+1 Proudly Presents:

Kenan Bell

‘Good News: The Mix-Tape’ Begins Today, March 10th, Download the first track exclusively at URB.com
Debut Single, ‘Fruit & Vegetables,’ To Be Released on +1 Records: Exclusively on iTunes Today, March 10th, All Digital Retailers March 24th
‘Until The Future’ Full-Length Due Out This Fall

‘If you aren’t hip to Kenan Bell yet, then maybe hip just isn’t your thing’ -MyCypher.com

+1 is proud to welcome the newest addition to its family: representing La Crescenta, CA, and set to break out like a cold sweat, his name’s Kenan Bell (if you didn’t know yet). His tracks are musical, his rap melodic and his lyrics profound. And the clincher: His live performance is an absolute revelation. Backed by a full indie-band that could carry a show on its own merits, every Kenan Bell set is a veritable clinic in controlled chaos, anchored by Bell’s fluid poise and charisma. At 6’5″, he is indeed an imposing figure, but he is as easy and languid as his delivery. And like his cousin, The Mailman, he always delivers.

As a teacher at a Montessori school in Los Angeles, Bell has been educating people for years. Now, armed with a refreshing message of optimism and unity, Bell is ready to proliferate his unique hip-hop perspective: one that lays the intrepid lyrical flow of Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, and De La Soul over the rich textures of The Smiths, TV On the Radio, and David Bowie. A fan of music first and foremost, Bell is well-versed on the subject of hip-hop and its origins: ‘Rap is a fatherless music. So, there are no guidelines or blueprints to follow. ‘Hip-hop’ is a term developed by Bambaataa, who sampled Kraftwerk, a German techno outfit. So who’s to say what is and isn’t hip-hop? Chic was sampled in ‘Rapper’s Delight.’ Nile Rogers went on to produce Madonna.’

His mother 1/4 Irish, his father 1/4 Arapaho Native American, growing up in an LA suburb, and heavy in on the California skate scene (where he met best friend and collaborator Jason Burkhart, whom he affectionately refers to as ‘Milk’), Bell has always been one to judge people based purely on their merits. In that [skate] culture, if you can skate, you’re in, Bell says. Similarly, having grown up in a time when music was becoming less and less segmented, he learned to love it and learn from it all. He is truly a product of his time and his writing process is all the proof one needs. This wordsmith crafts his verses on his trusty Sidekick, and emails them to himself. Bell says of his method, ‘I treat this like personal counseling. I’m writing to myself in rhyme.’

‘Good News: The Mix-Tape’

Today, March 10th, Kenan Bell will release his remix collective project entitled Good News: The Mix-Tape. With remixes of songs by artists as wide-ranging as Pink Floyd, Lily Allen, Gang Gang Dance, Jose Gonzalez, Peter, Bjorn & John, Duran Duran, and Neil Diamond, ‘Good News’ represents and puts on full display the expanse of Bell’s musical appreciation and inspiration.

The idea was originally conceived when a Smiths remix he did for fun managed to find its way onto a Morrissey fan site, and then to Morrissey himself. For his part, Bell says, “I wanted to rap over The Smiths because people said it couldn’t be done. ‘Good News,’ Bell and his production team reworked songs of Bell’s choosing: gathering the songs, pulling samples and writing the lyrics all in a matter of a few days some of the songs written and tracked on the spot, in one take.

The first track, a remix of Peter Bjorn and John’s The Chills, is available for free download today on URB.com.

‘Fruit and Vegetables’

Bell’s first official single, ‘Fruit and Vegetables,’ will be available Today, March 10th exclusively on iTunes, and March 24th on all other digital retailers. “There seems to be such controversy over what is a fruit and what is a vegetable. Does it matter?”,Bell said, speaking in thinly veiled reference to his underlying message of all-inclusiveness. It’s all good for you and necessary for growth. The single will include a b-side, ‘All About.’

1. Fruit and Vegetables
2. All About

SXSW + US Tour Dates

Mar 19 || SXSW Music By The Slice @ Home Slice Pizza || Austin, TX
Mar 20 || SXSW +1 House Party @ The Legendary Hank Sinatra’s || Austin, TX

**Stay tuned for more SXSW dates…

Mar 26 || The Echo (w/ Illinois) || Los Angeles, CA || Facebook
Mar 27 || Kennel Club (w/ Illinois) || Sacramento, CA || Facebook
Mar 28 || Rickshaw Stop (w/ Illinois) || San Francisco, CA
Mar 30 || Holocene (w/ Illinois) || Portland, OR
Mar 31 || The Sunset (w/ Illinois) || Seattle, WA
May 5 || Mercury Lounge (w/ Illinois) || New York, NY
May 6 || Johnny Brenda’s (w/ Illinois) || Philly, PA
May 7 || DC9 (w/ Illinois) || Washington, DC

Kenan Bell’s debut album, ‘Until The Future’, is due out this fall.

For More Info:

www.myspace.com/theblackkenanbell
www.KenanBell.com

Twitter with Kenan:
http://twitter.com/kenanbell

For Press Inquiries, Please Contact Jonny Kaps at JonnyKaps@plusonemusic.net
or Call the +1 Compound
(718) 599-3740

+1
Jonny Kaps :: Nat Hays :: Ashley P :: Min Kim :: Shelley Wright :: Swade :: Brodsky
Lauren Fleming :: Sarah Pesin :: Jackie Finney
The Wolf

242 Wythe Ave. Studio 6
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Phone: 718.599.3740
Fax: 718.599.0998
Site: www.plusonemusic.net