TRU FAM
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TRU FAM

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Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"Hip-hop artists seek to build bridges between divided generations"

The Record Newspaper Front Page Article

Hip-hop artists seek to build bridges between divided generations
By Paul H. Johnson, The Record (Bergen County, N.J.)


PASSAIC, N.J. - Tru/Fam rocks back and forth quietly on the black carpet of the Passaic recording studio, spitting out their lines while the engineer fires up the computer to load the music.

"Girl move your body like oh!" The words flow from Young Shai's mouth. "Make me want to say oh!" chants the teen whose real name is Shareef Nealy.

To some, the lyrics from the song "Dip Low" may make no sense, but to Nealy and his friends in the group Tru/Fam, the song is a party anthem, a call to get on the dance floor.

"Excuse me miss, I ain't twisted, but I can make your body twist," raps Just 1, Shareef Nealy's twin brother Tyreef.

Tru/Fam - which stands for True Family - is acutely aware that many people think hip-hop is just a collection of booty-shaking, vulgarity-filled songs.

"Some people think hip-hop is the devil's music," said Anthony Davis, a 17-year-old high school senior in Paterson, N.J., who goes by the name Murk.

But Tru/Fam wants to be different, to be suggestive and fun without being obscene or profane. "We're trying to let people know all hip-hop is not like that," Davis said.

It's been 30 years since rap hit the scene at the block parties of the South Bronx, where teens would rap over blaring music, and 25 years since the first hit rap record blew up. The genre is now an established phenomenon that allows young people to record their thoughts and dreams.

Hip-hop is the biggest-selling genre of music in the United States. According to Nielsen SoundScan, 61 percent of the top 100 hits of 2004 were rap- or hip-hop-influenced R&B records, up from 53 percent in 2003. But the music has created a generation gap between those who grew up with the blaring beats and rhymes and those who still see hip-hop as some sort of musical felony.

Even rappers like Tru/Fam believe that sometimes rap goes too far and distance themselves from the misogyny and violence that often populate the lyrics.

"We're not doing profanity and we're not degrading women," said Melvin Little, 17, who goes by the name J Flow in Tru/Fam.

Jeff Chang, author of "Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation," said hip-hop artists write what they see and hear. It's a reflection of the culture they inhabit.

"It's definitely in the tradition of going all the way back to Africa of wordplay and storytelling," Chang said. "In a lot of ways, hip-hop has not changed that much. What has changed is the context."

Hip-hop is more than music. It's a culture. It's more than telling stories. It's the flashy clothes and cars - the bling. It's movement, like break-dancing, and street art, like graffiti. And all have drawn strong reactions.

The emergence of graffiti and the loud block parties that occasionally broke into fights in the late 1970s and early 1980s drew the first negative attention to hip-hop.

"Graffiti is sort of the loudest announcement that this generation is here," Chang said.

It also drew the sharpest counteraction. States passed tough anti-graffiti laws. In New Jersey, minors can have their driver's licenses revoked for being convicted of graffiti crimes, and spray paint is sold from behind locked cages.

It wasn't until the appearance of gangsta rap - which grew out of the rhymes of teens from Watts and South Central Los Angeles - in the late 1980s and early 1990s that a broad schism between young African-Americans and their elders became apparent. The music celebrated gang life and told tales of violence and retribution.

"There's no dignity in this rap," C. DeLores Tucker, head of the National Council of Negro Women, told CBS in 1993. Tucker had marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King in the 1960s and couldn't bear to listen to the music produced by the offspring of the civil rights movement. "We were marching to stop those who were using speech against us. They were calling us all kinds of names, the very same names that these rappers are using."

Tucker, along with then-U.S. Education Secretary William Bennett, launched a campaign to force corporations to divest themselves of hip-hop companies. The pair successfully persuaded Time Warner to drop its support of Death Row Records.

The violent imagery in much of gangsta rap came to life in September 1996 when rapper Tupac Shakur was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. His counterpart Christopher Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls, was killed seven months later.

