01 Oddisee - After Thoughts

From the upcoming Oddisee mixtape "Tangible Dream"

Mixtape available exclusively with "The Beauty In All" his new instrumental album everywhere October 1st.

Produced by Oddisee
Vocals by Oddisee

Order Album

Oddisee - Own Appeal

Need You is the first single from the upcoming album, "The Orchid Days" by L'Orange

"A man fell in love. Then, the world was destroyed by an ever growing nothing in the sky."
-L'Orange

Produced by L'Orange
Vocals by Blu
Art by Matthew Andres
Graphic Design by Sarah Mattmiller

Executive Produced by Michael Tolle
Copyright Mello Music Group 2014

L'Orange - Need You Feat. Blu

From the upcoming Apollo Brown album "Thirty Eight."  Available Digitally, on CD w/ Bonus 5" Vinyl, and on 180 Gram Vinyl w/ Bonus 45 this MAY 6TH on Mello Music Group.

Apollo Brown - The Answer

produced by Apollo Brown
vocals by Red Pill & Verbal Kent

After Ugly Heroes' 2013 classic self titled LP, Apollo Brown, Verbal Kent and Red Pill are back again with a new EP coming out August 19th.  The new EP features five new songs (including a Murs feature) and 4 bonus track b-sides.  Ugly Heroes will also being touring Europe for a few weeks this August, starting with the legendary Hip-Hop Kemp Festival before hitting London and a number of other spots (all the dates will soon be up on the MMG Event Calendar).  The new EP will first be available digitally with a vinyl edition to follow late in the year. Original artwork by illustrator Paul Grelet.

Ugly Heroes - Naysayers & Playmakers

http://www.vibe.com/article/premiere-apollo-brown-ras-kass
produced by Apollo Brown vocals by Ras Kass
featuring Pharaohe Monch & Rakaa Iriscience
cuts by inDJnous
mastered by Eric Morgeson @ Studio A
mixed by Magnetic @ The Disc

from Apollo Brown & Ras Kass "Blasphemy" Oct. 28th https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/blasphemy/id909822088
Limited Edition Splatter 2xLP
http://www.mellomusicgroup.com/collections/pre-order/products/apollo-brown-ras-kass-blasphemy-ltd-splatter
Mello Music Group, 2014.

Apollo Brown & Ras Kass - H20 (feat. Pharoahe Monch & Rakaa Iriscience)

from the  Kenn Starr album  "Square One" on Mello Music Group.

About The Album:
Kenn Starr sees his career at square one, despite being regarded among the elite of the DMV scene, and being in the inner circle of producers Oddisee and Kev Brown, and having his newest album signed to Mello Music Group. Eight years since his debut, Starr Status, Kenn Starr is baggage free on his sophomore album, Square One.

Largely produced by Kev Brown with a nice block of production by Black Milk, and additional work by 14KT, Roddy Rod, and Kaimbr, Square One is Kenn Starr getting back to his foundation to begin anew. The laid back flow remains intact—complementary to the Kev Brown’s vintage soul-crate production—but the perspective is written with a wisdom earned through seeing opportunities that overpassed his doorstep. On “Cigarettes & Whiskey“ he addresses his history with passing fancy and a buried hatchet, “please pardon my view points / Starr Status wasn’t a classic but had a few joints,” and makes no qualms about his hiatus. Square One is the only album Kenn Starr could write in order to bid farewell to days past and move forward.

With the firmest of grips on reality, Kenn Starr has kept his Low Budget Crew ties in toe, including Sean Born who makes appearances on “Product Of The Basement” and album closer, “Farewell”. Kenn also enlists Mello Music standout yU, and long time compatriot Wordsworth, as well as the lush voice of singing star Melanie Rutherford. Square One is built from the underground-up as Starr still writes from the mindset of being a product of the basement. 

Kenn Starr - The Movement II (prod. Kev Brown)

Black Milk remixes Diamond District "Ain't Over" from the newest Diamond District record "March on Washington."

