animate.objects

"Animate Objects - illustrious hip-hop"
- Andy Downing, Chicago Tribune

"It is possible to make positive hip-hop without being unrealistic. This album is a prime example of what looking at the past (with its soul and jazz hooks) while looking to the future (with its optimistic lyrics and subtle production work). In other words, this is the perfect summer album."
- Valerie Enriquez, Innocent Words Magazine

Winners of the Best Hip-Hop Song category in the 2008 Independent Music Award for their hit single "El Dorado," Animate Objects have been featured in Billboard Magazine and other major publications around the world. Integrating eMCees and live instrumentation, the band embodies the spirit and soul of the new generation of hip-hop music.

Boasting a lineup that has performed with a veritable who's who in hip-hop and soul (with a list that includes, but is not limited to - Destiny's Child, Common, Mos Def, Tinariwen, Brother Ali, Digable Planets, Dilated Peoples, RJD2, Blueprint, One Be Lo, Illogic + DJ PRZM, Heiruspecs, Bobby Conn, Leigh Jones, the Opus and many many more!) the band provides a dynamic live experience!

Hailing from the Musical Mecca of the Midwest, Chicago, Animate Objects is a clear leader in the Midwest's vibrant and rapidly emerging live Hip-Hop scene. The band mixes melodious keyboard harmonies and kinetic guitar riffs with sophisticated percussion rhythms and deep-pocketed basslines to form a sound as diverse as its cultural background.

Priding themselves on a healthy knowledge base and professionalism, the band has won the praise of peers and critics while performing across the globe.

Defining itself by staying true to the origins of Hip-Hop while daringly forging the future of a musical generation, Animate Objects shall fuse their organic sound with your soul.

2010 Tours:
I.A.M. STRONG Tour featuring Universal Records own, Leigh Jones

2009 Tours:
Oregon Trail Tour (In Support of Dubs, Grunts and Things); NACA West; Opened for Dilated Peoples

2008 FESTIVALS:
CMJ Music Marathon (Headliner for the Independent Music Awards Showcase); NACA South Regional; North by Northeast; Pygmalion Music Festival; Millennium Music Conference (TunerWar Stage)

2007 Tours:
Armed Forces Entertainment Tour of Guantanamo Bay and Honduras

AWARDS:
2008
Independent Music Award Winner, Best Hip-Hop Song, "El Dorado" (Judges AND Vox Populi Voting)

2007
Debuted at #2 on CMJ Hip-Hop Adds Chart on 11/14/07 (190+ adds)
Sept. AirGod at AirSpun.com
Going.com Battle of the Chicago Bands Champion
iGo Car Sharing "Audio Emissions CD" Contest Urban Champion
Metromix Rock 'N Vote Champion
Reviewed as 'Album of the Year' (2007) by independent reviewers

2005
IMC Award Best Hip Hop Band

LIVE VIDEOS:
http://www.youtube.com/user/animateobjects

SOUNDS LIKE:
The Roots, A Tribe Called Quest, Amp Fiddler, Common, Kanye West, Raphael Saadiq, Mos Def, Talib Kweli

Instrumentation
eMCee.: S. Squair Blaq
eMCee: Aquil
Keys.:Charlie Coffeen
Guitar.:Steven Dobias
Bass.:Prashant Vallury

Discography
TBD 2010 - High Notes For Low Lifes

2010 - Danya and the Fail Present: The Shit!

2010 - Danya and the Fail Present: Dubs, Grunts and Remixes

2009 - Animate Objects Presents: V.P. Rao - Obrigado Advogados

2009
Dubs, Grunts and Things

2008
Ourstage Hip-Hop Compilation (Various Artists)
Millennium Music Conference Compilation (Various Artists)

2007
"Riding In Fast Cars With Your Momma" (Released 03/31/07)
Windy City Records Urban Music Compilation (Various Artists)
Atlantis Music Conference Compilation (Various Artists)
iGo Car Sharing Compilation (Various Artists)

2004
Green Street Records Compilation (Various Artists)
The Beautiful EP