{ "ok" : true, "artist" : { "name" : "Block Scholars", "page" : "block_scholars", "description" : "Award Winning Independent Hip Hop Group", "location" : "CO, USA", "bio" : "Making waves in the Indie world and now garnering some interest from industry movers and shakers, Block Scholars are taking no prisoners in this game.\n\nBlock Scholars is the indie Hip Hop musical collaboration between NOBULL (Bennett Baskerville; Bronx, NY) and Slimdog of Slimdog Productions (David Bell Jr.; Akron, OH), with the pair rapping their way through some of the freshest Hip Hop beats around.\n\nOriginally a three-piece featuring 2mental (Nathan Andreas; Philadelphia, PA), the group first met each other through Myspace and mutual friends in 2005. Home now in Colorado Springs, CO, the rap act is heavily influenced by an eclectic mix of music ranging from Biggie Smalls, 2Pac, Madlib, Dr. Dre, Pharrell and Prince to even Jazz, Opera, Rock and Classical music. They are also considered a \"triple threat\" because collectively they can write high quality lyrics, produce and perform their own music.\n\nBlock Scholars received the 2011 \"Excellence In Songwriting\" Award from The 18th Annual Billboard/Starmaker 360 Worldwide Songwriting Contest for placing in 3rd out of 1000s of entries in the Rap/Hip Hop genre, plus getting an \"Honorable Mention\" for (RnB/Hip Hop) and semi-finalists in the (Unsigned Only) categories in the 2010 International Songwriting Competition for the song \"Time Machine\", both of these contests known for being the two of the best songwriting competitions in the world.\n\nThey are one of three grand prize winners in Patron XO Cafe's 2011 Music Project, where they won sponsorship from Patron XO Cafe to help further their career with judges from SPIN Magazine and RCRD LBL (a free mp3 download music blog featuring emerging artists), nominated for Best Hip Hop Artist/Song from Hollywood Music In Media in July 2010 and January 2011 for the songs, \"Flossin'\" and \"This Is For My People (The Rhythm Of A Scholar)\" respectively, selected as one of the \"Next 1000\" artists to watch for in 2009 by URB Magazine, and were named the 2009 KIAC Open Songs Competition Winner in Hip Hop for their track, \"Livin' In Tha' Jungle ft. 2mental\". They also have received the \"Collective Works Honor\" from SongOfTheYear.com in 2009 for high scores on multiple works in that contest.", "photo" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/img/block_scholars.jpg", "web_url" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/block_scholars/", "albums" : [{ "sku" : "block-weathernv", "name" : "Weather the Storm (vocals removed)", "artist" : { "name" : "Block Scholars", "page" : "block_scholars" }, "release_date" : "2026-10-20", "genres" : ["Hip Hop"], "vocals" : "vocals removed", "moods" : ["hopeful","inspiring","reflective","groovy","energetic"], "uses" : ["podcast background","emotional storytelling","vlog","documentary","interview bed","advertising"], "energy" : 4, "instrumentation" : ["male vocals","hip hop beats","drum machine","synths"], "sounds_like" : [], "summary" : "Uplifting and reflective hip hop with driving beats and positive messages, ideal for podcasts, documentaries, and emotional storytelling.", "cover" : "https://magnatune.com/music/Block%20Scholars/Weather%20the%20Storm%20(vocals%20removed)/cover_400.jpg", "web_url" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/albums/block-weathernv/", "api_url" : "https://magnatune.com/api/albums/block-weathernv", "buy_url" : "https://magnatune.com/buy/album?sku=block-weathernv" },{ "sku" : "block-zeroheronv", "name" : "From Zero to Hero (vocals removed)", "artist" : { "name" : "Block Scholars", "page" : "block_scholars" }, "release_date" : "2026-10-20", "genres" : ["Hip Hop","Funk"], "vocals" : "vocals removed", "moods" : ["gritty","aggressive","energetic","driving","funky"], "uses" : ["sports or action","gaming","trailer","podcast intro or outro","advertising","skate or extreme sports"], "energy" : 5, "instrumentation" : ["hip hop beats","vocals","funk basslines","drum machine"], "sounds_like" : [], "summary" : "A gritty, energetic hip hop and funk album with streetwise vocals and driving beats, ideal for high-energy video intros, trailers, sports, gaming, and