Houston rapper, Paul Wall, is all set to drop his 4th major label album, Heart of a Champion, on July 13th through SwishaHouse/Asylum Records, which he will celebrate in his native city, after which he leaves for the Middle East on his 4th USO tour. Paul will be travelling to undisclosed countries, performing for our troops from August 2nd through August 9th. Previous tours with the USO have taken "The People's Champ" to places like Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan . Paul will be joined on the tour with DJ E-Man of L.A. 's Power 106 station and that station's morning show host, Big Boy.
Almost half of the tracks featured on Heart of a Champion are produced by Paul's long-time friend and Expensive Taste band-mate, Travis Barker . The album will also feature several songs from Expensive Taste, the group which includes Skinhead Rob (Transplants) in addition to Paul and Travis.
Houston-based production duo, Beanz N Kornbread, are credited with the majority of the tracks not produced by Travis, including lead single I'm on Patron, a lyrical documentary of a feeling that most of us have experienced - and greatly regretted the next day - that of simply having too much fun of the liquid variety. I'm On Patron is the perfect accompaniment to that 'blame it on the alcohol' kind of night and sure to be a party staple.
Feature duties for Heart of a Champion include a diverse list of cast members including Jim Jones, Yelawolf and Raekwon but do not ignore Paul's Houston roots; Bun B, Chamillionaire, Slim Thug, Devin the Dude and Lil' Keke each get their turn at the mic. Another Houston feature is Johnny Dang aka TV Johnny with whom Paul Wall shares a grills and jewelry business which caters to A-list celebrities and average Joes alike. In fact, the two are doing so well that they opened a second store, in the Galleria, right next door to Neiman Marcus.
Always an advocate for the Texas music scene, Paul Wall was recently tapped as President of the Recording Academy's Texas Chapter. In this role, he hopes to educate and enlist the help of Texas musicians from every genre, to ensure that the state is well represented in the Grammy's voting body. The natural politician in Paul Wall makes him the perfect candidate for this role. He embodies his moniker, "The Peoples Champ."
With two #1 album debuts, a Platinum plaque and a Grammy nomination under his belt, not to mention having some of the hottest celebs in the nation rocking his signature diamond-encrusted grills at one point or another, Paul Wall is the embodiment of the Hip Hop success story. His journey began humbly enough as a promoter for hometown indie label, SwishaHouse, and culminated with him being largely instrumental in the growth of the Houston rap movement and its rise into the national arena.
There have been a total of 7 albums since then and the journey continues with no sign of slowing down. 10 years in and Paul Wall remains in the game and in the hearts of the people. Without question, he truly has 'The Heart of a Champion.'
No comments:
Post a Comment