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Point Blank (Tilt Rock Records)
Representing as one of Canada’s most recognized groups in hip-hop, Point Blank continue to make long strides in the industry. Comprised of 6 emcees and one in house producer – Trouble, Stump, Kidd, RPD, Jackal and Pikihed – they share a common goal and vision which guarantees to take them to the top. Their recordings are a reflection of their experiences of a life growing up in impoverished neighborhoods and government housing. As artists, they all have distinct styles and offer a diversity of sounds, lyrics and deliveries. Point Blank has performed along hip-hop legends such as Rakim, KRS-1, Next, Mobb Deep and Lil’ Flip among others. They have peeked national success which has allowed them to conquer stages in various cities across the country ranging from Toronto, London, Scotia, Windsor and Hamilton to name a few.
As individuals, they grew up together in Regent Park – North America’s largest and oldest government housing project built in the late 1940’s. Running as a crew since 1989, Point Blank has been building a legacy of sound and culture that is essential to Regent Park, therefore becoming the voice for all youth endearing a life on the street. They are driven by strong family values considering 3 of the members – Trouble, Kidd and Stump – are brothers, and two other members – Pikihed and RPD are twins. Motivated by the desire to see their families in better living conditions, they thrust forward. In their lyrics, Point Blank speak of racial profiling, growing up in single parent families, poverty, community programs, crooked politicians and police, and other social issues surrounding inner city youth. They’re individuals that have been going through the same struggles. They do not change or switch their past, but rather appeal to an audience that can understand and relate to the reality of their lives. In the early 90’s, Point Blank established Tilt Rock Records, which they currently are signed under.
In 1996 Point Blank released “Retaliation” on DJ X’s Power Move Show (CKLN 88.1FM) Demo Battle, and received their first public appraisal. Shortly after, they were featured on Muchmusic’s “Soul in The city” program. Opportunities started knocking on the door and later that year, NFL all-star Andre Rison signed the group to his own label, Bullpen Records. Point Blank moved to Atlanta, where they resided with Andre Rison and the late Left Eye Lopez. The group recorded several singles and shared stages with remarkable groups like Outcast. In 1997 Point Blank dropped the 12’’ single “Startin Shit/ 3 Man Weave”. Before long they were featured in The Source Magazine, representing music splurging from the city of Toronto. In 2000 Tilt Rock Records dropped Point Blank Underground – a compilation of 16 tracks from previous work, which sold roughly 5000 units. The release was followed by the single “Thin Line.” The track grew to befall one of the most requested Canadian tracks in record pools all across Canada and charted on Flow 93.5’s Battle of the Beats for a myriad of weeks. Success surrounded the group as they started getting features on main TV and Radio shows and appearing on publications such as Peace, Pound, Now Magazine as well as Toronto Star and The Sun. In 2003 Ed The Sock from Much Music visited Regent Park, giving the group a chance to speak in behalf of the neighborhood. Shortly after, Point Blank were invited to perform live on Much Music for Ed’s big Wham Bam, as well as host Rapcity, where their video “Want It Wit Us," had reached the top 5 chart.
2007 has been a very prominent year for Point Blank, with the release of their first single and video "Born and Raised in the Ghetto." The song received rotation on Flow 93.5FM (Toronto, ON), K103FM (Montreal, QC), Flava 107.9FM (Winnipeg, ON) and charted on various campus stations across the country. The video has recieved over 170,000 youtube views to date and was nominated for a 2007 MuchMusic Video Award.
In 2008, the group will release the long awaited self titled album which is being released August 19th on Tilt Rock Records.