BIG WILLIE DYNAMITE: ‘Cannonball Rally’ video (2013)

Say hello to Big Willie Dynamite – a.k.a. Buckle Bros‘ Mondo and DJ Ray plus one Marc Stretch. Marc Stretch? He of Cali-funk fuelled hip-hop crew Foreign Legion? The very same – and fans of the FL will doubtless be pleased to hear that BWD rock a not dissimilar brand of Cali-funk fuelled hip-hop. This video for Joes Vs. Pros album track Cannonball Rally finds our crew spoofing the wacky world of early 80s U.S. coast-to-coast road race/ car chase flicks. Unlike the the Willie D of blaxploitation legend (“He’s tight, together and mean”) however, …READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

FOREIGN LEGION: Night Moves (The movie) (2012)

And you thought Foreign Legion’s third LP Night Moves was just one of last year’s most underrated underground hip-hop releases. Think again sucker. Rappers Marc Stretch and Prozack Turner also made a feature film to accompany the album that has hitherto only had limited screenings. Shot in black and white, in a…er…string of comedic dialogue-based ‘cinema verite’ set pieces, the ensuing 45 minutes provide a sequence of world class lessons in bullshit and blagging as our chancer heroes struggle to get their hands on the masters for their just-finished album which producer G Koop is holding hostage until…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

CHART - May 2011

CHART - May 2011
1. (NEW) Joe Driscoll – Mixtape Champs (Mr Benn remix)

Mr Benn applies his boom-skankin’ Midas touch again…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

FOREIGN LEGION: (EXCLUSIVE interview) The Official Monkeyboxing Fireside Chat (Part 2 of 3) – 2011

FOREIGN LEGION: (EXCLUSIVE interview) The Official Monkeyboxing Fireside Chat (Part 2 of 3) – 2011
I saw a billboard advert for deodorant in Canada once. The slogan was, “So dry, people will think you are British.” It’s an epithet which could equally apply to Foreign Legion in this, the second part of a triple interview (part 1 HERE) which monkeyboxing attempted to conduct with those ‘intangible emcees’ Prozack Turner and Marc Stretch. I say ‘attempted’ since they were continually out of their seats, did not listen to a word I said and demonstrated a flagrant disregard for serious answers…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

FOREIGN LEGION: (Exclusive interview) The Official MonkeyBoxing Fireside Chat (Part 1 of 3)

FOREIGN LEGION: (Exclusive interview) The Official MonkeyBoxing Fireside Chat (Part 1 of 3)
West Coast hip-hop legends Foreign Legion made a stir on the international hip-hop scene with Full Time B-Boy back in 1999. With the release of much-delayed third album Night Moves imminent and (allegedly) an accompanying movie of the same name (the content of which one blushes to think about given the band’s connections with porn queen Adriana Sage), monkeyboxing.com thought it was high time to offer Legionnaire emcees Marc Stretch and Prozack Turner a chance to talk about their new long player…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

FOREIGN LEGION: Night Moves + tracklist - 2011

FOREIGN LEGION: Night Moves + tracklist - 2011
Even more delayed than the Beastie Boys Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 fellow true-schoolers Foreign Legion finally release ‘difficult third’ album, Night Moves on 12 April this year. Full-Time B-Boy was the big underground banger that broke them (in the UK at least) at the turn of the Millenium and appeared on debut LP Kidnapper Van. This was succeeded in turn by their ‘club’ album Playtight which swapped heavy old school samples and production for more up-to-date stylings along the lines of Q-Tip’s underrated Amplified LP (though FL’s rhymes were infinitely better) and then (post-departure of DJ/ Producer DJ Design), EP The Secret Knock in 2008 which found the sound of Playtight infiltrated by smoother funky cuts. And this is the territory they continue to occupy in Night Moves. In short, the new abum is built around beats awash with West Coast sunshine and seventies-style funk samples and garnished with Marc Stretch and Prozack Turner’s trademark wordsmithery…READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

FOREIGN LEGION: ‘The Ultimate’ free download single + video + ‘Night Moves’ LP update – 2011

FOREIGN LEGION: ‘The Ultimate’ free download single + video + ‘Night Moves’ LP update – 2011
Still keeping it hotter than block parties in hell, it’s the imminent return of the FL! It says here that new FL single The Ultimate is a slow lane banger. If that seems a bit oxymoronic check Grandpa J’s woozy Asheru & Blue Black style horns-infused beat and you’ll get the picture. Marc Stretch and Prozack are back and – while I hesitate to announce much–delayed full-length LP Night Moves yet again, it is, allegedly, finally, due to drop, on…FREE DOWNLOAD/ READ FULL POST @ MONKEYBOXING.COM

FOREIGN LEGION: ‘Travel Lite’ single, ‘Night Moves’ LP due 17th August 2010

FOREIGN LEGION: ‘Travel Lite’ single, ‘Night Moves’ LP due 17th August 2010
Foreign Legion’s Night Moves LP (cover art below links) has been coming out and then failed to more times than an indecisive closet gay man. The evidence on the band's own Hungerstrike Records website, would suggest that the latest due date for Prozack Turner and Marc Stretch’s much-delayed album is 17th August this year. The underrated Bay Area hip-hop duo's long-awaited third LP is preceded by the seemingly troublesome digital release of promo single
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FOREIGN LEGION: ‘Night Moves’ to be released April 2010

