What do you get when you combine hard street Rap with electronic club beats? And mix in a bit of Rock? The Game Brothas, Halik Stewart a.k.a Nature Boy and Carmelo Lopez a.k.a. Mr. Wonderful, are a pair of young hustlers from Oakland, Ca. Their debut album, How the West Was Won, set for a late summer release, dares listeners to party like it’s 2011! The album features local talents like GB right hand man, Mallski Wallski, Thomas Knockerson, and Tic Toc Da Titan.
The Game Brothas exploded onto the national scene in 2009, when they recorded the track “Priceless” with Lil’ Wayne, on a Compilation EP. The track was leaked early and went viral. Today they are one of Oakland’s most buzz-worthy groups. In addition, they have had tracks on rotation on 106 KMEL, including “Priceless” and high placement on the Urban Mass Pool, DDK in Georgia, Ohio and Seattle DJ charts. The Game Brothas have had over 3 million song plays on myspace.com/gamebrothas. On tour, they’ve performed with Too $hort, Bone Thugs n' Harmony, Redman, E-40, Method Man, Andre Nickatina, Juelz Santana, The Pack, Yung Joc, Tech N9ne, among others.
The Game Brothas have a charming way of delivering their wild and raunchy lyrics, and want their listeners to party as hard as they do on-stage. With tracks like “Turn It Up”, a true partiers anthem, they tell you to “Turn it up and pour up somethin’ in your cup.” Or track 5, “The Panty Droppa.” Not a whole lot of explanation needed, of course, but Halik notes, “When you're doing your own thing at the club, sometimes you end up being in the position of the ‘panty droppa.’”
“Our goal in the music industry is to appeal to multiple audiences and listeners. At the core we’re a Rap group, but we have more than one style to offer. We want to keep our fans engaged with new sounds, new patterns and always keep it fresh,” insists Halik.
“We’re influenced by lots of different types of music, so our sound is its own thing,” says Mallski. “Our music goes beyond the typical chatter of a lot of current mainstream Rap, with lyric driven story lines, and hooks that you can’t help but move too.”
The GB’s mantra is simple: “Ain’t no brotha like a Game Brotha brotha ‘cuz a Game Brotha brotha got game.”
For press inquiries, please call Nicole Balin at 323-651-1580 or nik@ballinpr.com.
“Everything on this album has a double meaning. Or a triple meaning. Except the word "game," which could connote just about anything you want (money, swag, power, mojo, knowledge). Sometimes the meanings aren't obvious — the song "I Get It," for example, is about acquisition, not comprehension. "Sleep wit' a Rapper" is pretty literal, but it has this weird intro fairytale about a mouse and an elephant. Oh, I get it.”
Rachel Swan - East Bay Express
“The Game Brothas mix it up on "How the West Was Won" from tracks like "Turn It Up," a true partiers anthem to a thorough title track which refers to the ushering in of a new West Coast Era back from the underground into the mainstream all played to the sound of production from T. Knockerson, B. Mock of The Experts and GB’s own Carmelo.”
Duncan Rutherford (Rud) - dubcnn.com