Kero one

Kero One is a hip hop MC/Producer from San Francisco, California.

History

Often compared to the sounds and styles of: A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, and Common; Kero One is a full time: deejay, producer, emcee in addition to this he is also a record label owner from the San Francisco bay.

Kero One’s professional career began when he released his first 12-inch single in 2003 called “"Check the Blueprints"” on his own imprint, “"Plug Label"”. Shortly after release, the 12” was discovered in a small shop by a Japanese deejay who bought and played the record at a club the same night. While playing "Check the Blueprints", over a dozen people came up asking what record the deejay was playing, one of whom happened to be a major record distributor in japan. The distributor then contacted Kero via email and the rest was history. Strictly on word of mouth, Kero's 12" unexpectedly sold 9,000 units worldwide with funding from only a personal credit card and no real label behind him.

A few months after the 12” release, the buzz led Kero to his own Japan tour hosted by Jazzy Sport (known for breaking acts like Sa-Ra Creative Partners & Dj Mitsu The Beats) performing over 10 different cities in 2 weeks. Slowly, Kero One's popularity and fanbase grew leading to tours through Europe, Australia, and all over the world. However, without a strong label backing or a street team, Kero One handled almost all the business side himself. From promotions and marketing, manufacturing, and web design, Kero would personally hand out promos to tastemakers anywhere he coul find them. The hardwork eventually paid off, leading to spins by DJ's such as: ?uestlove (of The Roots), DJ Jazzy Jeff, Cut Chemist, Quantic, Giles Peterson, Ubiquity/Tru-thoughts] , and Om Records dj's steadily creating a buzz amongst hip hop and electronic music lovers alike.

After 4 more 12-ich single releases, Kero released his first debut album in 2006 called “"Windmills Of The Soul"” garnering the attention of magazines such as: Rolling Stones,URB, XlR8R, and Straight No Chaser. The album blended live musicianship together with samples while Kero played many of the instruments himself. Eventually, the album climbed to number 10 on iTunes underground hip-hop charts and Tower Records sales charts internationaly while being selected as best indy album and artist of 2006 by MSN.com and "Remix Magazine Japan".

Now, Kero One is a full-time musician producing tracks for licensing companies and major label artists in Asia, touring (sharing stages with artists such as EPMD, Ohmega Watts, Blu and Exile, Aloe Blacc, KRS-One, and Ugly Duckling) throughout Europe, Asia and USA. While doing production and writing lyrics for top artists in Asia, DreamWorks and doing remixes for artists such as Grand Puba.

Furthermore, Kero One is a full-time DJ, moving dance floors and creating vibes spinning everything from funk, hiphop and disco; to soul, house, and electro. Kero has also released 2 mix-cds called “"Plug Famalam Mix Tape"” and “"Uptempo"”, featuring artists such as: Erykah Badu, Sa-Ra, Waajeed (of the Platinum Pied Pipers), Jneiro Jarel, Ben Westbeech, Marc declive lowe, and Coke escovedo. [http://pluglabel.com/artists/kero/kero_bio.htm] , additional text.]

Highlights

#5th Best Indie hiphop of 2004 on MSN music. [http://pluglabel.com/IMAGES/kero_images/press/best%20indie%20kero.jpg] , additional text.]
#4th Most Downloaded artist on Cnet's Download.com [http://pluglabel.com/IMAGES/kero_images/press/k_cnet.gif] , additional text.]
#2nd Selling underground hiphop album on HMV and Tower Records Japan. [http://pluglabel.com/IMAGES/kero_images/press/underground1_hmv.gif] , additional text.]
#10th most downloaded album on Itunes Japan. [http://pluglabel.com/IMAGES/kero_images/press/Japan/Windmills_ITUNES_top10.gif] , additional text.]

Discography

Albums

References

http://pluglabel.com/artists/kero/kero_bio.htmhttp://ohdangmag.com/features/kero/index.htmhttp://ohdangmag.com/features/kero/index.htmhttp://pluglabel.com/IMAGES/kero_images/press/best%20indie%20kero.jpghttp://pluglabel.com/IMAGES/kero_images/press/k_cnet.gifhttp://pluglabel.com/IMAGES/kero_images/press/underground1_hmv.gifhttp://pluglabel.com/IMAGES/kero_images/press/Japan/Windmills_ITUNES_top10.gifhttp://allhiphop.com/stories/reviews/archive/2006/02/05/18134588.aspxhttp://www.urbnet.com/urban-review.asp?CDID=1770http://rapnews.co.uk/?p=620http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2006_02_windmillsof.htmlhttp://www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail/2767683http://www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail/2684626

ee also

*San Francisco Hip Hop
*Bay Area Hip Hop

External links

*MySpace|keroone|Kero One
*MySpace|pluglabel|Plug Label
* [http://allhiphop.com/stories/reviews/archive/2006/02/05/18134588.aspx Allhiphop.com review] (February 26, 2006)