The Procussions

As a Los Angeles-based Hip Hop group, The Procussions have carved their own path in Hip Hop. Known for their intense live performances and their signature sound, The Procussions music is genuine, timeless, and profound- blending musical genres together with hard-hitting percussion and passionate rhymes.

Consisting of two members, rapper Mr. J. Medeiros and rapper/producer Stro Elliot, The Procussions are no stranger to the stage. The duo got their start in their hometown of Colorado Springs, CO, in the early ‘00’s, opening up for the many Hip Hop groups passing through. From headlining pubs to opening for major Hip Hop acts, The Procussions earned their stripes at an early age.

Following the hype off their first single, “All That It Takes”, in 2002 The Procussions relocated to Los Angeles, CA. It was there that the group recorded their first album, “As Iron Sharpens Iron”, shortly followed by their impromptu, Jazz EP, “Up All Night”. These two records were independently released and took them on their first national and international tours. From 2003-2005 the group made fans all over the world, distributing their own brand of Hip Hop. Around this time, The Procussions also met up with French Hip Hop group, “Hocus Pocus”, frequently collaborating on each other’s projects, thus securing their connection to the international Hip Hop scene.

In 2006, The Procussions were the first group to sign to the revamped, Rawkus Records. Known for starting the careers of many prominent rappers (Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch), this underground staple now had a powerful act on their hands. The Procussions released their sophomore record, “5 Sparrows for 2 Cents”, to critical acclaim- with their first single, “Miss January”, (featuring Talib Kweli) opening doors to a much wider audience. Later that year The Procussions co-headlined a forty city nationwide tour and hoped on the road with legendary groups, A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, and De La Soul.

In 2007, Mr. J. Medeiros and Stro Elliot took a break from recording as a group to explore solo endeavors. Mr. J. dropped his debut album, “Of gods and girls” on Rawkus, and released the ground-breaking single “Constance”, where Mr. J. took aim at the ills of human trafficking. Being the first song of its kind, “Constance” gathered enough attention to land itself on the CBS Evening News in an expo on sex trafficking. Medeiros found commercial support via VH1 and a guest appearance on TLC’s T.V. show "Miami Ink". “Of gods and girls” is considered by many Hip Hop enthusiasts to be a classic album and provided a strong foot forward for Mr. J.’s emerging career.

From 2007-2011 Mr. J released: “The Art of Broken Glass” EP ‘09, “Friends Enemies Apples Apples” ‘09 (prod. by Stro), and “Saudade” ‘11(prod. by Mr. J. and Stro). The “Saudade” album was J’s first album funded through crowd sourciing in which he raised twice his goal (10k dollars) during the three month campaign. As you can see, frequently collaborating together, Stro and Mr. J. never missed a step while still allowing room to grow musically as individuals. This growth was seen on the single to Mr. J’s Saudade album, “Neon Signs”, which featured Stro as both producer and singer. The music video for “Neon Signs” went on to win the MTVu.com Freshman Video challenge, putting the video into regular rotation on MTVu.

In early 2012 Medeiros (of Portuguese decent) released, the “Pale Blue Dot” EP which received international attention both for his collaboration with Canadian rapper Shad and for winning an International Portuguese Music Award in the “Best Hip Hop Song” category for his single (with same name), “Pale Blue Dot”.
In the summer of 2012, after a six-year hiatus, The Procussions reunited to record a new record and to get back to doing what they love- perform live! Based off the success of Mr. J’s crowd sourcing ventures The Procussions decided to get their fans involved. In three months The Procussions nearly doubled their goal (18k) and thus had enough to record their new record. Highly anticipated, this self-titled album is set to release Sept. 2nd of 2013.