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This is for everyone who has ever wondered what hip hop would sound like after it was all grown up. It’s also for those of you wondering just how long the simple shit disguised as real music with nursery school rhymes laid over hyped up tracks will dominate the airwaves. And most importantly this is for those of you who like to get fresh to def on the week-end, go out to a grown and sexy spot, and listen to music that doesn’t disturb your sexy vibe. We’re bringing you something M.O.E. BETTA.
The correlation between M.O.E. BETTA and the Spike Lee joint he snatched his moniker from is easy to envision. His cocky, self-assured aura is reminiscent of Denzel Washington’s unforgettable horn-playing Bleek Gilliam and comes complete with the same playboy/ladies man allegations. “I’ve never called myself a ladies man, “that seems to follow me,” he pauses, “but I wouldn’t call myself that. My music celebrates the things I like in life, nice clothes, cars and beautiful women, the finer things in life. It’s a lifestyle and of course women are a part of that.”
MOE’s first radio single, MY LIFE, celebrates that lifestyle and speaks to the many places the rapper has had the privilege to visit while promoting his current project. The summer track with an R&B feel was strategically put in rotation in mid-west and northern markets that are a bit more receptive to hip hop laced with rhythm and blues and complete with clever lyrics. “Up in Cincinnati, Detroit and even in some mid-west markets the song is in heavy rotation, but we wanted to release some underground tracks here in the south, that have more of a street vibe,” MOE says.
Despite the R&B feel to My Life and MOE’s denial at being labeled a ladies man, tracks like, “Take your chick”, the underground hit where MOE jokes about taking the arm pieces from two of the top moguls in the rap industry, paint a very different picture.
I’ll make your dame dash; but not you ex partner,
I’m talking about your broad that’s it for ya’ll
Beyonce’s fine, Beyonce’s a dime, but after this shit, Beyonce’s mine….
“It’s all in fun man; I got mad respect for those dudes. Jay and Jermaine both have this game on lock right now. Jermaine’s got like 5 hits on the billboard charts this week, and Jay is the best at what he does. Besides it’s not like other folks aren’t thinking the same thing,” he laughs, “but it’s all in fun.”
With his witty lyrics and smooth delivery, M.O.E. BETTA’s style is a breath of fresh air to a rap scene dominated with hot tracks that lack the lyrical skill to back them up. Still competitors would be remiss to write M.O.E. BETTA off as a ladies man exclusively. “I came into this game as a battle rapper and at any time I could go back to that. When I started back east, I was a battle rapper and that’s what I was doing when I moved to Atlanta. I used to do the radio battles back in the day with Hot 97. I would call in every Friday and do my thing. My first time I won and after that I beat out every challenger for weeks, finally I just quit.” MOE says his sound evolved as he matured and while perfecting his sound, he found his niche. “I do the upscale thing now, because that’s what works for me. I like creating songs, not just writing bars. I like melodies, plus I think I sound better over a melodic track,” he says earnestly, “It’s that grown and sexy vibe, that’s me, that’s M.O.E. BETTA.”
MOE’s dedication to his music sets him miles apart from the many independent acts seeking stardom especially in Atlanta. “I’ve studied the industry. I’ve been rapping for awhile, for the past seven years I’ve been studying the game. I know what I want and I know where I want my career to go.” MOE’s knowledge of the game paid off when he began negotiating with various labels. “I knew I didn’t want a deal that I couldn’t be a part of. After meeting label CEO Johnny Dorcelian, MOE signed on with Deepside Records. “Johnny was like, ‘I can give you a situation where you’re a partner here,’” M.O.E. explains. “I had other labels trying to court me, but they didn’t want to surrender any ownership. So I took this opportunity.”
After securing the deal with Deepside, the winds of fate once again blew in M.O.E. BETTA’s direction. He secured a meeting with the Atlanta based production duo, the Platinum Brothers. With a client roster including rap heavyweights such Twista, Redman, Method Man, Will Smith, Bone thugs n harmony, and MC Eiht, Moe knew the introduction could prove to be a crucial link to acquiring the right sound for his project. Determined to make the most of the meeting, MOE took the initiative to show the Platinum Brothers his magic. Surprisingly after that initial meeting the duo agreed to a production deal with M.O.E. BETTA and Deepside Records. “We made the decision to work with M.O.E. BETTA because of his overall attitude in making records. We met him one morning and that night he was giving us bars for a record we were doing with Nivea (Jive). We listened to his stuff and knew he was going to be the next big thing. We wanted to be a part of that journey,” says Mike Chesser, one half of the Platinum Brothers. In the same vane, MOE says the Platinum Brothers immediately understand his sound and the chemistry was undeniable. “The Platinum Brothers understand the importance of making songs, not just beats. They know my sound. It’s a perfect match.”
With top notch producers as a part of his in-house team and a partnership with his label M.O.E. BETTA realizes his situation is a dream come true for an independent artist.
