Oh, the places hip hop will take you!  This summer, in the spirit of music and service, it took us to the Kingdom of Morocco.  Vibin’ off the fellowship and celebration that was the On Purpose release party in Lancaster at the end of May and armed wit a brand new album to promote and share, in July, we traveled back to the continent of Africa.  Fillin’ the locals’ ears wit Sean Carter’s South Hill beats and Repeat Offenders’ rhymes, our willing hands gave time and energy and established relations with our new Muslim friends.

Our mission?  Via this music we create, spread love, touch others, and just plain help.  Our days were spent workin’ with disabled children and young adults in an orphanage in Rabat, Morocco’s capital.  From 8:00am to 1:00pm, Monday through Friday, we would help the children out of bed, lift them into their wheelchairs, wheel them to the washroom, remove their clothing and diapers, lift them into the wash basins, bathe them, dry them, redress them, place them back into their wheelchairs, and spoon feed them breakfast, before takin’ them outside for rides in their wheelchairs around the orphanage’s courtyard.  After a few hours of sharin’ fresh air, exhilaratin’ rides, and gigglin’ grins, we wheeled them back inside to feed them their lunch.

The afternoons and evenings were spent interacting through the use of conversational French and Arabic and basking in Islamic culture and its practices.  Whether it was marinatin’ on the climate and atmosphere of Rabat’s Casbah and Medina, ridin’ the train to visit the mosque in Casablanca (the third largest in the world), our host, Mohamed Mahmoudi, learnin’ us and debunkin’ the myths that have grown to surround those in the Muslim community, listenin’ to Moroccan hip hop and a splash of Lumidee’s “Never Leave You (Uh-Oooh)” on Rabat’s airways during our taxi rides, or Khadija Channouf teachin’ us the details and specifics of creatin’ Moroccan dishes, we were humbly blessed and deeply touched by the opportunity to make the trip, expand the Repeat Offender family to yet another country, and by the outpouring of supportive thoughts and prayers for our safety and health while we were away.

Upon returning, what again became apparent was the penetrating force of music, specifically hip hop.  After extending himself to get to know us, we blessed Yasin, one of our new Moroccan friends working alongside us at the orphanage, wit a copy of On Purpose.  While sharing listens of J. Period’s Q-Tip, The [Abstract] Best Vol. 1 mixtape (if y’all haven’t been put on to J. Period and his Best Of mixtapes yet, as Clinton Sparks says, please “get familiar”) with a few Moroccan acquaintances on the train from Rabat to Casablanca, it again becomes clear: hip hop is like a smile or the sunshine; it’s universally recognized and appreciated in any language.

Hip hop is worldwide.  Hip hop is one love.

Thrill

Peace, y'all...

Our new Repeat Offenders' album, On Purpose, is completed and currently being printed.  On the strength of the support we received from everyone for the recent radio interviews we did on York College's station and the University of Scranton's station, we wanted to put the word out about the album release party we will be hosting for On Purpose on SATURDAY, MAY 30TH.

It will be held at Senorita Burrita in Lancaster, PA, right behind the Chameleon, if you are familiar with that venue. It will be an earlier show than usual, with doors opening at 8:00pm, and the show running until 11:00pm. There is an $8 fee to get in, and we'll have tickets if you'd like to purchase them from us in advance. The new album will also be on sale that night for $10 (or discounted to $5, please see below). In addition to us, our brethren Death B4 Dishonor will perform, as well as Delaware heavy hitters The 49ers. We will also have The Visiting as the DJ for the evening. It should be a great night of positive, meaningful hip hop.

In addition to the show, we have also put together a food drive for that evening. Shawn (SL), my counterpart in this music, is from the Coatesville/Thorndale/Downingtown area, and in light of the recent, tragic arsons that have taken place there, we wanted to give back or help out those in need that live around him. As such, we are asking those in attendance to bring a canned or non-perishable food item (cereal, pasta, canned fruit or vegetables) with them to the show.  In return, we'll be selling the album to those folks at half price. So if you come and bring a canned or non-perishable food item, you can buy a copy of On Purpose for $5, instead of $10.

