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Melissa Bel’s Distance: the Pearl in a Sea of Ugly

Fans have long awaited the newly released video for her album’s title track, “Distance,” to finally put a face to the unique and now familiar voice. Melissa gives a brilliant performance which really captivates the tone of the song. With the help of director Figz!, they work together to create a post break-up atmosphere of solitary introspection, lost in the halls of your thoughts and feeling like you’re miles away from home.

As you listen you can hear Bel’s heart bleeding all over the track while Figz! captures the beautiful singer coping, leading us to think that if she’s hurting, the guy must be howling.

From Nowhere to World-Wide, OB’s Gaining

Steeltown native OB OBrien is back with “Nowhere,” a self-produced soulful goodie directed by his go-to guy Figz!. Wearing the hometown Hamilton Tiger-Cat black & gold colours, the emcee drops his lyrics to a number of visual filters and effects.

The smooth vibe out track is just one of many gaining OB respect and admiration world-wide with a mixtape in the works to reward all listeners.

Tasha The Amazon and Soxx go All The Way on Season One


With the release of the new single, “All The Way,” off the Season One album, Saukrates has set-up an accompanying remix contest to encourage the DJ/production crowd from all over to get creative with his track.

The song, which features Tasha The Amazon, was a great chance for Soxx to work with the great talent, feeding off each others style. ”We met a few years ago, and musically, we’re on the same wave-length,” says Soxx. Both artists had the goal of empowering the listeners, telling the story of two people who made it their way, all the way. To keep that collaborative vibe going, the remix conest is a way to allow fans to collaborate with Soxx in a way that time and geographic location doesn’t play a hindering role.

Listen to the new track now off of SoundCloud.

Saukrates All The Way Remix Competition

Remix Saukrates’ new single “All The Way” featuring Tasha The Amazon to win an enormous M-Audio Prize Pack.

Saukrates, the son of soul, r&b, classical and hip hop wants you to show your creative side adding your spin, your flavour, your sound to his track, “All The Way.” The contest will be judged on creativity, obviously, but also whether or not your remix can show him something new while rocking the crowd, making it your own, making him want to know your name. The gloves come off, this is a new season, whatcha got?

Prizes

Grand Prize:
1 Grand Prize winner, chosen by FrostByte will receive:

Runner-Up Prize:
Runner-Up winner, chosen by FrostByte will receive:

Honourable Mentions
3 Honorable Mentions, chosen by the Judges will each win:

  • An autographed copy of “Season One”

Submission

Email remix@frostbytemedia.net, an MP3 of your remix to enter the competition before the deadline of May 30th. Or send via SoundCloud:

Send us your sounds

Download the Remix Pack

Your Name (required)

Your Email (required)

THE SAUKRATES ““ALL THE WAY REMIX CONTEST”” (THE "CONTEST") SHALL BE CONDUCTED IN CANADA ONLY, EXCLUDING QUEBEC AND SHALL BE CONSTRUED AND EVALUATED ACCORDING TO APPLICABLE CANADIAN LAW. NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY. VOID IN WHOLE OR PART WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. ENTRY IN THIS CONTEST CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE OF THESE CONTEST RULES (THE "CONTEST RULES").  THE CONTEST IS SPONSORED BY BOTH FROSTBYTE MEDIA INC. (“FROSTBYTE”) AND M-AUDIO (“M-AUDIO”, COLLECTIVELY THE “SPONSORS”).

ELIGIBILITY.

To be eligible for this Contest, an individual must be a legal resident of Canada excluding the Province of Quebec. Contestants under 18 years of age must have the permission of a parent or legal guardian to enter. Employees of FrostByte Media Inc., M-Audio, their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, related companies, advertising and promotional agencies, and the household members of any of the above, are not eligible to participate in the Contest.

The Sponsors shall have the right at any time to request, collect, use and store personal information (the “Personal Information”), such as proof of identity and/or eligibility to participate in the Contest. Failure to provide such proof may result in disqualification. All personal and other information requested by and supplied to the Sponsors for the purpose of the Contest must be truthful, complete, accurate and in no way misleading. The Sponsors reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to disqualify any entrant should such an entrant at any stage supply untruthful, incomplete, inaccurate or misleading personal details and/or information.  Further, the Sponsors reserve the right to use the Personal Information, including name and likeness/photographs, city of residence, comments, and content of the entries, and particularly in connection with winners of the Prizes (as defined below), in any advertising and publicity in relation to the Contest and in any other future advertising and publicity for the Sponsors. 

CONTEST PERIOD.

The Contest begins at 12:00:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time ("EDT") on May 1, 2011 and ends at 12:00:00 AM on May 31, 2012 (the "Contest Period") after which time the Contest will be closed and no further entries shall be accepted.

HOW TO ENTER.

There is no purchase necessary to enter the Contest. Enter using the method of entry outlined below. No entries will be accepted by any other means.