“I have a lot of everything,” MOE professes. His upcoming album, ‘BETTA me than U’, features a perfect mix of , commercial hits, street records with club appeal and the laid back melodic joints the ladies love. “I want that balance. What I find is that the people who stay long in this game, they have that balance, so whenever the game changes, they can [change with it]. I ain’t afraid of commercial success because I know what I can do.”
Beyond his upcoming album ‘BETTA me than U’, which is scheduled to drop spring 2006, MOE’s sights are set in the clouds. “Acting, the clothing empire, I want to do it all. They better watch out for me because if I can just get my foot in the door, you can believe I’m gonna bust it wide open.”
You can get to know M.O.E. BETTA at www.moebetta.com.
- BREAK magazine
It’s the second time around for the up north rapper with the down south roots and east to west coast appeal. M.O.E. BETTA drops his second mixtape, Sex, Money & Music Vol. II on Deepside Records, November 2005. “I’m real excited about this project. We got real feedback on Vol. I, so this time around we gave the people exactly what they asked for. I cut back on some of the commercial shit and concentrated on the wit and the slick stuff, it’s all that braggadocios shit that mixtapes originated from,” says M.O.E. “We got about fifteen or sixteen joints on this one, half freestyle, half songs.”
The cleverness comes natural for M.O.E. who is quick to let his competition know that even though his chosen genre is upscale hip hop, his foundation is battle rapping. “My history is battle rapping, that’s what we did up north, when I was growing up. Back when I started in junior high school, you had to say something slick and smart because when we started you didn’t have the music backing you up, it was just somebody beating on a table in the lunch room,” he reminisces. M.O.E. was raised in the Tri-state area living between, New York, Philadelphia and Connecticut before re-locating to Atlanta, GA several years ago, so it’s no surprise to see Big Daddy Kane and LL Cool J on his list of early influences. “I admired those dudes because of their delivery and the fact that their flow was like Secret the deodorant, you know strong enough for a man, but made for a woman,” M.O.E. jokes.
Besides Money, Sex & Music Vol. II, M.O.E. is busy preparing for the release of his album ‘BETTA ME THAN U’, due to hit stores late spring/early summer and the single ‘Get your phone number’, slated to hit airwaves January 2006. “True artists aren’t pigeon-holed with a specific sound. I want to be the kind of artist that can bring you that street record or that sexy record, club record, whatever the people want. The single is real sexy, real hot. It’s that summer hit,” M.O.E. says. Johnny Dorcelian, Deepside Records, CEO says he’s known the M.O.E. BETTA project was going to be the one and so the total focus of the label right now is to get the single out, then the album and then let history write itself. “Deepside Records and Secret Society is going to make a lot of noise in 2006, I’m the flagship first artist out, we’re doing big things,” M.O.E. states confidently. He talks a lot of shit, but with hitmaking producers (the Platinum Brothers & C-Boogie) on his team, and a fresh new sound, M.O.E. Betta just may have enough up his sleeve to back it up. “I’m gonna be the Rookie of 2006 I’m claiming that right now,” M.O.E. states confidently, “I’m M.O.E. BETTA, it’s the total package.”
- Streetmaster's Magazine
September 1, 2005
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For More Information Contact:
Christal Jordan-Mims
Enchanted PR
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Rap artist visits DC to speak to Job Corps students at 40th anniversary celebration
(Atlanta) Rap star MOE BETTA (Deepside Records) will perform and speak to Job Corps students 2005 Leadership Launch which is a part of the 40th anniversary celebration in DC. The former job corps graduate turned rap star says it is important to him that he gives back and is a source of encouragement to others. .
Ironically it was MOE BETTA’s Job Corps experience that would later lend itself to his first single ‘My Life” which details the fast paced life of a rap star. After being kicked out of high school at sixteen, it appeared MOE BETTA’s life would be a repeat of many of his childhood friends. “Without Job Corps I wouldn’t be here. I’d be either in jail or dead.” “At Job Corps I learned how to get along with different people, and I met people from allover the world. It taught me how to deal and adapt to change,” he says.
After nine months of whirlwind touring and promotions for his upcoming album “Betta me than U”, MOE BETTA says his life has come full circle since he first attended Job Corps as a student and would rap in Job Corps talent shows. “It’s where I really got my first taste of performing, it changed my life,” he says, “ to be able to go and talk to these kids and let them see how my life has changed, I hope it inspires them.”
“I think back to how I would’ve felt when I was there if a rap artist came back to speak, just because they wanted to and not because they had to, it would’ve made an impact on me. I think to talk to someone who has slept in the exact same type of bed you’re sleeping in, and is in the exact situation you’re in. To talk to someone like that just a few years after they’ve been there and then to see the positive things they’re doing with their life, is cool,” MOE says.
