Shake was part of the well-known rap group Skhool Yard with Planet Asia and Kubiq. Some will remember his song “Stunna Shades.”
Redd is known for hits like “In the ‘No.”
The pair got some notice of their own in 2014 for their collaboration, 99 North, which was featured in a full-length hop-hop musical of the same name released in October.
Directed by Damon Jamal, the movie is part urban narrative, part music video. It was filmed over six months in parts of Fresno, Los Angeles and the Bay Area and stars Shake and Redd, plus Omar Gooding (a popular television actor that those my age will remember from “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper”), Clifton Powell (who has started in just about every procedural crime drama on TV) and others (including Philthy Rich and PinkyXXX). The movie follows the struggles of childhood friends on the streets of a city whose black community was split in half by the 99 North.
“When it first came out, people thought it was just a local thing,” says Shake, on a phone call from Las Vegas. He’s in the studio with Redd working on new material.
It wasn’t just a local thing. The movie (and its accompanying album) did sell 2,000 copies locally in its first four days of release, Shake says. But Shake’s production company, Palmtree Lifestyles also scored a distribution deal, which put the movie into 30 countries and on Amazon and iTunes.
In June the movie will be released on Netflix. Eventually, you’ll be able to get it in your local Redbox, Shake says.
You can always find physical copies at Shop.siccness.net or in your local Rasputins.
Currently, Redd and Shake are working on a follow up, titled “Are You Helping or Hating.”
Redd’s solo album, #FEELMEDOE, and Shake’s “Ice” EP will both be released this year and each will be made into get mini-movies, Shake says.
By diversifying his talents and moving into the movie business, the work has a reach that far beyond the typical hip-hop fans.
“People will watch it before they will listen,” he says.
Twitter: @JoshuaTehee
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