To enter online, complete and submit the entry form located at frostbytemedia.net/remix (the "Contest Website"), which includes submitting an MP3 of your remix to enter the competition before the deadline of May 30th by email to remix@frostbytemedia.net  or via FrostByte's SoundCloud dropbox found on the contest page.

Limit of one (1) entry per email address. In the case of multiple entries, all entries will be disqualified.

Entries must be received no later than the final date of the Contest Period, being May 31st, 2012. Entries will be declared invalid if they are late, illegible, incomplete, damaged, irregular, mutilated, forged, garbled or mechanically or electronically reproduced. No communication or correspondence will be exchanged with entrants except with those selected for a Prize.

Entries received online shall be deemed to be submitted by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address associated with the entry. For the purpose of the Contest Rules, "authorized account holder" of an e-mail address is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, on-line service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address. Each selected entrant may be required to provide the Sponsors with proof that the selected entrant is the authorized account holder of the e-mail address associated with the winning entry.

Grand Prize:

Grand Prize winner, chosen by FrostByte will receive the following music software:

Pro Tools MP + Fast Track C400

Axiom Pro 49

BX8 D2

Runner-Up Prize (the “Runner Up Prize”):

Runner-Up winner, chosen by FrostByte will receive the following music software:

Axiom Pro 25

BX5 D2

Honourable Mentions (the “Honourable Mention Prizes”): 5 Honorable Mentions, chosen by FrostByte Media staff members will each win:

An autographed copy of Saukrates’ album entitled "Season One".

(All prizes as set out above collectively referred to as the “Prizes”.)

The Grand Prize has an approximate value of CAD $1400. The Runner-Up Prize has an approximate value of CAD $900. The winner of the Grand Prize is not entitled to monetary difference between actual prize value and stated approximate prize value, if any.

Prizes must be accepted as awarded and cannot be transferred, assigned, substituted or redeemed for cash, except at the sole discretion of the Sponsors. Any unused portion of any Prize will be forfeited and have no cash value. The Sponsors reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to substitute a prize of equal or greater value if a Prize (or any portion thereof) cannot be awarded for any reason.

he Sponsors shall not assume any liability for lost, damaged or misdirected Prizes. Contest winners will be contacted by a member of FrostByte Media to acquire addresses and determine prize delivery times and dates.

WINNER SELECTION.

Grand Prize Winner:  On or about May 31st, 2012 in Toronto, Ontario, one (1) entrant will be judged the best submission from all eligible entries received during the Contest Period by FrostByte. This winner shall receive the Grand Prize. 

Runner Up: On or about May 31st, 2012 in Toronto, Ontario, one (1) entrant will be judged the Runner-Up from all eligible entries received during the Contest Period by FrostByte. This Runner-Up will receive the Runner Up Prize. 

Honourable Mentions:  On or about May 31st, 2012  in Toronto, Ontario, five (5) entrants swill be judged the Honourable Mentions from all eligible entries received during the Contest Period by FrostByte Media. These winners will receive the Honourable Mention Prizes.  

The odds of winning a Prize depend on the number of entries submitted.  Each person will be eligible to win one (1) Prize. All winners of Prizes must correctly answer a skill testing question in order to claim a Prize.

JUDGING CRITERIA: Winners will be decided based upon their creative use of the musical material provided solely within their submitted remix’s mp3 file. 

INDEMNIFICATION BY ENTRANT.

y entering the Contest, entrant releases and holds the Sponsors, and each of their respective heirs, legal representatives, shareholders, directors, officers, employees and agents (collectively the “Releasees”), harmless of and from any and all liability for any injuries, loss or damage of any kind to the entrant or any other person, including personal injury, death, or property damage, resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any Prize, participation in the Contest, any breach of the Contest Rules, or in any Prize-related activity. The entrant agrees to fully indemnify Releasees from any and all claims by third parties relating to the Contest, without limitation.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.

he Sponsors assume no responsibility or liability for lost, late, unintelligible/illegible, falsified, damaged, misdirected or incomplete entries, notifications, responses, replies, releases, or for any computer, online, software, telephone, hardware or technical malfunctions that may occur, including but not limited to malfunctions that may affect the transmission or non-transmission of an entry. The Sponsors are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by website users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest or by any technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Contest. The Sponsors assume no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, entries. The Sponsors are not responsible for any problems, failures or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, providers, computer equipment, software, e-mail, players, or browsers, on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet, at any website, or on account of any combination of the foregoing. The Sponsors are not responsible for any injury or damage to entrant or to any computer related to or resulting from participating or downloading materials in this Contest. Entrant assumes liability for injuries caused or claimed to be caused by participating in the Contest, or by the acceptance, possession, use of, or failure to receive any Prize. The Sponsors assume no responsibility or liability in the event that the Contest cannot be conducted as planned for any reason, including those reasons beyond the control of the Sponsors, such as infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or corruption of the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this Contest, the Contest Website and/or frostbytemedia.net.