“My Life” began skyrocketing up the billboard charts in early 2005, resulting in a record deal with Deepside Records and a production deal with the production duo the Platinum Brothers. Since that time MOE has been touring promoting his upcoming album, BETTA me than U, which will debut in early 2006.
MOE BETTA will speak at the 40th anniversary recognition ceremony recognizing outstanding Job Corps staff on Friday, September 16, 2005 and will give a concert for the students on Saturday, September 17th, 2005 at the Hyatt Regency Capitol, 400 New Jersey Ave, NW.
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- Enchanted PR
Discography
My Life (2005)
I can't mess with you feat. Nivea (2005)
Phone Number (2006)
Wind it Up (2006)
Church (2006)
Photos
Bio
M.O.E. BETTA
Before he could legally obtain a job M.O.E. Betta knew what he wanted to do with his life. Having tampered with practically every facet of Hip Hop’s ever expanding culture, he’s the very definition of an artist. From graffiti to breakdancing and eventually penning rhymes at the age of 12, he loosely quips that if his rap career never panned out he’d be a deejay. Simply put, if Hip Hop were a blank canvas, he would have long ago been acknowledged as its promising Picasso.
“Honestly if you look, you’ll find that most rappers can draw,” he says. “Kanye West, Biggie, KRS 1, Jay Z, naturally are just artistic and creative. Rap was like the closest thing to drawing to me. To hear a beat that’s been untouched, or just a hot track, it’s like a white piece of paper and you can paint your picture on that piece of paper. If you tell it good enough, especially nowadays, people can see the video, and that’s when you know you did your job.”
On his own since he was 16 years old, M.O.E.’s travels have seen him up and down the East Coast. From New York to Miami, all the way back to Connecticut, where he learned to rap, the Chester, Pennsylvania native learned early on never to burn bridges, building invaluable relationships along the way. Upon hearing M.O.E.’s demo, Lyor Cohen, then President of Rush Management requested the young talent’s presence and before long he was rubbing elbows with the likes of Run DMC, 2Pac, EPMD, LL Cool J and Slick Rick among others.
As his talent and the chance to succeed therein continued to accelerate, M.O.E. took every opportunity he could to display his rapidly advancing skills. So consumed, he was in fact expelled from high school for skipping class in favor of entertaining his peers during every available lunch period. “I didn’t want to go home and tell my grandmother I got kicked out of school without a plan,” he remembers “so I signed up for Job Corps.”
M.O.E. continued to flourish while in Job Corps winning “best rapper” in multiple talent shows, ultimately leading to his first major performance. Still raw, young and impressionable, the 16-year-old opened for Big Daddy Kane, setting the stage for an all-star lineup that included 3rd Base, Digital Underground and Queen Latifah. However, as bright as his future seemed, he still had work to do. “At the time, the skills weren’t there and I knew that I had to make songs and stop battling, but I didn’t know how to go about making songs and that was a part of the process.”
For the next three years, M.O.E. continued his Hip Hop matriculation, channeling all his energy into making hit records, all the while finalizing his stint at Job Corps. After graduating and with nothing preventing him from leaving, M.O.E. decided on a move to Atlanta. Demo after demo, talent show after talent show, he improved dramatically. Along the way he observed the emergence of Usher, Monica, and Ludacris among others, using their successes as tools of inspiration. Motivated as he was, and as dynamic as he was becoming though, it was oft times difficult for M.O.E.’s counterparts to keep pace with his ever expanding gift. “As I’m getting better, my production is still staying the same,” he remembers, “and then all of a sudden, I picked one in-house producer and we just got better and better. We grew together.”
While moonlighting as a fork lift operator, the rapper spent every night in the studio, furnishing gem after gem. Finally, one of his co workers offered him a proposition that he’d heard all too often before. “He said he had a cousin that was looking to get into the music industry, and asked me for one of my demos,” M.O.E. explains. “I’d heard that shit before, but he said, ‘What would it hurt?’” M.O.E. reluctantly answered the question by turning over one of his CD’s and sure enough was contacted by the CEO of Deepside Records. Within days, the two of them sat down and before the conversation ended, M.O.E. was entertaining a position of authority. “He was like, ‘I can give you a situation where you’re a partner here,’” M.O.E. explains. “And I had other labels trying to court me, but they didn’t want to surrender any ownership. So I took this opportunity.”
In just two and a half years with Deepside, M.O.E. built a catalogue the equivalent of five albums and with sufficient backing; he looked to sign a distribution deal with Select-O-Hits. Before it was finalized however, his phone rang and the Platinum Brothers, who’d gotten hold of his demo, were on the other end. Eager to land the young talent, the producers offered him a deal that included a joint venture with Deepside, a top notch marketing plan and sixteen $20,000 tracks for him to record over. As if the flood of his demo hadn’t illustrated how hungry M.O.E. was, he took it upon himself to write over every beat they’d given him. He then two tracked each of them and promptly returned the entire batch before their next meeting.
While most artists claim to have a
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