Starting Lineup

Rasul – Writing Colours

admin — Mon, 30 May 2011 09:27:56 +0000

Throughout the past years of Starting Lineup Records we produced and released numerous projects, all of them being exciting, demanding and entertaining for us in their own way. None of all these releases, however, have been as special as this project. After Rasul’s untimely and surprising death on May 11th, 2010, his family asked us to put together his last, posthumous album “Writing Colours”, which we’re releasing in a close joint venture with Europe’s JUICE magazine. This is what the editors of JUICE have to say:

It’s an honor for JUICE to carry on the torch of an extraordinary talent with the release of this posthumous album. Rasul, formerly MC of legendary Munich rap group Square One, surprisingly passed away in summer of 2010. “Writing Colours” still, is by no means a collage of sound bits and pieces from the depth of old hard drives. All songs on this album had been fully recorded before Rasul’s death and are now being released the way he intended to do. Two thirds of the songs have been produced by the so far unknown beat-duo TrueStatiks. Driven by warm drums and soul samples, they follow in the footsteps of Rasul’s ingenious partner Iman, who he created the 2001 classic “Walk Of Life”. Ali’s musical son Crada contributed with some of his emo bangers he recently placed on albums for Drake and Kid Cudi. Ten years after the release of Square One’s masterpiece Ali and Iman reunite as well to make sure rap stays Soulmusik forever. “Writing Colours” is the perfect combination of the traditional Square One sound and the musically always up-to-date Ali. Rest In Heaven, Rasul.

“Writing Colours” will be released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland as part of the newest edition of JUICE magazine and will be available on June 10th, 2011 (subscribers) and June 15th, 2011 (newsstands).

All requests: info ( at ) starting-lineup.com

More Info:
www.starting-lineup.com
Rasul on Facebook
www.juice.de

2011 Starting Lineup – Urban Media Agency & JUICE

Internship Opportunity

admin — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 14:51:07 +0000

Wir bieten aktuell Praktikantenstellen für 2011 an. Bei Interesse bitte alle Infos hier herunterladen.

We are currently looking for interns in Germany. For more info (german) please download all info here.

UrbanGermany signs with SL AllStars Publishing

admin — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 22:33:01 +0000

Right before the end of the year we’re proud to announce that singer/songwriter Son aka UrbanGermany signed with SL AllStars Publishing. UrbanGermany is one of the hottest singers and songwriters releasing cover songs and his own material on YouTube. Over the last 2 years UrbanGermany achieved to establish a worldwide fan base and was booked for live shows in Europe, North America and Asia. He is currently one of the most requested writers and performers in Germany and we are happy to team up with him and Crada to assist in breaking UrbanGermany him as an internationally renowned artist. SL AllStars Publishing is a division of Starting Lineup – Urban Media Agency and is operated in connection with AMV Talpa.

Link: UrbanGermany YouTube Channel

Jay Rock’s “Black Friday” with Crada production

admin — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 19:25:04 +0000

America celebrates Thanksgiving weekend and its commercial version (Black Friday), a day that has a strong tradition of special offers and freebies. Westcoast rapper Jay Rock does his very best to continue this tradition by releasing his brand new mixtape “Black Friday”. Part of this release is our very own Crada who contributed the composition to “Diary Of A Broke Nigga”, a song that comes with a video as well. On “Diary Of A Broke Nigga”, Jay Rock talks about the pain, fear and desparation of people living in and from the streets and manages to deliver very clear images and emotions over hard drums from Crada.

“Black Friday” and “Diary Of A Broke Nigga” are both available on blog.JayRock.com

Crada remixes Nneka & Nas’ “Heartbeat”

admin — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 20:38:19 +0000

A couple of weeks ago Nneka reached out to Crada for a remix of her smash hit “Heartbeat”. From Oct 5th on, this song is available on Nneka’s “Heartbeat EP” (USA exlcusive) and features Nas with two amazing verses. After Nnekas tour alongside Nas & Damian Marley in the US and Canada, this remix is guaranteed to make a lot of noise for the nigerian singer. Check out the Crada Remix here.

DJ Kitsune x Def Jam Rapstar

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 10:59:05 +0000

DJ Kitsune was requested to play special showcases for the Gamescom trade show of “Def Jam Rapstar”, a new interactive video game that let’s you perform over 30 of the greatest hip hop songs of all times including songs from The Notorious B.I.G., Public Enemy, Run DMC, Drake or Lil Wayne. In addition to that, several top-notch producers were hired to add exclusive content to the game including Just Blaze and DJ Premier. In cooperation with Sureshots Marketing & Promotions and 4mm Games New York, the highly-in-demand Def Jam Rapstar booth at the Gamescom (world’s biggest video game trade show) in Cologne also featured live appearances by rap stars Olli Banjo, Azad, Marteria and Das Bo.