We're also finishing up a promo flyer for this event that we'll be posting in some local areas, and we'll be sure to pass that along to all of you when it is completed. While it's a smaller venue, we're hoping to pack it with lots of hip hop and music lovers.

Thank you all for your support and listening ears over the years. We're very excited about On Purpose and its release, and we're grateful for the kind response we've gotten from you all in the past.

Much love.

Thrill
REPEAT OFFENDERS

What a blessed Saturday!  On April 18^th, Repeat Offenders were grateful to be in the place at Lehigh University to watch The Roots put on a glorious show and tear it down yet again.  Sundaze, Lehigh’s annual outdoor music festival, hosted hip hop’s mightiest band and watched them move the masses as only they can.  Black Thought, ?uestlove, Kamal, Kirk Douglas, Tuba Gooding Jr. and the rest of the unit were on point and in rare form.

Opening for The Roots under the beautiful sunshine that day was Divine Rhyme, the talented and energetic Philly/San Francisco duo.  Later, after Divine Rhyme showcased their skills and The Roots blazed the stage, we approached both groups and complimented their efforts.  Jah and Sheck of Divine Rhyme humbly accepted our invitation to perform alongside us at our upcoming On Purpose release party in Lancaster, PA on May 30^th.

Roots’ guitarist Kirk Douglas chopped it up wit Hope and my cousin for a minute and accepted an album release postcard and a copy of By Example.  This is the second copy of BE that we have been able to drop into The Legendary’s hands (previously at a show at West Chester, we passed it to Roots’ keyboard player, Kamal), and we feel privileged to be creating music in the same genre and vein as these two groups.

 
-Thrill

(peep the RO photo gallery for pics from the Lehigh Roots show...)

The Roots at Lehigh

On Monday, December 29th, Thrill (formerly DJ Thrill of 91.7's WIXQ) and up-and-coming DJ and member of the RO family, G Will, had the privilege of joining Kid Capri, Tony Touch, DJ Supreme, Hot 97's DJ Camillo, and other Hip Hop royalty for a DJ battle at New York City's Rock & Soul.  Annually, Rock & Soul invites legendary Hip Hop DJ's to its Manhattan store to showcase their talent and share in Hip Hop's spirit via free in-store performances. 

Just blocks from Times Square, Rock & Soul has become an essential supplier of vinyl, turntables and performance equipment for DJ's around the world.  From 3 to 8pm on this day, Kid Capri brought his timeless skills and infectious energy as he showed off the depth of his record collection, cut up Gang Starr's "Dwyck" in which Greg Nice drops his name, and played some of his own productions including "It's Like That" featuring Jay-Z. 

Tony Touch rocked the masses as he effortlessly cut, scratched, and mixed his way from one record to another.  DJ Supreme showcased his turntable agility with a brief yet flawless set of his own, during which he went back-to-back with 2 records while juggling a third record over his right shoulder.

DJ Camillo shared his impressive list of performance dates, including parties and on-air engagements around the globe.

Thrill congratulated both Tony Touch and DJ Supreme on their tight sets that wowed the intimate crowd, as bystanders and a small collection of 30 - 50 people piled into the store's front lobby and downstairs hallway.

Christmas came a few days late this year, but it was definitely worth the wait.

Peace to the culture.

(written by Thrill)   

What's up y'all,

Just wanted to drop a line real quick:

We have some new music for your ears - and it can all be found on Sean Carter/South Hill Productions' newest release, "Soul Sessions Vol. 2"

We did a track with Jay Myers of DBD called "Walking With Pain 2", the sequel to the original track from Soul Sessions Vol. 1...You'll also find solo tracks from both myself and Thrillmatic...and a few collaborations that came out DOPE.  Anyway, the album drops on Jan 12th, and it features alot of great artists (most of which are pictured on the album cover above).  Do yourself a favor and cop Vol. 2 when it drops on the 12th.

Peace, y'all...

SL from RO

South Hill's site:  http://www.myspace.com/southhillproductions