In this case the DJ is Babu. A member of the World Famous Beat Junkies, Babu entered the fold in 1997. Bringing his own brand of turntablism to the Dilated platform, Babu's style incorporated memorable soundbytes in choruses and displayed a wide array of scratching techniques. Now that the two MCs had a world class DJ, Dilated evolved into a group not unlike those that had heavily influenced each member. "All of us were inspired by EPMD and Run DMC, two groups with two MCs and a DJ," Babu says, "so we try to keep that same ethic."

With the starting line-up complete, Dilated Peoples hooked up with Bay Area-legend Beni B's independent ABB label and released a string of vinyl-only underground hit singles. The maxi-single "Work the Angles", which included "The Main Event" and "Triple Optics," sounded the alarm that put the world on alert. Addressing everything from wack MC's to apathy, the 12" rocked the underground scene. "Work the Angles" was selected as the top single of 1998 by Hip-Hop Connection (the UK's premier hip-hop magazines), #2 single on Sway and Tech's syndicated Wake Up Show's 1998 countdown, and #3 by Blast Magazine (Japan) in their yearly chart.

The Dilated Peoples' May 2000 release The Platform brought them global critical acclaim and marked a rebirth in the West Coast underground. As a live act, Dilated has established a solid reputation touring with such acts as Rage Against The Machine, Gangstarr, Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek, Jurassic 5 and many others. After nearly 10 years of recording and touring, Dilated Peoples is set to strike once again with their second release on Capitol Records, Expansion Team, due in stores on October 23, 2001.

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