KINGSTON, JAMAICA – In 1967, Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc took the local sound system culture to the Bronx, New York and subsequently, Hip Hop was born. Four decades later, the genre has come full circle as Five Steez, one of Jamaica’s Hip Hop MCs, has collaborated with DJ Ready Cee, a New York underground Hip Hop radio icon from the Bronx, and released a mixtape online entitled ‘Momentum: Volume One’.
The mixtape, which is the first release in a three-part series, features 19 tracks, spanning a total of 46 minutes, in which Five Steez spits his lyrics over well-known ‘old school’ instrumentals as DJ Ready Cee mixes, scratches and cuts. The free mixtape is available for stream and download at www.djreadycee.com and www.facebook.com/fivesteez .
“It’s been a while since I’ve heard a real mixtape with actual mixing, plus scratching, and I wanted to bring that back,” says Five Steez. “It’s become rare even within modern Hip Hop but this is what the mixtape is really about.”
DJ Ready Cee, known for The Underground Lockdown and The Ready Cee Show on New York City’s WHUT 91.9FM during the late 1990s and early 2000s, says, “I first heard the homie Five Steez when he sent me a track that I played on my online show. I was blown away and so were my co-hosts and listeners because it was so dope. And this kid is coming straight out of Kingston, Jamaica, so that was special.”
Five Steez says, “Ready Cee is a legend so it’s definitely an honour to get this type of support from him, particularly with the mixtape. I hope that this will highlight turntablism locally and also build my fanbase, especially abroad where the real market for Hip Hop exists.”
Five Steez is one of the most recognized artistes within Kingston’s growing Hip Hop movement and is best known for his appearance in the music video, ‘Get Down’, and recent performances at Manifesto|Jamaica events, ART’ical Exposure and ART’ical Empowerment Live. He can be found at www.twitter.com/fivesteez (@FiveSteez) and www.facebook.com/fivesteez .
