After riding the wave of his feel-good party jam “Good Time” for the latter half of 2017, North Carolina emcee Mark Steele breaks his silence yesterday (8/16/2018) with the announcement of the release date for his long-awaited forthcoming album It’s Been A Minute.
Set for release October 12, 2018, the album will feature guest appearances from No Malice (of The Clipse), G. Yamazawa, and more, as well as production from Khrysis (of Jamla’s The Soul Council), Mike Bannnon, and more.
The big announcement comes with a “Surprise” music video and college tour reveal. Produced by Mike Bannon, the song serves as the second single from It’s Been A Minute, and the self-directed video follows the events in “Good Time.”
” I’ve been selfishly holding on to this art long enough. This is how it all started. Surprise!” – Mark Steele
It’s Been A Minute will serve as the full-length follow-up to Steele’s stellar 2016 sophomore album Almost Time.
Pre-order It’s Been A Minute on iTunes: https://goo.gl/J4nhBG
Steele embarks on the “Surprise” college tour today with DJ Wade Banner, kicking off at Vance Granville College, and wrapping up at Northern Wake Campus on August 31st. The tour will be intimate and consist of college visits where students will have the opportunity to meet Steele, get free merch, and hear unreleased music from Steele’s forthcoming album. More info here.
Previous:
- Interview & “Freestyle” on DJ Enuff‘s ‘The Heavy Hitters’
- Little Brother “Freestyle” on Statik Selektah‘s ShowOff Radio
- “Good Time” (premiered by VIBE)
More about Mark Steele
Known to many for his ESPN Sports Center anthem “Greatness,” North Carolina emcee Mark Steele imbues a gritty, fervid sound that has been long lost since the late ’90s, early 2000’s. Bred into the culture since the tender age of 15, he has already collaborated with some of hip hop’s top names, including his mentor and former college professor 9th Wonder, Rapsody, Raheem Devaughn, Big Pooh (of Little Brother), YMCMB artist Cory Gunz, and more.
Steele’s debut album Sumthin For The Wait (2014) boasted his hit “Not Like Yall,” which was featured on ESPN’s morning debate show “First Take” and played throughout the month of March 2014 in celebration of March Madness. Soon after Steele’s ESPN hit “Greatness” (from his History Repeats EP) ran its course, Steele released the highly anticipated album, Almost Time (2016), which proved to be the most important album of his rising career thus far.
With production from Grammy award winning producers Carvin and Ivan, the project’s lead single “Big Dreams” was featured on Ebro’s Beats 1 #DiscoveredOnAppleMusic segment, and the album’s Rapper Big Pooh-assisted single “Ain’t Real” aired on Dr. Dre’s The Pharmacy (Beats 1). Look for Steele’s refreshing sound to push the culture forward, on his way to becoming a leader of hip hop’s new generation.
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