Pre-Order on iTunes now! https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/march-on-washington-redux/id945512212

Diamond District - "Ain't Over (Black Milk Remix)"

To celebrate Canadian R&B singer Ariel's signing with Mello Music Group, Ariel is releasing her first single, “Something Amazing,” since her debut EP, Symfonia, in 2023. Produced by Relyae, the track’s warm synths and laid-back guitar riffs call back to the sounds of 90s R&B. Laced with Ariel’s lush vocals, she looks to find the magic in the everyday moments of a relationship as she sings, “Forget about the right time / Cause’ baby this is our time / You’re feeling like my lifeline / Came in and let the sunshine in.”

“For ‘Something Amazing,’ I was listening to a lot of Lucy Pearl, SAULT, and Moonchild at the time. I wanted a super sunny and warm sound. Relyae nailed it. I always wanted to write a love song about the time after you fall in love, that calm, complete feeling you get when you really trust and connect with someone. When you can find magic in the mundane stuff it's pretty amazing.” - Ariel

Ariel crafts a sound that feels both familiar and new, like a lush and breezy confetti of imminent nostalgia. Her 2023 debut EP, Symfonia, has garnered over one million streams to date, airplay on BBC Radio 1, and a co-sign from music critic Anthony Fantano. Having just signed to Mello Music Group, Ariel has leaped into a new stage of her rising career that promises more music, starting with the release of her new single “Something Amazing.”

Somethng Amazing

Something Amazing

Vinyl 45

From the upcoming project "Words Paint Pictures" (prod. Apollo Brown) out 3/24 on Mello Music Group https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/words-paint-pictures/id959134547


Rapper Big Pooh - "Stop (feat. Steve Roxx / prod. Apollo Brown)"

from the album "The Spirit Is Willing, But The Flesh Is Weak" https://ffm.to/spiritiswilling

The Spirit Is Willing, But The Flesh Is Weak

God Made Rap (prod. Evidence)

the lead single from the upcoming Red Pill solo album "Look What This World Did To Us" coming 4/7 on Mello Music Group.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/look-what-this-world-did-to-us/id959183690

produced by Red Pill
vocals by Red Pill

photography by Jeremy Deputat
graphic design by Sarah Dalton


Red Pill -  Look What This World Did To Us

Know No Better

from the upcoming album Oddisee "The Good Fight" (5/5)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-good-fight/id969829649

In a landscape overrun with abstract indulgence and shallow trend-chasers, the Prince George’s County, Maryland artist Oddisee has created 'The Good Fight', a record that reminds you that it’s music before it’s hip-hop. Due May 5th on Mello Music Group, it’s for the fans and for himself. It finds the musical heavyweight balancing between craft, career, and successfully growing into the world around him. Stream the first single, "That's Love".

Album Description:
Oddisee makes music that rattles in your bone marrow. It’s imbued with love, honesty, and selflessness. It’s virtuosic in its musicality, direct in its language, and infinitely relatable.
 
In a landscape overrun with abstract indulgence and shallowtrend-chasers, the Prince George’s County, Maryland artist has created “The Good Fight,” a record that reminds you that it’s music before it’s hip-hop. Released on Mello Music Group, it’s for the fans and for himself. It finds the musical heavyweight balancing between craft, career, and successfully growing into the world around him.
 
For Oddisee, “The Good Fight” is about living fully as a musician without succumbing to the traps of hedonism, avarice, and materialism. It’s about not selling out and shilling for a paycheck, while still being aware that this is a business requiring compromise and collaboration.
 
It’s music that yields an intangible feeling: the sacral sound of an organ whine, brass horns, or a cymbal crash. It’s not necessarily the syllables, but rather what they evoke. A song like “That’s Love” is more than a declaration; it’s a meditation on our capacity to love and the bonds binding us together. Ambition and greed war with our sense of propriety. “Contradiction’s Maze” offers a list of paradoxes we all face (“I want to tell the truth when it hurts/but when it comes to me, I want the blow softened.”)
 
