Bird Man

1. Intro – Skit (feat. Idris Elba)
2. Evolve
3. W.A.R. (feat. Vernon Reid)
4. Clap
5. The Hitman
6. Black Hand Side (feat. Styles P & Phonte (of Little Brother))
7. Let My People Go
8. Shine (feat. Mela Machinko)
9. Haile Selassie Karate (feat. Denaun Porter)
10. Assassins (feat. Jean Grae & Royce Da 5’9”)
11. Illusions
12. Mama’s Boy
13. Still Standing (feat. Jill Scott)

March 22nd

Mac

He's gonna release the album on Duck Down now:

AllHipHop.com has confirmed that Pharoahe Monch’s upcoming third solo LP W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) has found a home with Duck Down Records.

Originally, Monch announced last September that he would be leaving his previous label SRC to distribute W.A.R. through his own imprint, W.A.R. Media.

At the time, he cited the overall decline of the music industry as reason to forego a major label deal.

But with premier indie label Duck Down, Monch feels he has secured the distribution and creative control needed to make W.A.R. a success.

As heard on his last LP Desire (2007), Monch explained he will continue exploring spiritual elements while maintaining the high level lyricism his fans have come to expect since his 1991 debut with Organized Konfusion.

"I'm incredibly excited about my upcoming release W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) and my new partnership between my company W.A.R. Media, LLC, and Duck Down Music,” Monch told AllHipHop.com. “This album deals with conflicts and resolutions of the spirit, the soul, the government, and the industry among other things.”

Regarding guest spots and production, Pharoahe Monch revealed a balanced mix of past collaborators and new affiliates.

“Thus far it features Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid, Jean Grae, Styles P, Phonte, Black Thought, with more to come,” he stated. “It also features production from M-Phazes, Marco Polo, Mike Low, Fatin, Lee Stone, Exile and others to be announced. I am working diligently to finish the work for a summer release and I am honored to join forces with the Duck Down family during their 15 year anniversary."

Tomorrow (March 19), fans in Austin, Texas can see Monch as a part of Duck Down’s 15 Year Anniversary Concert at the SXSW Showcase, located at The Scoot Inn on East 4th Street.

Doors open at 8PM.

Pharoahe Monch’s W.A.R. is targeted for a summer release.

Listed below are his upcoming April tour dates with Slaughterhouse.

April 3 Saint John, NB Evolution Nightclub
April 4 St. John's, NF Club One
April 5 Halifax, NS Paragone Theatre
April 7 Ottawa, ON Ritual Nightclub
April 8 Toronto, ON Venue TBC
April 9 Cornwall, ON Rangatangs Nightclub
April 10 Montreal, QC Telus Theatre
April 12 Thunder Bay, ON Roxys Nightclub
April 13 Winnipeg, MB Pyramid Cabaret
April 14 Saskatoon, SK Odeon Events Centre
April 15 Calgary, AB The Whiskey Nightclub
April 16 Edmonton, AB Starlite Room
April 17 Lethbridge, AB Venue TBC
April 18 Nelson, BC Spirit Bar
April 21 Victoria, BC Element
April 22 Vancouver, BC Venue TBC

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Mac

Officially signed to Duck Down today:



Duck Down Records founder Dru Ha announced today that Pharoahe Monch has officially joined their roster. The label recently celebrated their 15th year anniversary. Monch’s new album W.A.R. is scheduled to drop this summer.

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Mac

Pharoahe Monch's third solo album W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) will release October 26. The Queens, New York emcee will team his W.A.R. imprint with Buckshot and Dru Ha's Duck Down Records for their first collaboration. A tracklisting has been revealed from the album, after Monch premiered the Diamond D-produced "Shine" on HipHopDX last month.

Guests include Styles P, who made 2002's "The Life" with Monch. Other guests include Phonte, Jean Grae and Slaughterhouse's Royce Da 5'9".

