RAVEN - HUMBLE BEGINNINGS IN STORES NOW!!!!

To Melbourne’s hip hop community, Raven’s humble beginnings manifested with regular visits to Melbourne’s 106.7 PBS FM back in the prime of The Formula, dropping rhymes on Australia’s most respected and long running hip hop radio show. Raven was the producer and one of two MCs from Lost Soulz, a group he founded with Budsa and DJ Perplex. After honing their stage craft and lyricism in Victoria’s backyards and house parties, Lost Soulz released their highly regarded 2004 debut, Conveyor Belt, and contributed the anthemic “Sacrilege” to the Nuffsaid Records compilation In Case You Didn’t Know. The group have since made guest appearances on Hospice Crew’s landmark album Visiting Hours and most recently Mankind’s debut IIWII.Raven has now stepped into the solo arena, and alongside some of the most original and compelling rappers and producers in Australia, he represents the almighty Hungry Humans collective. With highly regarded releases from Autism and Fatty Phew among the most talked about debuts in hip hop circles in 2007, the Humans are on the rise. In particular, Raven’s lyrical dexterity has earned him acclaim from some of the Australian industry’s most respected pioneers.Across its 15 tracks, Humble Beginning ranges in content from the reflective opening title track to the multisyllabic metaphors of “Nurture” to the raw energy of “Live Shows”. The album is a showcase of Raven’s abilities on the mic, but his production prowess is also on show, having handled more than half the album’s beats himself. To complete the sound of Humble Beginnings, Raven drafted some of Melbourne’s finest producers, including Geko, Methodz (Nuffsaid Records), Beat Clever and Discourse, while DJs Perplex (now 3x Australian DMC champion), Bogues and Kilo add the final flare to the release with there skills on the ones and twos. Lyrically, Raven is assisted on the mic by the Hungry Humans crew: Budsa, Thorts, Autism, Geko, Aetcix, Sesh and Fatty Phew.From the backyard to the studio to the stage, Raven’s beginnings may have been humble, but the future is serious. ............................................................ .................................................... “With obvious potential from day one, this album shows the Dark Winged one has refined his natural gift into a class of lyricism any true connoisseur of the art can appreciate……On point topically with a technically outstanding rhyme structure. Raven is the definition of a true lyricist.” - Trem One Lyrical Commission/Unkut Recordings CEO............................................................ .................................................... Syn 90.7FM (Melbourne) Album of the Week Humble Beginnings (Raven) Label: ShogunAlbum Of The Week: 2008-02-04A member of the highly regarded Hungry Humans collective (with Fatty Phew and Autism) and co-founder of the massive Lost Soulz, Raven drops this amazing debut solo record on us for the perfect Australia Day present............................................................. .........................................Raven - Humble Beginnings Written by Matt Unicomb Thursday, 31 January 2008 Hungry Humans/Shogun8/10First up let’s start off by saying that DJ Perplex’s cuts on Humble Beginnings are unparalleled. And that the Raven/Perplex production/turntable duo is surely close to the dopest running around Melbourne right about now. A member of the Lost Soulz trio (with Budsa & Perplex), and Hungry Humans crew (alongside the likes of Fatty Phew & Thorts), Raven is a local hip hop vet, with highly regarded releases already notched up as with both collectives. Humble Beginnings comes with massive bangers (Nurture, Live Shows), some phenomenal sampling/cuts, (Ain’t New To This) and the now to-be-expected oz hip hop political bullshit (If I Could Fly). The rapping is outstanding; clever rhyming without the usual Melbourne self-proclamation is a welcome relief and a perfect way to kick off 2008. The beats are a massive standout and are more than a reason to give it a go. For an insight into some superb local production, look no further than Raven. ............................................................ ................................