All submitted remix entries becomes property of FrostByte Media Inc.

CONTACT INFO:

Michael Imperial – FrostByte Media : michael@frostbytemedia.net

Stoni Cooper - M-Audio : stoni.cooper@avid.com

Roberto - Exclaim.ca : roberto@exclaim.ca


 I want to be notified about news regarding: FrostByte, M-Audio & Exclaim.
I have read, and agree to abide by the above rules.

Saukrates Preseason Mixtape with DJ Starting From Scratch

Saukrates is a rare breed in hip-hop and his versatility is not commonly matched, so to celebrate the release of Season One he’s giving fans DJ Starting From Scratch’s The Preseason Mix: Eastern Conference Edition, a free mixtape which spans through Saukrates’ career, starting with his Capital Hill days in 1999 and continuing through to his current Frostbyte Media material.

“I forget how much of my material from an extensive period of my career hasn’t been made available to everybody,” says Saukrates. “It’s heart-warming to know that friends and fans still hold a special place in their lives for my past material.”

Part Three of Our Look Into Saukrates’ Philosophy: Toronto Music

Saukrates sits down again with Huntclub to touch on the cyclical nature of Canadian hip-hop in the media, particularly how coverage and recognition of the scene has improved over time. Recalling when Toronto first got attention as “Hollywood North”, the spotlight was cast on homegrown talents Maestro Fresh-Wes, Ghetto Concept, Kardinal Offishall, Choclair, Saukrates, Rascalz and k-os.

Now with a slight absence from the limelight the scene again begins to germinate and create a fresh rich culture, wave after wave, working at its own pace, longevity being the name of the game.

Saukrates’ Season One Album In Stores Now

Saukrates’ much anticipated follow up to The Underground Tapes is finally out. Season One is a soul-driven collection of songs that speak of tragedy and triumph; the events that have put Soxx through the ringer only to prove he’s not going anywhere. Featuring artists such as k-os, Nelly Furtado, and OB OBrien, Season One has something for the players and backpackers to take home.

Tracklist:

  1. Season One
  2. Say I feat. OB OBrien
  3. Before We Go feat. Michelle Nyce
  4. Doorite feat. Nickelus F. and k-os
  5. All In An Instant
  6. Remember Me
  7. All The Way feat. Tasha The Amazon of CCK
  8. What A Day
  9. Sometimes
  10. Only One feat. The Strings of “Bowfire”
  11. Tomorrow
  12. On The Run feat. k-os and Nelly Furtado
  13. Lost
  14. Save The Day feat. Richie Hennessy and OB OBrien
  15. Feels Like Summer
  16. iPhone 4 feat. Meesah*
  17. Drop It Down feat. Redman*
* Bonus Tracks

Buy Saukrates — Season One on iTunes

Soxx Leaks Doorite, Can Do No Wrong

If you haven’t been keeping up with Saukrates lately, excitement is building as the 24th of this month approaches, the date set to unleash Soxx’s Season One on hungry fans. With the internet abuzz, we keep the momentum going rolling out a fresh new track taken lifted off the record and leaking it online.“Doorite” expresses the patience of an artist that had it all, lost everything, but refuses to stay down. Soxx lays it down succinctly, “You couldn’t imagine all the days that I flipped from hero to zero, flip s*** backwards, zero to hero.” This song, featuring k-os and Nickelus F., reminds us not to let the pressure change the structure of our nature and to continue playing the game right even if the dividends are slow to come.

Check out Soxx’s new track below or click here to download:

Part Two of the Saukrates Philosophy Series

Saukrates is excited to release the second in a string of webisodes to be released in conjunction with the new album. In this latest webisode, titled “Saukrates Philosophy: Part II,” Saukrates breaks down how being an athlete – particularly a soccer player and hockey – has influenced and prepared him to traverse his way through music. He’s been the start player enough to know that the real power lies in the mid-section playmakers; roughly translated, he’s seasoned enough to know where to stand to play the whole arena.

Ricky J is Ready to Paint The Town

The release of Ricky J’s new album, Paint The Town, definitely puts you in the mood to hit the clubs every weekend this summer. Varying from track to track, Ricky adds a soundtrack to the fun times in life like the exciting game of cat and mouse girls make you play and the sense of love and discovery in the air. With dance, freestyle, hip-hop, and pop influences that are not only audible on the tracks but are given Ricky’s personal spin, the record will make you wanna get up, dance and lose control.

Tracklist:

  1. Paint The Town
  2. She Wanna
  3. What U Think
  4. One Drop
  5. Waitin 4 You
  6. No Coming Back
  7. Kamasutra
  8. Left The House
  9. Special
  10. World Is Ours
  11. Whatta Night
  12. One Drop (French Mix)