After meeting on Twitter (hence the hash-mark in the title), VA artist’s, Big Hop & JMProductions, have teamed up to create a new side project called #PenDistrict. Pulling from their roots in Newport News, VA, Hop’s gritty vocals and style meshed instantaneously with JMP’s boom-bap, rugged beat making. The two sides initially set out to feature nothing but artists from the Hampton Roads on the EP, but after a few failed attempts, Hop decided it was time to bring in his newly founded collective, Alpha Male Society or AMSOC:
“Growing up in Bad News, I had never met any kids who listened to the same type of hip hop as I did. So when I met Emphatic & NonDescript through twitter, I knew I wanted to work with them, I just wasn’t sure in what capacity. At first, I tried getting some local cats on it, since we were naming the crew after the local high school’s athletic conference (the Peninsula District), but I wasn’t getting the type of results I wanted. So I called in the big guns, AMSOC, and we wrapped it up in a matter of weeks. After hearing the final product, I felt this project would work perfectly as our first EP of the year, so we went ahead and pushed it through. #PenDistrict has a grimy, 90’s style hip hop feel, so make sure you put on your Tim-boots and Champion hoodie before you listen. – Big Hop
Stay tuned as every month AMSOC will be releasing a new EP, on top of an itinerary that also boasts solo projects from every crew member. The first single is directly below, followed by the entire album in streaming form.
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