Wallpaper To Release Debut Album ‘Ricky Reed Is Real’ On July 23rd 2013

Genre-defying pop band Wallpaper., which is the brainchild of Oakland-based rapper/songwriter Ricky Reed, will release their debut album, Ricky Reed Is Real, on July 23rd on Epic Records/Boardwalk Music Group. The album will be available for pre-order on iTunes beginning June 18th. Those who pre-order will receive an instant download of the upcoming new single “Drunken Hearts.”

Known for his dry-humored raps, hard-hitting beats, and absurdist world-view, thanks to such releases as Wallpaper.’s breakout EP #STUPiDFACEDD,Reed says recording the band’s recent single “Good 4 It” was the beginning of his creative renaissance. “I knew I wanted to make a great blue-collar pop record of this generation,” he says. “I wanted to tell my real story and deal with real s**t,” adding that exploring mortality is a recurrent theme. “There are songs about dealing with loss but there are even more songs about not taking anything for granted, especially your weekends and close friends. If you are stuck at a dead-end job, or you know your friends are bringing you down, the time to act is now. You don’t know how much time you’ve got left.”

Reed describes the sound of the Ricky Reed Is Real, which he recorded with engineer Drew Kapner at Larrabee Studios in North Hollywood, CA, as “fat, wide, and deep. At points, it sprawls like a neon jungle, and at other times, it’s infinitely small and calm. Real 808 drum machines also give a new depth to that low, low end people know me for.”

Reed launched Wallpaper. on his own in 2006 and was eventually joined by Arjun Singh, Tom Peyton, Derek Taylor, and vocalist Novena Carmel (daughter of soul-R&B legend Sly Stone). The band began attracting major buzz in 2011 with #STUPiDFACEDD – a joint effort between MTV’s Hype Music and Evan Bogart’s Boardwalk Records, leading to syncs on Jersey Shore and The Real World, hundreds of thousands of downloads at MTV’s soundtrack blog, and an “Artist To Watch” designation by the network. Reed also co-wrote and produced “Anyway” with Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo for Cee Lo Green’s platinum album The Lady Killer. His remix of Das Racist’s “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell” led to his deal with Boardwalk Records. In 2012, Wallpaper. signed to Epic Records.

In the last year, Wallpaper. has performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Last Call With Carson Daly, been nominated for a “Breaking Woodie” at the Woodie Awards, and performed a well-received set at Coachella. Nylon remarked last summer: “Wallpaper. is a bonafide hustler and gifted producer, expertly blurring glittery pop and raunchy rap with authentic rock and electric funk.”

Wallpaper. join the Vans Warped Tour line-up this summer. See below for tour dates.

The track-listing for Ricky Reed Is Real is as follows:

RRiR
Geek Out featuring E-40
Last Call
Drunken Hearts
Hesher
The Underdog
Let’s Get Away With It
Good 4 It
Puke My Brains Out
Life Of The Party
WHO RLY CRS
You n Me n Everyone We Know

Wallpaper’s upcoming shows on the Vans Warped Tour are as follows:

06/15 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
06/16 – Portland, OR – Portland Expo Center
06/19 – Chula Vista, CA – Sleep Train Amphitheatre
06/20 – Pomona, CA – Pomona Fairplex
06/21 – Pomona, CA – Pomona Fairplex
06/22 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
06/23 – Ventura, CA – Ventura County Fairground
06/26 – Las Cruces, NM – NMSU Practice Field
06/27 – Mesa, AZ – Quail Run Park
06/28 – Las Vegas, NV – Silverton Casino Lodge
06/29 – Salt Lake City, UT – Utah State Fairpark
06/30 – Denver, CO – Sports Authority Field @ Mile High
07/03 – Noblesville, IN – Klipsch Music Center
07/05 – Toronto, ON – The Flats
07/06 – Darien, NY – Darien Lake Performing Arts
07/07 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
07/09 – Virginia, Beach, VA – Farm Bureau @ Virginia Beach
07/10 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
07/11 – Mansfield, MA – Comcast Center
07/12 – Camden, NJ – Susquehanna Bank Center
07/13 – Uniondale, NY – Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
07/14 – Hartford, CT – Comcast Theatre
07/16 – Scranton, PA – Toyota Pavilion
07/17 – Burgettstown, PA – First Niagara Pavilion
07/18 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
07/19 – Auburn Hills, MI – The Palace of Auburn Hills
07/20 – Tinley Park, IL – First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
07/21 – Shakopee, MN – Canterbury Park
07/23 – Bonner Springs, KS – Cricket Wireless Amphitheater
07/24 – Maryland Heights, MS – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
07/25 – Atlanta, GA – Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood
07/26 – St. Petersburg, FL – Vinoy Park
07/27 – West Palm Beach, FL – Cruzan Amphitheatre
07/28 – Orlando, FL – Central Florida Fairgrounds
07/29 – Charlotte, NC – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
07/30 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
07/31 – Milwaukee, WI – Marcus Amphitheater
08/02 – Dallas, TX – Gexa Energy Pavilion
08/03 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center
08/04 – Houston, TX – Reliant Center Parking Lot

MORE INFORMATION:

http://www.thisiswallpaper.com

Via