O BROTHER WHERE ART THOUS CHRIS THOMAS KING TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM, DIRTY SOUTH HIP-HOP BLUES

New Album Expands Blues Framework to Encompass Hip-Hop, Rap & Neo-Soul

August 5, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ON 21st CENTURY BLUES RECORDS ON OCTOBER 8
O BROTHER WHERE ART THOUS CHRIS THOMAS KING
TO RELEASE NEW STUDIO ALBUM, DIRTY SOUTH HIP-HOP BLUES ON 21st CENTURY BLUES RECORDS ON OCTOBER 8

New Album Expands Blues Framework to Encompass Hip-Hop, Rap & Neo-Soul

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Chris Thomas King, the Grammy® Award winning blues artist known to millions for his acting role as Tommy Johnson in the Oscar-nominated movie "O Brother Where Art Thou," will release his ninth studio album, titled Dirty South Hip-Hop Blues on his own 21st Century Blues Records (distributed by Select-O-Hits) on October 8. As well as his role in the film, King also appeared on the films multi-platinum soundtrack and is featured on the critically acclaimed and successful "Down From The Mountain" tour.

King produced the album and is the only musician heard on the recording.

By his presence in the hit film and seven million-selling soundtrack, King has proven a pivotal figure in bringing blues to millions of music fans and has heightened the awareness of blues to mainstream America.

In launching 21st Century Blues Records, King also is on the lookout for other artists rooted in both blues and hip-hop. The label is patterned after Cash Money Records and Master Ps No Limit Records, and will release CDs by new artists in the coming months.

King continues to expand his explorations into hip-hop and neo-soul with Dirty South Hip-Hop Blues, although the blues influence is everywhere. Over his past several albums, King has cultivated a young, urban audience.

The album features several songs that fuse blues and hip-hop. "Mississippi KKKrossroads" updates the Crossroads myth that dates back to the recordings of the original Tommy Johnson; King seeks to restore the soul that was taken by the devil. "Welcome To Da Jungle" is the story of blues itinerant path from Africa to Americas urban jungle. "Gonna Take A Miracle" is Kings observations on the search for calm in post-9/11 times. King has not forgotten his O Brother fans and offers a new version of "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues," heard in the movie. But where Kings movie version was field-recorded in the park with the sound of crickets, the new rendition offers a rich studio recasting of the traditional song.

King is the son of Louisiana bluesman Tabby Thomas and grew up surrounded both by blues at his fathers club and by hip-hop on the radio and in the community. He has long sought out new ways to move the blues genre into a new century and keep it on the cutting edge as it was when forebears like Tommy Johnson and Muddy Waters made their classic recordings.

"When I hear Tommy Johnson or any blues artist I respect from another era, I learn a lot about the social conditions of that day – the culture and where we were as Americans at that particular time." King told the Boston Globe. "If you really want to be like Tommy Johnson or Muddy Waters, I think you have to live in your time and be true to your experience. Because thats what they did."

"I see Dirty South Hip-Hop Blues as a defining album for both myself and for the blues genre," he says, "and a test for the blues genre to see whether it will move forward,"

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For more information on Chris Thomas King, please reply to The Baker/Northrop Media Group:
Meryl Wheeler (718) 624-1370    meryl@bakernorthrop.com
Cary Baker   (818) 986-5200 x 222    cary@bakernorthrop.com

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