Crada’s “Fireworks” on #1 platinum album

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:16:58 +0000

This weeks issue of Billboard magazine might be the best ever for european producer Crada. Drake’s debut album “Thank Me Later” enters the US Billboard charts at #1 with over 440.000 records sold in its first week. The Crada co-produced song “Fireworks (feat. Alicia Keys)” is the opener of this album and is the first song Crada wrote and produced to hit a #1 chart position in the US and Canada. “Fireworks” also entered the Hot100 single charts on #71, based on digital single song sales alone. After only a few days the album went platinum in Canada. Other chart positions include #15 in the UK and #34 in Germany.

Update: As certified by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) on July 20th, 2010, “Thank Me Later” officially went platinum in the US. Congratulations to Crada, Drake and all the teams that were involved.

Update 2: As certified by the BPI (British Phono Industry) on January 7th, 2010, “Thank Me Later” officially went gold in the U.K. Congratulations to Crada, Drake and all the teams that were involved.

Rasul dies at age 37

admin — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:58:55 +0000

We are devastated to announce the sudden death of our long-time friend and affiliate Ali Rasul, mostly known for his work with german-based hip hop group Square One and his solo albums “Opium”. Rasul died from a heart attack at age 37 on Tuesday, May 11th, in his hometown Vancouver, Canada. His death is an incredible loss for the hip hop communities in Germany and Vancouver, but even more so for his family, his friends and musical partners. We wish his parents and his sisters, as well as his close friends, all the strength they need during these hard times and would like to express our deepest condolences. May he rest in peace.

Crada produces “Fireworks” for Drake

admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 15:43:56 +0000

If you think of hype and media attention these days, there’s one name being mentioned over and over again: Drake. The young canadian took the childhood dream of many and turned it into his reality. From local newcomer to worldwide superstar and one of the most influential artists around in just 12 months, that’s pretty rare. Two grammy nominations without ever releasing an album or a single, makes it even more unique. And while the world is waiting for Drake’s highly acclaimed debut album to drop, german producer-star Crada already left his fingerprints on it.

“Working with Drake was extremely creative and challenging. He is not only a great performer but a true artist as well. I’m very excited about “Fireworks”, Crada says. According to Drake’s in-house producer and engineer Noah “40″ Shebib, “Fireworks” is not only the opening track on his album “Thank Me Later” but was also the first track out of many recording sessions to be a keeper for “Thank Me Later”, an achievement which is an honor for Crada’s work considering the fact that Drake has the opportunity to work with literally every producer around.

“Fireworks” is a co-production of Crada and Noah “40″ Shebib, the track was originally produced by Crada, with 40 adding editing and re-arranging to fit the vision Drake had for his album opener. After Crada’s work for Kid Cudi (”Hyyerr”) and D-Block/The Lox (”Get That Paper”), this marks the next milestone for the german musician who already emerged as the most successful german urban producer in the US.

“Fireworks” live performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syiDZbI8_uw
“Thank Me Later” drops on June 15th 2010 on Aspire/Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Music.

Griot-Album “MiCH” mit Beteiligung von Hila & Crada

admin — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:07:10 +0000

Bild: Katja Kuhl (Hila) & 20min.ch (Griot)

Ab heute steht es in den Läden – “MiCH”, das brandneue Album des Schweizer Vorzeige-Rappers Griot. Und nachdem bereits ein Großteil der Album-Aufnahmen in Frankfurt am Main vonstatten gingen, wundert es nicht, dass auch die Frankfurter Künstler Hila und Crada auf dem Album zu hören sind. Während Produzent Crada für den Beat der ersten Single “Es Tuet Mer Leid” verantwortlich ist, steuerte Hila einen Chorus auf dem Song “Musik” bei. Griot dazu in der Schweizer Tageszeitung “20 Minuten”: “Die Zusammenarbeit war ein grosser Zufall. Ich war in Frankfurt im Studio und brauchte noch eine Sängerin. Die Jungs im Studio kennen sie gut, und so kam sie schnell vorbei.”

Während die Griot-Crada Kooperation für “Es Tuet Mer Leid” bereits auf MTV Schweiz und Viva Schweiz in Rotation zu sehen ist, ist ein weiterer Song der beiden mit dem Namen “Jetzt Oder Nie” auf der gleichnamigen kostenlos erhältlichen “Jetzt Oder Nie – MiCH EP” zu hören, welche auf Exlibris.ch (hier) zum Download zur Verfügung steht.

Griot – “Es Tuet Mer Leid (Video)”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s2A8PO1CGY
Griot – “MiCH Album Trailer”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PrLyL0eMo8&feature=related
“MiCH” erscheint am 16. April 2010 auf Shotta Music Switzerland im Vertrieb von Nation Music.