advertising.", "cover" : "https://magnatune.com/music/Block%20Scholars/From%20Zero%20to%20Hero%20(vocals%20removed)/cover_400.jpg", "web_url" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/albums/block-zeroheronv/", "api_url" : "https://magnatune.com/api/albums/block-zeroheronv", "buy_url" : "https://magnatune.com/buy/album?sku=block-zeroheronv" },{ "sku" : "block-zerohero", "name" : "From Zero to Hero", "artist" : { "name" : "Block Scholars", "page" : "block_scholars" }, "release_date" : "2012-05-19", "genres" : ["Hip Hop","Funk"], "vocals" : "vocals", "moods" : ["gritty","aggressive","energetic","driving","funky"], "uses" : ["sports or action","gaming","trailer","podcast intro or outro","advertising","skate or extreme sports"], "energy" : 5, "instrumentation" : ["hip hop beats","vocals","funk basslines","drum machine"], "sounds_like" : [], "summary" : "A gritty, energetic hip hop and funk album with streetwise vocals and driving beats, ideal for high-energy video intros, trailers, sports, gaming, and advertising.", "cover" : "https://magnatune.com/music/Block%20Scholars/From%20Zero%20to%20Hero/cover_400.jpg", "web_url" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/albums/block-zerohero/", "api_url" : "https://magnatune.com/api/albums/block-zerohero", "buy_url" : "https://magnatune.com/buy/album?sku=block-zerohero" },{ "sku" : "block-weather", "name" : "Weather the Storm", "artist" : { "name" : "Block Scholars", "page" : "block_scholars" }, "release_date" : "2010-02-13", "genres" : ["Hip Hop"], "vocals" : "vocals", "moods" : ["hopeful","inspiring","reflective","groovy","energetic"], "uses" : ["podcast background","emotional storytelling","vlog","documentary","interview bed","advertising"], "energy" : 4, "instrumentation" : ["male vocals","hip hop beats","drum machine","synths"], "sounds_like" : [], "summary" : "Uplifting and reflective hip hop with driving beats and positive messages, ideal for podcasts, documentaries, and emotional storytelling.", "cover" : "https://magnatune.com/music/Block%20Scholars/Weather%20the%20Storm/cover_400.jpg", "web_url" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/albums/block-weather/", "api_url" : "https://magnatune.com/api/albums/block-weather", "buy_url" : "https://magnatune.com/buy/album?sku=block-weather" }] }, "license" : { "music_license" : "Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 1.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 1.0)", "music_license_url" : "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/", "listening" : "Stream the free previews, or buy an album for $8 to download it in MP3, AAC, ALAC, FLAC, OGG or WAV. 100% of the price goes to the musician.", "non_commercial" : "Non-commercial projects may use the music under CC BY-NC-SA 1.0: credit the artist and Magnatune, and share alike.", "projects" : "Magnatune members may use any Magnatune music in their projects, commercial or not (videos, films, podcasts, games, apps, websites, adverts), including work for clients, under the Magnatune Project Licence. Projects released while a member stay licensed for good; new projects need an active membership. Credit is required. TV or radio broadcast, cinema, and background music in shops, restaurants or on-hold lines are not included: license those from the musician. Membership: $10/month, $99/year or $299 lifetime; agents can buy one themselves with MPP at /api/member-pass ($10 month, $99 year, $299 lifetime, one-off).", "projects_status" : "available", "projects_signup" : "https://magnatune.com/member/signup", "royalty_free" : "Membership is royalty-free licensing: no per-video, per-download or per-view fees, for every project created and released while a member.", "youtube" : "YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, podcasts: members may use the clean songs in monetized videos. Members register their YouTube channel (the set_youtube_channel MCP tool, or their account page) so YouTube's Content ID doesn't claim their videos. The free versions carry a spoken Magnatune voice and are non-commercial (CC BY-NC-SA), so they're not for monetized channels or client work.", "details" : "https://magnatune.com/info/licensing", "how_to_credit" : "Name the artist and \"Magnatune\", with a link to the album's web_url." } }