TEAM RNS PRESENTS

RIPPER: Team RNS

1hr 10min total-102.2mb

RELEASE DATE: 2003-10-21

RIP DATE: 2003-10-06

02 How You Want That (Feat. Kelis)4:25

03 Do What You Like (Feat. Trina) 3:23

04 Relax Your Mind                4:17

05 Down For Me (Feat. Mario       4:19

06 Barbershop (Interlude)         1:15

07 This Ain't Funny               3:28

09 Between Us (Feat. Tammy)       4:47

10 Like A Movie (Feat. Claudette  4:14

11 Pimpin' Ken (Interlude)        1:40

12 Hey Woo (Feat. Missy)          3:37

13 Can't Talk To Her (Feat. P.    5:22

Diddy & Joe Hooker)

14 Things You Do (Feat. Aaron     4:06

15 Don't Wanna Die                4:28

16 Waiting (Feat. The Letter M)   3:46

17 You Don't Know                 4:19

19 I'll Be There (Feat. Carl      5:21

It begins with charisma, smooth like

the finest of Harlem's hustlers and it

continues with flow; laid-back yet

confident, like the finest of ghetto

storytellers. Now, check the resume: a

new artist with a #1 R&B/ hip-hop

single of the year, both on the charts

and in the clubs off of the most

notoriously successful hip-hop label of

all time. Put it all together and what

do you have? An artist ready to present

himself to the world with a force and a

swagger that could only have been nurtured

in Harlem USA. A talent, that's ready to

blow. Yeah, you know the name. Loon.

The brother who needed a girl - not

once, but twice. Loon. The brother with

the slick Harlem style and suave lyrical

delivery. Loon. The young gifted and

black brother that's poised to take on

the industry like a true Bad Boy. Loon

did more than spit memorable rhymes on

"I Need A Girl Pt. 1" & "I Need A Girl Pt.

2," he articulated the thoughts of a man

for whom this story needs little

introduction: Sean "P. Diddy" Combs.

No stranger to the streets or the

industry, Loon's been on the come up for

some time now. A Harlem baby from the

Espinard Houses who "turned protecting

cats into a business," as well as being

the son of Carol Hawkins and William

"Hamburger" Hughley, the real-life

Bonnie & Clyde team that ran 116th

Street like a true-to-the-game

super-couple, Loon's been repping the

streets. Don't let the love songs fool

Loon isn't a new jack in this game

either. In 1996, Loon was signed to

Tommy Boy Records as a member of the

two-man group Crime Family. Flash

forward three years later and enter

Harlem World, a rap collective put

together by Mase under Jermaine Dupri's

So So Def label. Packaged as a

Harlem-fueled set of super-friends who

could spit, but because of Mase's

decision to become a man of the cloth

and get out of the business, the crew

fizzled out before they ever really took

off. But for the brother who wrote more

than half the rhymes on Harlem World's

album, there was no time or use for

crying over spilt milk.

That same year Loon landed another deal,

one that had been waiting for him since

before the Harlem World debacle, from

none other than Clive Davis. No sooner

than a lead single was chosen (featuring

background vocals by an as-yet-unheard

songstress Alicia Keys), Clive left.

Down and out, lesser artists would

have crumbled. Three strikes and your

out, right? Wrong.

Harlem's Bad Boy is back with a

vengeance and ready to do the damn

Toting fifteen songs of pure Bad Boy

hip-hop, Loon's debut album doesn't

need a catchy slogan or flashy name to

get your attention. Done with the skill

passion and commitment expected from one

of Harlem's finest, the album shines all

on its own, all on the strength of Loon.

The joint is self titled because it is

Loon. All Loon. And really, that's all

that needs to be said.

"How You Want That," the jump off

single featuring Kelis is a fierce

track full of energy that cockily

brings things back to the party vibe of

'97. Flipping an old-school Schooly D

beat, the cut is a DJ's dream and a

definite club banger. "Relax Your Mind"

mixes things up laying some fresh Asian

bells and handclaps over a thumping bass

line creating the perfect backdrop for

Loon's sh*t-talkin' verbals.

Touching on themes closer to home,

"Don't Wanna Die" is a story of three

different people, in three different

life-and-death situations. With keen

insight, Loon describes his characters'

moments of transition with a dexterity

that can only come from real-life

experiences. Similar life experiences

also drive "Like A Movie" featuring

new-jack Akon and the funny "Not That

Guy" to their witty but oh-so-true

"The legacy of Harlem is what triggered

and motivated me to become an artist,"

says Loon. "If I'm going to do this,

that's what I'm going to rep." And

that's exactly what he does on the

blazing old-school feel-good jam "I'll

Be There" featuring Carl Thomas. And

best believe heads - old and new- will

be bouncing to Loon's remake of the Guy

classic "I Like". And yes, Aaron Hall is

Loon reps for all the ballers, pimps,

players, and entertainers who never bow

out. Ridin' as the first artist on

next-generation Bad Boy. Rockin' for

the neighbourhood and culture that he

calls his own - minus the drama.

Loon, the album is as suave charming and

laid back as is Loon, the man. Not lost

in the hype or bright lights is the

heart of a hustler born and raised in

Harlem and the soul of man destined to

shine. "I'm gonna get money. I'm from

Harlem. Ours is a 24/7 hustle. Gimme

an inch, I'm taking a yard. Gimme a

rope, I'm a cowboy..." Give him a

self-titled album, and it's a wrap.