On the road to his much anticipated new album, North Carolina emcee Mark Steele drops off another surprise treat to hold fans over in the form of a brand new mixtape, Before A Minute, premiered Thursday(8/30/2018) by HipHopDX.
Hosted by DJ Wade Banner, Before A Minute is Mark Steele’s quick, 12 minute appetizer that serves as a prelude to his forthcoming album It’s Been A Minute (due out October 12). Arriving on the heels of the release of Steele’s “Surprise” music video, the mixtape boasts new razor sharp freestyles of Steele’s over current hits like Khalid’s “Location,” and hip hop classics such as Outkast’s “Elevators,” Jay-Z’s “Imaginary Player,” and more.
“[It’s Been A Minute] deserved a warm-up, a pre-game, an opening act, so I made sure I gave it all bars. And DJ Wade Banner gave it that true authentic mixtape feel, with real blends and cuts. Plus, we both talking that talk. It’s impossible to not be excited about the album after running this mixtape back!” – Steele
Stream Before A Minute on SoundCloud: https://goo.gl/5mBKTa
Link to the premiere of Before A Minute on HipHopDX: https://goo.gl/s8jBjg
Available October 12, It’s Been A Minute will serve as the full-length follow-up to Steele’s stellar 2016 sophomore album Almost Time and features No Malice (of Clipse) and production by Khrysis (of The Soul Council). Pre-order here.
Steele and DJ Wade Banner are currently on the final leg of their “Surprise” college tour, wrapping up at Northern Wake Campus this Friday, August 31st.
Previous
- “Surprise” (video)
- “Good Time” (premiered by VIBE)
- Interview & “Freestyle” on DJ Enuff’s ‘The Heavy Hitters’
- Little Brother “Freestyle” on Statik Selektah’s ShowOff Radio
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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