Oddisee’s production simmers in its own orchestral gumbo. You sense he’s really a jazzman in different form, inhabiting the spirit of Roy Ayers and other past greats.  The Fader’s compared him to a musical MC Escher, calling hailing his “grandiose and symphonic sound” and “relevant relatable messages.” Pitchfork praised his “eclectic soulful boom-bap.”
 
“The Good Fight” acknowledges the stacked odds, but refuses to submit.
 
It’s both universal and personal. The child of a Sudanese immigrant highlights the rigors of his own upbringing: his pregnant mother working the register until she was about to burst, his pops’ shuttered diner that couldn’t survive Reaganomics—the one that Oddisee drives past every time he returns home, just to remind him how quickly the world can turn bad.
 
It’s these minor details that add into something major. It’s testament to the indelible nature of art: when you can turn what you love into something that lasts.


Oddisee - That's Love

produced by ANT

from the upcoming album "Satisfied Soul" 
https://ffm.to/satisfiedsoul

Mello Music Group 2025

Head Heart Hands (prod. ANT)

from the new Open Mike Eagle "A Special Episode of - EP"
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-special-episode-ep/id961827159

produced by GOLD PANDA
vocals by OPEN MIKE EAGLE

"Sounds Beautiful Like The Truth"
Mello Music Group, 2015

Open Mike Eagle feat. Gold Panda - "Ziggy Starfish (Anti-Anxiety Raps)

produced by L'Orange
vocals by Jeremiah Jae
guest vocals by Gift of Gab

The Night Took Us In Like Family
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/night-took-us-in-like-family/id962648340

About the album:
Enter those bloody alleys blocked off with yellow tape and chalk outlines. Secret backrooms riddled with sly crooks and blunt smoke. Slink into the underworld, the seedy shadowland owned by Jeremiah Jae and L’Orange on their noir-hop opus, "The Night Took Us In Like Family." 

Consider it the alchemy of Madvillain and "The Maltese Falcon": a five-part fable of tangled crimes, narrow escapes, and raining lead. The door busts open with “A Conspicuous Man.” L’Orange’s carefully severed cinematic clips hold the frame steady. The Windy City-raised Jae muscles the narrative forward—the hitman creeping. 

Beats bend sinister with imagery aiming for the temples. Jae invokes dark clouds, crowns of thorns and LSD eyes. Bars written in dirt. Samples are disembodied and ethereal. It’s like a grand jury indictment doubling as a Greek chorus. A song title like “Ice Obsidian” says it all. This is frozen lava, black and white celluloid, the spoils won by sinners. Watch your back rap. 

Or maybe it’s the hip-hop version of the gangster flicks made before the Hays Code—raw and uncensored, deeply artful without pretension. Pitchfork once described Jae as: “a lot of people talk loud and say nothing; Jeremiah Jae finds strength in the inverse." On "The Night Took Us In Like Family," he inhabits both eulogizer and executioner. He triumphantly looms over the corpses and explains how this all came to be. L’Orange supplies concrete requiems of dusted soul: beats to crack safes, soundtracks to stealth assassinations. 

If gangsta rap remains one of the genre’s most well worn tropes, Jae and L’Orange take inspiration from the rarely tapped roots of the tradition. This isn’t riffing on Oliver Stone’s "Scarface" like popular cliché, but rather the original Al Capone exploitation flick from the early 30s. Jae conjures a villain who vaporizes. Run-the-Jewels-raw but still sophisticated. Cuban cigars stuffed with California chronic. 

The picture unfolds wide frame. Guest stars include New York poison dart-thrower, Homeboy Sandman and Blackalicious’ Gift of Gab. The chapters flesh out the story: The Conspicuous Man skulks into “God Complex,” “The Damning,” “Revenge and Escape.” Jae and L’ Orange build their world as a catacomb and find a way to escape just as the walls feel like they’re closing in. It fades out as “A Macabre Instrumental” plays. The funeral is closed casket. The memories aren’t easily disposed.