FOREIGN LEGION: ‘Night Moves’ to be released April 2010.
The long awaited third LP from Bay Area hip-hoppers Foreign Legion seems to have had its release delayed more times than Sting’s sperm but is allegedly now due in…READ THE REST AT MONKEYBOXING.COM

FOREIGN LEGION: ‘Night Moves’ LP - 21 April ’09 release

FOREIGN LEGION: ‘Night Moves’ LP - 21 April ’09 release
(Press release) The cliched phrase "hip hop is dead" has been dismantled by Oakland California hip hop crew Foreign Legion with their new album, Night Moves which is dropping April 21st 2009 on Hungerstrike records! The 13 song, full-length masterpiece figuratively kicks it's hip hop rivals in the…READ THE REST AT MONKEYBOXING.COM

FOREIGN LEGION - Night Moves LP update + free EP download + Prozack Turner video interview

Sicker than Caligula mixed with Dirk Diggler...the inimitable Prozack Turner

FOREIGN LEGION - Night Moves LP update + free Secret Knock EPdownload + Prozack Turner interview
According to the latest on FL's label Hungerstrike Records website, the band's new album Night Moves has been delayed again and is now slated for an early 2009 release - probably February. But don't let that hold you back from scoring a bit of recent action from Prozack Turner and Marc Stretch of EP The Secret Knock. Don't forget to leave a review y'all - it'd be rude not to!

Download FOREIGN LEGION - The Secret Knock EP

LINKS
Foreign Legion - Myspace
Prozack Turner - Myspace
Marc Stretch - Myspace
Hungerstrike Records

NEWS: FOREIGN LEGION - Night Moves LP - Released Autumn

Marc Stretch and Prozack Turner wylin' out.

Night Moves LP update

NEWS: FOREIGN LEGION - Night Moves LP - Released Autumn
According to the Hungerstrike Records site, Bay Area Hip-hop veterans Foreign Legion are currently in the studio putting the finishing touches to their third full-length LP Night Moves which will drop sometime in the autumn. It will be be preceded by a single and a video. The Secret Knock EP is out already.
LINKS:
Hungerstrike Records
Listen to Foreign Legion - The Secret Knock
Foreign Legion - Myspace
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monkeyboxing.com

FOREIGN LEGION - The Secret Knock EP - 2008 - EP review

FOREIGN LEGION – The Secret Knock EP – 2008 – EP review
TRACKS: Fresh Air – Ain’t The Same – Piano Banger – Man Of The Streets – Come To The City – Love Of The Game
SOUNDBITE: "Flow like a haemophiliac in a moshpit"
RATING: 3.5/5
2003 saw the release of Bay Area hip-hop crew Foreign Legion's last full-length LP Playtight which swapped the occasionally derivative boom-bap of their debut Kidnappervan for humourous high-octane party bangers rich in seventies funk, soul samples and more inventive beats. Naturally, they capitalised on this purposeful new direction by promptly disappearing off the map as a unified whole for five years in order to tread the well-worn path of indulging in various solo projects, none of which have had the impact of the group's concerted efforts. In the intervening time, as Mos Def once said, "A lot of shit has changed: a lot of shit has not". On the one hand, Foreign Legion is now reduced to rapper duo Marc Stretch and Prozack Turner and current tour vinyl spinner DJ Flip. On the other, this six-tracker rocks a very similar style to Playtight - and - as most of it is Prozack produced - suggests he was influential on the change of sound between the first two albums. First track Fresh Air's orchestral soul loops are a bit too Kanye-smooth though Stretch and Prozack's distinctive voices give it a bit of leverage as they ponder on why they bother. Ain't The Same is basically a reflective retrospective look at FL's career with a suitably 80s synth and clav sound. These two are ok but (like the cover) give a sense of beating around the bush a bit and FL don't sound like they're properly back until Piano Banger which appropriately enough is both a banger and has a piano. And a clav. And scratches. And the best lyrics - Prozack and Marc Stretch sound like they've finally woken up because they're amped about something - in this case the fact that they ain't getting the recognition. Mind you - if you will bury your best tracks in the middle of your record...Man of the Streets annoyingly heads back to a sonic cocktail bar on the corner of Smooth and Main but Come To The City's cynical look at L.A. picks up the slack again with some heavy, albeit busily layered, funk, though the beat feels a little buried. Last track Love Of The Game finds the duo confessing that despite the shit pay, lack of recognition and nubile groupies they do it all because they love it and indulges a stuttering RnB beat with cheesy 80s piano and guitar. It doesn't quite have the humour of Playtight and the track order seems a little bit unevenly paced but there's enough on here to bode well for the summer's LP.
Out now.
RELATED LINKS
Listen to Foreign Legion - The Secret Knock
Foreign Legion - Myspace
SEARCH MONKEYBOXING EMPIRE REVIEWS