NYS Music 202​2

Category: Streams

  • Prodigy’s Solo Catalog Returns to Streaming, Posthumous Album Announced

    Fans of Prodigy will once again be able to enjoy his solo catalog on streaming services, as reported by Billboard. In what was described as “legal disputes between the estate, which is run by the late artist’s family, and former associates of the artist,” his solo work remained off streaming services for the past three years. Only 2007’s Alchemist collab, Return of the Mac, 2008’s Product of the 80s, with Big Twins and Un Pacino, along with the Mobb Deep discography were made available.

    Embed from Getty Images

    Prodigy’s returning solo catalog includes his classic debut-album H.N.I.C and its two sequels, 2012’s The Bumpy Johnson Album, his 2013 collaboration with The Alchemist, Albert Einstein and 2017’s Hegelian Dialectic (The Book of Revelation). His 2014 release with Boogz Boogetz, Young Rollin Stoned, can also now be streamed.

    This is the result of a new management deal Prodigy’s estate signed with The NorthStar Group’s L. Londell McMillan and a distribution deal with Warner Music Group’s ADA. Prodigy’s estate also announced a new album, The Hegelian Dialectic: The Book of Heroine and a new single, “You Will,” out June, 10.

    Prodigy is a once-in-a-generation rapper,

    -ADA president Cat Kreidich

    It’s hard to put into words the impact he had on the world — his sound completely changed the game and influenced so many that came after him. His legacy will live on forever through his music and we’re grateful his estate has entrusted ADA to bring his iconic catalog back where it belongs — with his fans.

    Embed from Getty Images

    With his partner, Havoc, Prodigy served as one-half of Mobb Deep. After releasing their debut, Juvenile Hell in 1993. A year later, they released their classic second LP, The Infamous, to critical-acclaim.

    As a rapper, Prodigy was known for his opening bars that would set the tone. Encapsulating an entire record with his first couple of lines. When hip hop went full glitz and glamour during the “shiny suit era,” of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, Prodigy would double down and release more raw grimy street music. Plateauing him and his partner Havoc’s commercial-appeal, but remaining true to themselves.

  • You and Us Announce First children’s Album ‘For Children of All Ages’

    “You and Us” will release its first children’s album, For Children Of All Ages, on February 14, 2022. Nicole Porter, a clinical art therapist, musician and president of the New York Art Therapy Association, encourages children with pandemic trauma to listen to the album for healing.

    For Children Of All Ages

    Components of The Album

    “You and Us” presents an album with the vibe of mostly upbeat rock, country and pop music. Consisting of numerous melodies, the album illustrates an enchanting adventure for listeners. For Children of All Ages, begins with a folksy opener, “Nowhere Now Here”, to the Nashville country vibe of “Safety and Security”. Furthermore, children will discover the evocative, mystical sounds in “Social Connection” and more variations throughout the album.

    Inspiration For Art Therapy

    Porter took a leap into child therapy, following the Sandy Hook School shooting in Newton, Connecticut in 2012. Evidently children across the U.S. had anxiety following the incident. However, psychologists and credited researchers developed ways to cope, such as CBT for Children.

    For Children of All Ages provides a rare opportunity to enjoy tunes geared toward uplifting children and families who are experiencing difficult times. It focuses on fostering wellness and a sense of security, and it introduces therapeutic techniques that can be used in a playful way with all children. It’s also a gentle dip into the vast stream of possibility that art therapy holds for healing humans.”

    Nicole Porter

    People like Porter were inspired to cultivate change, hence why she established the Emerald Sketch, a mental health organization and art therapy trauma response team. Considering that Porter has a young child of her own, she wished to establish a sense of hope and relief in children. Therefore, her goal with this album is to provide wellness and security, in the midst of the challenges of parenting during the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Colleagues

    Javere Pinnock, longtime collaborator and art therapy trauma responder, produced the album cover art, which depicts a band of mid-pandemic children raising a flag of love and peace. His inspiration derives from the notorious 1945 Joseph Rosenthal photograph, “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima,” and Felix W. de Weldon’s Marine Corps War Memorial sculpture.

    Additionally, Porter created this album along with musical colleague Wyndham Garnett, to combine their mutual love of vintage British rock and classic American puppetry. The album is infused with powerful messages of courage, love, support, enthusiasm, grace, and more.