L'Orange & Jeremiah Jae - All I Need (feat. Gift Of Gab)

Celebrate a legend. After three decades redefining West Coast independence, MURS drops his final album — Love & Rockets 3:16 (The Emancipation) — produced entirely by Grammy-winner Jesse Shatkin.

This is MURS at his sharpest: fearless storytelling, raw honesty, and the wit that’s made him a voice for generations. Joined by Nate Curry, Reverie, and Chace Infinite, he delivers a record that’s as much a victory lap as it is a thank-you to every fan who’s been there since day one. This isn’t just an album—it’s the closing chapter of a remarkable legacy.


Full Album

Chopper

En Route is Oddisee’s latest EP—a soulful snapshot of motion and meaning. Each track is a reflection of movement—physical, emotional, and spiritual. Its music for the journey, wherever you're headed.

Listen to En Route EP

A Rare Thing

Apollo Brown - Triple Beams (feat. Westside Gunn & Planet Asia)

3x Grammy Award Winner Jack Splash laces production for legendary West Coast mc Ras Kass on "Jesus Press Mute."  From the upcoming group album Semi Hendrix (Ras Kass & Jack Splash) "Breakfast At Banksy's" - out 10/16 on Mello Music Group http://geni.us/1QU2

vocals by Ras Kass
produced by  Jack Splash

photo by Jeremy Deputat

Semi Hendrix (Ras Kass & Jack Splash) - Jesus Pressed Mute

from the album "Home Sweet Home"
https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/album/home-sweet-home/id1040302700?app=itunes

produced by Nottz
vocals by Rapper Big Pooh
horns Kenneth Whalum III

Rapper Big Pooh & Nottz -  Prom Season (feat. Kenneth Whalum III)

From the album Apollo Brown & Skyzoo "The Easy Truth"
iTunes - http://tinyurl.com/hzxygm9

Today we have another single from the hard hitting duo of Apollo Brown & Skyzoo. The team is back again with assistance from two of the rawest MCs in the game: Westside Gunn and Conway. Skyzoo dances through wordplay like nobody else can while Apollo's beats establish himself as one of the most elite to ever do it. Every note and syllable reinforces the the pairing's chemistry. The latest addition to the album's reveal is a look into the underbelly of New York- a black and white examination of classic styles. 

produced by Apollo Brown 
vocals by Skyzoo 

recorded by Tate McBroom @ LabCabinRoyalOak 
mixed by Magnetic @ The Disc 
mastered by Eric Morgeson @ Studio A Detroit 

Executive Producer Michael Tolle

The Easy Truth

Apollo Brown & Skyzoo - Basquiat On The Draw (feat. Westside Gunn & Conway)

Oddisee has unveiled the second song from his forthcoming full-length album ‘The Iceberg,’ out February 24 on Mello Music Group.  The song debuted today on Ebro’s Beats 1 radio show.  

“Like Really” is a cutting song, the prolific MC and producer reflecting a state of disbelief in the political climate.  For the second verse Oddisee flips the meaning to address how some perceive of him as an artist.  It’s set to deep soul with chilly trap inflections and is an important piece in the overall concept of ‘The Iceberg.’  

“How you gonna make us great when we were never really that amazing /
take it back what, I don’t find hanging black lives entertaining/
how do you police the streets of a neighborhood you do not engage in/
why a brother get three for a sack while your brother go free for a raping”

Oddisee has announced a show in LA on February 3, where he will open the 2017 season of the First Friday’s series at the Natural History Museum.  On January 27 he will host a a full rehearsal with his band Good Compny open to the public featuring his band Good Compny in his hometown of Washington, D.C., open to the public at St. Stephen's Church.  A three-month international tour begins March 2 in Paris.  
 
