DEBUT MOUNTAIN BROTHERS MUSIC VIDEO INVADES YO! MTV, THE BOX
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Published · reached Usenet June 10, 1999
ILLADELPHIA, PA (June 10) -- The debut music video from independent hip-hop band Mountain Brothers has begun its assault on national airwaves, debuting on YO! MTV at 11:30 P.M. on Friday, June 11.
The video for "Galaxies: The Next Level," directed by feature filmmakers Richard Kim and Chris Chan Lee, is already playing on the BOX music network in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and New Jersey, New York, and Chicago, with new cities being added daily.
"It's rare for an independent group to be played on commercial music video networks, but we believe that we offer something different to viewers worldwide," said Styles, a member of the band.
"Galaxies" chronicles a whirlwind tour of a day in the life of the Mountain Brothers. Each MC is featured in different locations: Chops, the illadelphiasiatic superproducer, in his basement studio; Peril-L, the lyrical shapeshifter, in various locations in Philadelphia's Chinatown; and Styles, the ill brainiac, in Footwork Illadelph, a local underground record store. The video is tied together with appearances from up-and-coming Philadelphia hip-hop groups such as Name, Willus Drummond, and Da Fat Cat Clique.
The video is the first ever by an all-Asian American band on national TV, although the band members stress avoiding the use of their ethnicities as a marketing gimmick and want viewers and listeners to concentrate on the music instead.
"Yeah, it's true that we're an all-Asian group, but first and foremost, we want to be known as hip-hop artists," said Peril-L. "We are trying to respect and elevate the essence of hip-hop, with sharp lyrics, clever wordplay, and original, sample-free music."
"Galaxies: The Next Level" is a forthcoming single (also featuring the brand new track "Thoroughbred") from the Mountain Brothers debut album, Self: Volume I, released independently on Pimpstrut Records.
Self was picked as one of as Tower Records PULSE! Magazine's Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums of 1998. The album has already received glowing reviews from the likes of Vibe, URB, Rappages, Blaze, XXL, NY Daily News, PULSE!, SHOUT, EUR, and Giant Robot.
Mountain Brothers first came to national attention three years ago as the winners of the Sprite "Rhymes from the Mind" contest. The band's 30-second commercial, extolling the virtues of the soft drink, blew up on national urban radio. Mountain Brothers then released an independent eponymous EP, featuring the underground classic cut "Paperchase," which charted on the CMJ and Gavin college music reports. After a brief stint at Ruffhouse/Columbia Records, the Mountain Brothers returned to their go-for-self roots, releasing their debut album Self, Volume I independently on the Pimpstrut Records label.
MUSIC VIDEO
"GALAXIES: THE NEXT LEVEL"
3:57
Directors: Richard Kim and Chris Chan Lee
Producer: Michael Jung
Compositing: Griffin Marcus