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A cornerstone in the Bay Area rap movement for over two decades, B-Legit is set to release his sixth album, “Block Movement“, upon securing a distribution deal with SMC Recordings and Universal Music Group subsidiary Fontana. The move marks a three year absence for the gravel voiced emcee, a hiatus void of any albums, but conversely filled with community involvement, promo tours and the culmination of a media conglomerate. Independent of Sick-Wid-It Records, where B presides as COO, Block Movement Media Corporation, is shaping up as a full fledged entertainment company ﾖ DVDﾒs, clothing and an eventual magazine ﾖ all a part of future plans.
ﾓSic-Wid-It is ﾑrecordsﾒ and ﾑmediaﾒ covers the whole nine,ﾔ B reasons. ﾓI wanted to have something that was going to identify [me] solo, so it was time to expand the wings a little bit.ﾔ
As a key member of the group The Click, spearheaded by himself and E-40, Bﾒs cousin and reigning ﾓAmbassador of the Bay,ﾔ Legit contributed mightily to three culture defining albums in Down And Dirty, Game Related and Money & Muscle, all the while dropping his own heat, a catalogue that includes: Tryinﾒ To Get a Buck, The Hemp Museum, and Hempinﾒ Ainﾒt Easy.
A departure from his signature sound, B enlisted the talents of a good variety of producers across the country when piecing together Block Movement. From the sonic movement down South to old school mob music, more recent trends and even mainstream thump, ﾓThe Savageﾔ promises to deliver a well rounded project that he likes to call ﾓFeel Good Music.ﾔ
ﾓItﾒs just music that you can feel,ﾔ Legit says. ﾓItﾒs music with soulful hooks. Anybody that has a background from the South or the church, you can just feel those certain hymns and certain notes: the soul. [At the same time,] itﾒs whatever it is that makes you feel good. You get you a nice pair of shoes and a nice clean truck, drive off and listen to some feel good music.ﾔ
The Rick Rock produced ﾓGuess Whoﾒs Back,ﾔ featuring E-40, is currently setting Bﾒs new standard, already earning a worthy amount of spins on the Bay Area radio stations. ﾓThatﾒs just to warm up my area to let them know Iﾒm cominﾒ back,ﾔ he offers. ﾓThis is where the maturity and my support comes from: home.ﾔ Mall (St. Louis) and Gold Fingers (Dallas), do their part on the production side as well, delivering respective bangers in their own right. ﾓWhat they do is bring that Midwest, down South sound over the Bay Area lyrics,ﾔ B explains. ﾓItﾒs a beautiful combination.ﾔ Bay area producers, including LJ (ﾓFriendsﾔ and ﾓWanna Know Your Nameﾔ), Ponte (ﾓKick It Tonightﾔ and ﾓI Canﾒt Changeﾔ) and Bedrock, also contribute, helping create B Legitﾒs most versatile album to date.
Hindered by Internet thieves, bootleggers and a failed deal with Koch, since his last album, Hard 2 B Legit, B is grateful to have found a team that is willing to support and protect his latest offering. ﾓI was tryna find the right situation for me to land in,ﾔ he says. ﾓI already had experience putting out records. I just needed some distribution and somebody that was willing to give me a push and I found that with [SMC], and going with the Fontana Distribution Network. All the Hip Hop stuff was there. It was just about finding me a home.ﾔ
Here are two preview tracks for ya’ll to check out, to get a taste of B-la’s new stuff:
B-Legit – Guess Who’s Back (ft. E-40)
B-Legit – Block 4 Life (ft. Jadakiss & Styles P)
Block Movement is slated for release on Sept. 27th 2005.