TOUR DATES
February 3 – Los Angeles, CA – Natural History Museum First Friday’s 
Feb 17 - Reykjavik, Iceland @ Sonar Festival
March 2 – Paris, France – La Place
March 3 – Lyon, France – Bizarre!
March 4 – Nantes, France – Stereolux
March 6 – Bristol, UK – The Lantern
March 8 – Manchester, UK – Gorilla
March 9 – Dublin, Ireland, The Sugar Bluc
March 11 – London, UK – Islington Assembly Hall
March 13 – Munich, Germany – Ampere
March 14 – Erfurt, Germany – Franz Melhose
March 15 – Berlin, Germany – Gretchen
March 16 – Hamburg, Germany – Mojo Club
March 17 – Cologne, Germany – Gloria
March 18 – Stuttgart, Germany – Im Wizemann
March 19 – Frankfurt, Germany – Zoom
March 22 – Nijmegen, Netherlands – Doornroosje
March 24 – Rotterdam, Netherlands – Bird
March 25 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
March 26 – Brussels, Belgium – Ancienne Belgique
March 28 - Barcelona, Spain @ Apolo 2
March 30 - Milan, Italy - Biko Club
March 31 - Cully, Switzerland @ Cully Jazz Festival
April 1 - Zurich, Switzerland @ m4Music
April 4 - Zagreb, Croatia TBA
April 7 - Sofia, Bulgaria - Sofia Live Club
April 8 - Bucharest, Romania - Arenele Romane
April 10 – Vienna, Austria – Grelle Forelle
April 11 – Warsaw, Poland – Stodola
April 18 – Philadelphia, PA – Theater of Living Arts
April 20 – Washington, D.C. – 9:30 Club
April 21 – Raleigh, NC – King’s Barcade
April 23 – Atlanta, GA – The Loft
April 26 – Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s
April 27 – Dallas, TX – Dada Dallas
April 28 – Austin, TX – Empire Control Room
May 1 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
May 5 – San Diego, CA – Music Box
May 7 – San Francisco, CA – The Regency
May 9 – Eugene, OR – WoW Hall
May 10 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
May 11 – Seattle, WA – Neumos
May 12 – Vancouver, BC – Biltmore Cabaret
May 13 – Spokane, WA – The Big Dipper
May 14 – Boise, ID – Neurolux
May 17 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown
May 18 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry
May 19 – Milwaukee, WI – Shank Hall
May 20 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
May 21 – Indianapolis, IN – The HiFi
May 25 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Smalls
May 26 – Detroit, MI – Arab American National Museum
May 27 – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
May 28 - Montreal, QC @ Newspeak
May 30 – Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
May 31 – New York, NY – Highline Ballroom

Oddisee - Like Really

Anchovies

The Aura

Apollo Brown & Planet Asia - "The Aura"

L'Orange & Solemn Brigham are Marlowe http://smarturl.it/MarloweMMG

"An artist afraid to overreach himself is as useless as a general who is afraid to be wrong.” 

Over a half-century later, the axiom remains true for hyper-kinetic hip-hop innovators, North Carolina’s L’Orange and Solemn Brigham—the hard-boiled duo behind the fun house fever dream, Marlowe.
 
Released on Mello Music Group, Marlowe is a triumph of ambition, a rap bricolage blending prohibition and civil rights-era samples with Asian psychedelic rock flourishes. Solemn Brigham controls the microphone like a general who can’t help but be right. His flow is a blitzkrieg. It’s an Olympian sprint, gliding over snares and kick-drums like hurdles. He’s a showman seeking revolution—resolute in his desire to strike equilibrium between awareness and entertainment.
 
Solemn applies the fictional protagonist’s search for the truth towards different ends. His crimes are existential yet specific, rooted in the injustices of the past and the attempt to redress them in the present. He’s an artist perennially seeking something to fight for, channeling energy from the music of the civic rights era, stealing timeless rhythms and inflection from classic funk and soul. An old soul with original ideas, tapping into the eternal reservoir of Sam Cooke to Ice Cube, Otis Redding to Chuck D, Curtis Mayfield to KRS-One.
 
Over the course of 17 tracks, Solemn hurls sharp darts at counterfeits trying to crack his religion, the onslaught of time, and prevaricating rappers—all while paying homage to those who paved the road for him. He bounces off the beats like a trampoline placed in a speakeasy, doubling up on the vocals, burrowing into dense cryptic tangles of slang and then stretching them out with melodic ease.
 
