Artist: Hassaan Mackey, Apollo Brown
Album: Daily Bread
Label: Mello Music Group
Genre: Hip-Hop : Rap
UPC: 659123019422
Territory: World
Release Date: 7.26.11

New York emcee Hassaan Mackey (Rawkus 50) slangs words and onomatopoeia, rhymes like he wants to, and backs the whole room into a corner with a raw vision of the streets that pierces ordinary experience and gets at life’s marrow.  With a deep reverence for the history and culture of East Coast hip hop and a penchant for smooth soul, Hassaan Mackey’s reputation stems from dues paid long before most of his peers even considered picking up a mic. Gaining acclaim as a freestyler and battle rapper from his early teens, the Rochester, New York MC became one of the most prominent faces of his hometown’s hip hop scene, hosting performances throughout the city and even sharing the stage with Common during a tour stop. Using a technique honed during his years as a battle MC to deliver deeply personal rhymes reflecting the settings and circumstances of his upbringing, Mackey’s introspective narratives delve deep into the soul of a product of hip hop’s golden era.

Meanwhile Detroit producer Apollo Brown (The Reset, Brown Study, Gas Mask, Clouds) lays the sonic foundation with hard drums and big bass, while the crackle of vinyl hums. Gritty and soaked in soul, Daily Bread brings to mind an old photograph that bangs out the system.  Apollo Brown is different than most producers. He grew up on the Seals and Crofts-not the Isley Brothers-version of “Summer Breeze.” Born into a bi-racial family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, his early influences skewed more toward the music of Journey and The Carpenters than the urban genres his peers often cite as inspiration. This is not to say that once hip-hop came into play, Apollo wasn’t all in. Just as easily as he can praise the virtues of yacht rock, the 29-year-old beatsmith can name personal heroes- Gang Starr, Wu-Tang, Mobb Deep, M.O.P., Nas, and Black Moon- from the early 90′s period in which, for him, beats and rhymes became life.

Each track is heavy with a sense of atonement, haunted by experience, and energized by a cathartic sense of hope. Give us our Daily Bread and forgive us our trespasses.