Tracklisting:

Mac

HipHopDX has learned through E1 Entertainment that both releases, initially planned for October and November respectively, have been postponed to February.

Mac

KingMayne

Already.

Pharoahe is possibly the most slept on MC. He's definitely in my top 5... he's never ceased to kill the track. Organized Konfusion put out some of the best shits to date... way ahead of their time with that Stress shit.

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"Democracy too is not divine"- Ludwig Von Mises

"There is one good thing about Marx: he was not a Keynesian"- Murray Rothbard

Mac

“We decided collectively — me and my manager — to push this record back, because it simply wasn’t ready,” explained Monch of his upcoming album, W.A.R. “we were a little bit too ambitious. We were still waiting for vocals from artists, and they didn't come in. We are very specific about how we wanted it arranged...it wasn't ready."
Monch explained that the follow-up to 2007's Desire was "dark" and "scary."


“A lot of our liberties are being taken away,” said Monch, “We’re losing touch with our sensibility and we’re becoming desensitized. I worry about the generations to come.”

Mac

Pharoahe Monch is celebrating the 15th Annual National Day of Protest To Stop Police Brutality by premiering a new video for his anti-police brutality anthem "Clap (One Day) today (October 22nd).

The 15th Annual National Day of Protest To Stop Police Brutality takes place each year in communities across the country to protest aggressive police tactics.

To show support for the day, supporters are wearing all black to show solidarity.

Pharoahe Monch premiered "Clap (One Day)" last month to a sold out crowd at the Jazz Cafe in London.

The album was taken from his upcoming album W.A.R. (We Are Renegades), which will be released through Pharoahe's W.A.R. Media and Duck Down Records in February of 2011.

"Instead of protect and serve, police often escalate situations, as with the cases of Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, or Aiyana Stanley Jones, and hundreds more who fell victim to police violence," Pharoahe Monch told AllHipHop.com. "I wrote this song to express my frustration, as well as raise the question of how our communities can create safety and prevent violence, with out relying on police."

The never-before-seen footage also features vocalists Showtyme, Mela Machinko and DJ Boogie Blind, who will also be in the short film and music video for "Clap (One Day)," which will be released in December 2010.

Pharoahe Monch was clear that despite the song's title, it does not advocate violence against police officers, as his brother protects and serves a local community.

"My brother is a police officer so I know there are some well intentioned people wearing blue uniforms," Pharoahe Monch told AllHipHop.com. "But the issue of police violence is much bigger than good cops and bad cops, it comes down to a broken system which criminalizes our communities, and must be completely transformed."

Pharaohe Monch's album W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) will hit stores in February of 2011. For more information visit

Mac

Four years since his last effort, Desire, Pharoahe Monch is set to release his upcoming album via Duck Down. During a recent listening session at NYU, Pharoahe explained why his upcoming album, W.A.R. [We Are Renegades], has been so long in the making—partially shouldering the blame by calling himself a slow writer.

“Two years ago I was at Universal in a meeting to renew my option, and what was going on at the majors was just extra wack at the time,” Pharoahe explained. After moving back to the independent circuit courtesy of a partnership with Duck Down, Monch, Duck Down CEO Dru Ha and Guy Routte of Renegade Media expressed their satisfaction with the joint venture.

“This is obviously a monumental occasion for Duck Down,” Dru Ha said. “We had the honor and privilege to partner with Pharoahe, Guy and W.A.R. Media to put out this record.”

Monch called Duck Down the most consistent, independent label in Hip Hop, and added that his the features on his upcoming album were mostly the byproduct of favors and mutual respect.

“The beautiful thing about it is it couldn’t have happened without the love and the contributions that most people did for free,” Pharoahe added. “I think they put their heart into this because they feel like we all need something and we’re all renegades—not to sound cliché. There’s a lot of effort from a lot of people who lent their selves to this project.”

One such person, Jean Grae, said she wrote eight different verses for the song “Assassins,” which also features Royce Da 5’9”. W.A.R. will be released March 22 via Duck Down.

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