Matty Moe and Michael Barber’s Deadly Combo Cracks Top 200 on iTunes
The joint album from rappers, Matty Moe & Michael Barber, Deadly Combo, hit number 156 on the album charts on iTunes the past week and was expected to climb to the top 100 this week. The album was distributed via ECP Music Group and includes major features on the 10-song LP including multi-platinum-selling rap group, Nappy Roots on two songs and Streetlife from the Wu-Tang Clan.
The album was produced entirely by Michael Barber whose credits in the industry include working with former Motown Records artist Kia Shine, U-God an original member of the Wu-Tang Clan, multi-platinum singer, Akon, Cam’ron of Dipset and Roc-a-Fella Records, and appeared on two albums released by the now defunct Death Row Records. This included appearing on a Hookah Lounge, an album that featured none other than actor Johnny Depp.
Michael Barber is the number one-selling hip hop artist from the state of Indiana with the previous success of his song featured on Nappy Roots' last album, Another Sofa Bed, and his 2008 single, She’s My Pennie Lane, which is certified gold-selling digital single, and the Interscope Records released, Take Your Time, with his band, Illuminati Sky.
This is the first solo album Michael has released since his never-released album at Death Row Records disappeared into the catalog now owned by EOne Entertainment without a release. Michael spoke to on Hot Springs Colorado on-air personality YaYa Nunez on Friday about the release and its early success.
“It’s a blessing and an honor when people buy the art that we create. Matt and I worked hard on this, we did like 30 tracks total, and only put 10 out. The 10 best I think. We didn’t have a major budget for this, we didn’t even have an agenda for this. We just wanted to put out good music. That was the bottom-line goal. It wasn’t to sell, but of course we are happy that people have bought it. We shipped out 50 free copies, and I didn’t think we would do more than 500 hard copies. We have already surpassed that number, and that’s awesome.”
The album is a mix of rock beats with rap lyrics and heavy on topics about life instead of the usual braggadocios rhyming that goes on through most rap albums. The song Moon Rocks is starting to gain radio airplay in several markets in the Midwest and Southwest.
Matty Moe, a Bloomington Indiana rapper, has grown to become one of the best-known artists in the state of Indiana and on the entire underground scene. He was rated a top 6 artist to watch for by Chicago Rap News; a list that included the likes of Aftermath Records, Dr. Dre signee, Jon Conner, Chicago rapper Katie Got Bandz, and Spin Magazine rapper of the year, Chance the Rapper. Moe was also listed as a top 3 artist on the underground to watch by the Examiner.
The album was given 4 out of 5 stars on IndieMania and was even featured on MyDailyJoe an outlet for Time Magazine contributing writers. MyDailyJoe called the album, ‘top-notch,’ and also added, “The production and overall feel of this album were dark, grimy, and real. It sounds like something the Rza might do back in the 90s. The album isn’t perfect by any means, but it doesn’t have to be perfect to be a solid release.”
The album is available via iTunes/Amazon/Spotify and other online outlets and you can order hard copies at www.DeadlyCombo.com hard copies of the album are also shipping with a bonus disc titled the EYS EP.