The deaths sparked a movement to tame hip-hop's association with violence. Calls questioning rap's connection with violence only grew after the 2003 murder of Jason Mizell of Queens; as Jam Master Jay, Mizell was part of the pioneering rap group Run DMC. Now, members of the hip-hop generation are trying to connect with their elders.

Last June, members of the hip-hop community joined wit - The Record Newspaper


"DUO HIP HOP GROUP TRU FAM: NOW READY TO ADD TO HIP HOP MUSIC, BY LETTING THE PEOPLE DECIDE"

PATERSON, NEW JERSEY (TRU FAM Official Website) - Hip Hop Music is now in transition. The Southern Rappers have made a name for themselves and have fans who faithfully support their craft/music. This however, comes at a time when Hip Hop which has been mainly dominated by East and West Coast rappers seems to be becoming the minority. With so many Rappers emerging from the Southern States the sound seems to be dominating Hip Hop Muisc right now. Rappers Young Sha & Just I from the Hip Hop Group TRU FAM still seem to be finding fans who are versatile and want to hear diversity in Hip Hop Music. They have their http://www.myspace.com/trufam page which is doing well and getting a lot of love from fans who make comments about their music being good and for them to continue. They have over sixteen thousand plays and counting. The fans are from all over the USA including the South. Fans have always been the ones supporting Artists and they know what they want to hear and they will be the ones to decide if a Artist music is worth their time. "These Guys are definitely talented" Nightlifelink.com-Promoter said.
The Duo Hip Hop Group TRU FAM are signed to 4 Life Entertainment LLC under management.TRU FAM members are identical twin brothers and have been rapping together for a couple of years. Since they were very young they alway's had a love of Hip Hop Music and its Culture and would mimmick some of the greats like LL Cool J, Ma$e and Notorious BIG just to name a few.TRU FAM is ready to make a impact in the music that they so much love and have respect for the pioneers Sugar Hill Gang, Furious Five, Afrika Bambatta and so many more who have paved the way for the future of Hip Hop Music

Internet making Unsigned Artists dreams come true Making fans more accessible to variety of music and styles Letting Artists express themselves and having a sense of realism to people who like their music Good Hip Hop Music

- top40-charts.com


Discography

2005- Just Do It- Vudu
Be With You Feat. Ayanna
See It In Your Eyes
Why You In The Club
TRU FAM
2006-Shut It Down
Forever
Love Go
Knock "em Out

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

TRU FAM is the emerging Urban/AC Duo Hip Hop Group. They are clearly in their element. The are Hip-Hip reborn. It is the love of Hip Hop Music that inspires them. Reflecting back to the era of some of the greats artists like Jay Z, Ma$e,Nelly just to name a few who have paved the way for emerging artists like TRU FAM.


TRU FAM is becoming known for their Up -Tempo party tracks which invite the listeners to a good time! With their fan base growing every day, and currently with well over eight thousand fans/supporters and over seventy-thousand plays their sound is far reaching, and response to their music is gathering momentum in the states as well as from all over the world. Fans are reaching out from Europe and Asia.


TRU FAM are featured in a front page article entitled " Now, Hip Hop Artists seek to Build Bridges". The article discusses bringing some fun back into Hip Hop Music!


Although diversity is good, there should still be a balance for young people to party together just to have a good time. TRU FAM is also featured on the UPNextmusiconline.com.


Currently TRU FAM is working on their debut album, and discussing strategy for the release of this new CD release with marketing and promotional companies. The industry has embraced us, and conversations regarding ringtones, booking agents, license agreement, TV show appearances and videogames are just the beginning for TRU FAM.


This CD is schedule for release in spring '07. Their single entitled Knock 'em Out is being played on College radio and on online radio stations throughout the US. We are laying the foundation for a massive release. TRU FAM has been performing on the New York City scene, and soon to be in DC, Philly and Atlanta.


TRU FAM has been gathering an incredible momentum, labels, producers and industry professionals have been reaching out to TRU FAM. We have been mentored by some of the best Entertainment Professionals in the Business. To read more information about TRU FAM visit their myspace page where you can stay updated on what TRU FAM is doing. http://www.myspace.com/trufam