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Prof signs with Rhymesayers Entertainment

by Jay Gabler

December 03, 2013

Compounding its commanding position on the local hip-hop scene, Rhymesayers Entertainment—fresh on the heels of signing young emcee Dem Atlas—announced today that it has signed Prof, the rambunctious rapper who's built a huge local fan base since releasing his breakout LP King Gampo in 2011. In the spirit of Tom Waits, Rhymesayers announced the signing with a video of a mock press conference that plays on Prof's image as the antithesis of the brainy, socially-conscious stereotype often applied to Minnesota hip-hop. Guest stars in the video include Atmosphere's Slug (in a role that presumably Denzel Washington turned down) as well as Chris Cloud and Kevin Albertson of MPLSco.

http://youtu.be/OTnILflp9VA

Simultaneously with the announcement, Prof released a new track, "The Reply." It's probably a stretch to refer to this as a Christmas song, but it does contain a reference to toys and name-drops Santa Claus, so who knows, maybe this will turn up late some December night on KOOL 108.

[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/122906586" params="color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]

The Rhymesayers signing solidifies Prof's status as one of the most prominent faces in Minnesota hip-hop. Judging by SoundCloud listener comments on "The Reply" ("no way in hell! this is dope"; "Tooo damn sickk"; "RiDICKulous"), Prof fans are duly stoked. Any questions? You may direct them to the Prof himself tonight via the Rhymesayers Ustream, starting at 7 p.m. Gopher State time.

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