With dazzling cinematic mise en scene, L’Orange crafts a world that sounds like an old-time medicine show dropped into 90s Brooklyn, with Solemn summoning the holy spirit of Big L. Cymbals crash, drums pound, fuzzy guitars ride out, a bronze rain of horns cascade. This is gorgeous celestial dust, high-powered fuel with every syllable meticulously ordained. Marlowe cracked the case, but how they did it can only become clear under deeper investigation.

All Songs Produced by L'Orange
All Vocals by Solemn Brigham

Mixed by Seiji Inouye
Mastered by Joe Hutchinson
Recorded by Sendai Mike

Album art by Ruff Mercy
Photography by Adrian Estrada
Additional Graphic Design by Austin Hart

Executive Produced by Michael Tolle & Austin Hart

Marlowe

Lost Arts

Marlowe (L'Orange & Solemn Brigham) - Lost Arts

https://smarturl.it/VWETOII

"VWETO II is an astral funk laden mindscape. best used for long term discussions, late night ciphers, deep contemplation, clearing the air, or starting a brand new day. repeat as needed. Uhuru” - Georgia Muldrow

VWETO II mp3

Georgia Anne Muldrow - Wu Punk

From the album Skyzoo & Pete Rock "Retropolitan"
https://smarturl.it/Retropolitan

produced: Pete Rock
vocals: Skyzoo
mixed: Jamey Staub
mastered: Dave Kutch

Sounds Beautiful Like The Truth
Mello Music Group, 2019

Retropolitan

It's All Good

Skyzoo & Pete Rock - It's All Good (Official Single)

produced by Pete Rock / vocals by Skyzoo
feat. Westside Gunn, Conway, Benny the Butcher, Elzhi

From the album "Retropolitan" (Sept 20th)
https://smarturl.it/Retropolitan

Sounds Beautiful Like The Truth
Mello Music Group, 2019

Eastern Conference All-Stars

Skyzoo & Pete Rock - Eastern Conference All-Stars (Westside Gunn, Conway, Benny The Butcher & Elzhi)

From the album "Dice Game"

About the album:
Someone once said that life's a gamble. Kinda like shootin dice in an alley. The risk is high but the gain is higher, and when it's all said and done, you hold your breath and collect your dues. W ith lyrics that grip like a handful of ones, and beats that hit like ivory on cement, this album is just that, a Dice Game.

Buy on iTunes

Apollo Brown & Guilty Simpson - I Can Do No Wrong

It cant all be all sudden death.
We’re so much different than the rest. 
Just clear that desktop start fresh. 
Just let your seat back take a breath. 
You’ll find it’s worth it cause life ain’t perfect.

Vocals: Quelle Chris
Produced: Chris Keys
co-produced: Quelle Chris
All Instruments: Chris Keys

Sudden Death

Video

Quelle Chris & Chris Keys - Sudden Death

From the album Quelle Chris & Chris Keys "Innocent Country 2"
https://smarturl.it/innocentcountry2

Premiered w/ HypeBeast Tuesday 3/31/2020
https://hypebeast.com/2020/3/quelle-chris-sacred-safe-new-song-innocent-country-2-album-interview

Innocent Country 2

Quelle Chris & Chris Keys - Sacred Safe (feat. Merrill Garbus, Cavalier & Homeboy Sandman)

vocals by Quelle Chris / produced by Chris Keys
featuring Earl Sweatshirt, Denmark Vessey, Merrill Garbus & Big Sen

Mirage

Quelle Chris & Chris Keys - MIRAGE (feat. Earl Sweatshirt, Denmark Vessey, Merrill Garbus & Big Sen)

The Left - Desperation

from the Album Ugly Heroes (5/28)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ugly-heroes/id640931667



Ugly Heroes (Apollo Brown, Verbal Kent, Red Pill) - Graves

HipHop • Jazz • Space • Soul • Funk // Sounds Beautiful Like The Truth

Mello Music Group

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