Westcoast CD Aims At Unnecessary Gang Violence

Los Angeles, CA - Watts Records, LLC today announced the national release of Peace Warriors, a new CD featuring Watts Hip Hop and R&B artists performing songs that inspire listeners to support an end to gang warfare and other senseless violence that plagues U.S. cities. Young talented rappers and singers from the Watts community raised in the midst of gang violence have joined with established performers to create music that speaks to real issues and takes Hip Hop back to the streets where it was originally formed. This music carries a message of peace that began with the signing of the historic Crips and Bloods Peace Treaty in Watts in 1992.

The CD features for the first time ever a live-band remake of "Express Yourself" featuring the legendary Charles Wright of the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band performing a new, socially conscious Hip Hop version of the 1970 hit. The original "Express Yourself," which made it to number 12 on the Billboard charts, has been introduced to today’s generation through numerous advertising campaigns including Burger King, Gatorade and recently as the promotional theme song for the 2005 NBA All-Star Weekend. Wright’s funk-infused vocals and the wicked flows of the various peace warrior rappers and vocalists make this new version the perfect song for young and old alike and establishes peace on the streets as the new way to "express yourself."

Former Death Row/OFTB rapper Flipside, who was raised in Watts, delivers a hard core rhyme with "Something Wicked," painting a vivid picture of the reality of gangs in Watts…it’s where we took the American flag and tore it in half…made red and blue rags and let our pants sag…brainwashed to protect our community, bustin’ at any nigga’ that came through new to me. The first single from the CD "Tears in the Rain" reveals the self-reflecting, insightful thoughts of rapper Pipe the Snipe from Watts Jordan Downs Projects. The song is set to a haunting, melodic beat, offering ambience to a story of personal pain and redemption.

The satirical narrative on police abuse, "Mr. Officer," addresses the issue of racial profiling in a fun west coast laid-back style. The sensuous yet hard-edged ballad "Dark Side" tells the story of a woman struggling with the reality that the man she loves is still tied to the dangerous street life she fears will be his doom. While the album is full of message lyrics, the club rocking "Bank Roll" is a straight party cut that will have listeners bouncing in their cars and at the hottest nightspots.

"This music captures what it is to live and struggle in an urban war zone. These young peace warriors want to remind people that the greatest heroes are champions of peace not perpetrators of violence, that peace is not a refuge of the soft and weak but a noble ideal both positive and powerful," said Aqeela Sherrills, co-founder of Watts Records.

"The Peace Warriors album is about real people who grew up facing real life-threatening situations rapping about how gang violence is nothing to glorify and how rappers pretending to be gangsters does not truly represent the reality of the street," said Watts Records co-founder Douglas Roddy.

Peace Warriors is now available in stores in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Baltimore, Washington, DC, Charlotte, Greensboro, Richmond and Norfolk and is expanding to stores nationwide. The CD is also available online at www.wattsrecords.com.

Watts Records, LLC is a partnership between Community Self-Determination Institute, a Watts-based social profit organization and Diverse Entertainment, a music production and marketing firm. The record label was founded in 2003 with the financial support of 154 Entertainment.