Thug Life Army

First hip hop heads were stunned by the moving video for street single "Gun Draws," from hip hop artist Pharoahe Monch. The video is a graphic account of violence told from the bullet's point of view. Now the hip hop artist will release his highly anticipated sophomore album ‘Desire’ (SRC/Universal) on June 26, 2007 (June 25th in the UK), to eager hip hop fans'' delight.

In the recent hip hop release of Monch's remix of label mate Amy Winehouse's hit "Rehab," in which the lyricist takes aim at Hollywood's anorexic party girls and sings alongside Amy's boozy drawl, hip hop was amazed at the mixture this track put forth.

This crossover excitement showcases the broad appeal of Desire, which runs the gamut from the hard-hitting first US single "Push" to the alternative UK single "Body Baby" (in stores on June 18th in the UK), which The Fader labels "a stomping, juke joint-styled rock-n-b number," to the radio-ready title track "Desire," which has been selected for inclusion in the immensely popular EA Sports'' "Madden ''08." XXL calls Monch a "lyrical juggernaut" and says the album "delivers yet another reasons for fans to get up."

"I''ve never been so free with my creativity before," Pharoahe Monch tells us about his new album. "I''m excited about this new album because everything feels so fresh, almost as if I were a new artist. I''m taking it to whole new places, hip-hop, rock, and gospel. It's all there and it's all sides of me."

With this genre-hopping in mind, Monch gears up for a busy spring and summer. First up is a performance at the famed Coachella Music Festival on April 28, alongside acts as diverse as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Regina Spektor, Arcade Fire, and Ghostface Killah. Monch will also join the annual hip-hop festival, Rock The Bells alongside Rage Against The Machine, The Roots, Public Enemy, Nas, and more, performing July 28th in New York City, August 11th in San Bernardino, CA, and August 18th in San Francisco, CA.

In addition to his performance dates, this spring Pharoahe Monch tackles the gun violence he decries in "Gun Draws" by embarking on a national college speaking tour as the spokesman for Guns 4 Cameras. This revolutionary program gives at-risk youth an alternative to violence and the tools to tell their own stories on their own terms by encouraging them to trade their guns for video cameras.

Pharoahe Monch, real name Troy Donald Jamerson, has earned a reputation as one of hip-hop's most gifted lyricists, tackling real issues with a "full, flawless voice" (Spin), from his pioneering work as one half of the critically acclaimed alternative hip-hop duo Organized Konfusion to his much-hyped solo debut in 1999. Since his debut, Pharoahe has collaborated with hip-hop's greatest and spit alongside a cast of artists as diverse as Mos Def, Justin Timberlake, P. Diddy, Linkin Park, Wyclef Jean, Macy Gray, will.i.am, and Beck. He returns with Desire on June 26, 2007.

Visit Pharoahe Monch on the web at:

http://www.pharoahe-monch.com/

http://www.myspace.com/pharoahemonch

http://www.gundraws.com/