Chosen Few feat. Jern Eye – Checkin’ In

DOWNLOAD: Chosen Few feat. Jern Eye – Checkin’ In

In advance of their upcoming 2010 full length New World Symphony, West Coast/Midwest trio Chosen Few are dropping a series of collaborative tracks, collectively titled Sounds From The Fewchr, to build buzz. The latest, “Checkin’ In,” featuring Bay Area compatriot Jern Eye, might be the jazziest hip-hop track released since 1995, and that’s not a bad thing. When you’re making “golden age” style hip-hop, few co-signs are more valuable than that of legendarily innovative Oakland collective Hieroglyphics.

Well, the proverbial Chosen Few- Cold Showda, Unjust, and Charles Cooper– recently signed to Hiero Imperium Records. While “do the logical” is an unlikely thesis statement to hear coming out of a hip-hop song, Chosen Few have found an important void to fill. While much of hip-hop is about barely restrained chaos, Chosen Few are in full control of everything on this track. Insightful lyrics, uniformly confident rhyming, and top-notch horns lend an unusual amount of swagger to an otherwise laid back track. And while working toward filling that void, with “Checkin’ In,” Chosen Few were also able to bring personal meaning and reflection to the song, as Cold Showda says of the track, “‘Checkin’ In’ is kind of a reflection song. As artists we’ve kept growing and stayed in our lane despite the ever so fickle shift in the hip-hop landscape. Being able to work with the homie Jern, who we’ve been doing shows with for nearly 10 years helped fill out the song perfectly.”

Chosen Few’s New World Symphony will be available on January 9, 2010 via Hiero Imperium Records.

The Background:

Chosen Few is Cold Showda, Unjust, Charles Cooper… and You. The mission of the group is to empower listeners and make them realize that they alone have the power to decide what music they listen to, instead of just picking up everything the powers that be are putting down. Originally from Ohio, the crew hooked up with regional talent like Hi-Tek, DJ Kweli, and Slum Village before moving westward to fulfill their musical manifest destiny. Cold Showda and Charles Cooper began their Bay Area careers by performing under the name Greans, collaborating with the likes of Mos Def, Common, Hieroglyphics, Pharcyde, Grandmaster Flash and more, while Unjust used his skills as a graphic artist to work with Dilated Peoples, Little Brother, Strong Arm Steady, Planet Asia, J. Dilla, Nappy Roots, and Dizzee Rascal to name a few. After achieving their respective separate successes, Chosen Few regrouped in 2008 and began building energy towards reviving the emotional range that seemed to missing from lady hip-hop at the time, and thus the idea that was New World Symphony was born. The sound of today’s social consciousness is Unjust’s soul and psychedelic rock laden beats, Cold Showda’s relentlessly aggressive lyrics, and Charles Cooper’s masterful saxophone playing and wordplay. Rounding out the album are guest appearances by Del The Funky Homosapien, Pep Love, Rakaa Iriscience, Phat Kat, DJ Babu, Tajai, Opio, Piakahn, Word4Word, and more. As Cooper says, “we are trying to encourage people to stand up, be your own individual and BE one of the chosen few.” Become part of the movement at http://wearechosenfew.com and prepare to tune into New World Symphony on February 9, 2010, via Hiero Imperium Records.