Sometimes, Social Media can bring together the best of the best in unusual ways at the perfect time.
Oglio Records was pleased in this particular case when Smash Mouth and their guitarist Greg Camp connected with rapper Kool Keith via Twitter. This eventually led to an ongoing private messaging stream between them.
They continued the conversation, coming to the conclusion that a collaboration on some new music with a purposeful message would be especially timely.
With the foundation for this new recording established, Keith believed the inclusion of yet another artist whose voice would add additional credibility to the project would be an asset.
But, who to call?
Keith had a brilliant idea and reached out to Darryl McDaniels. As a founding member of Run-DMC, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels is considered one of the pioneers of hip-hop culture, a voice of enlightenment and an industry icon.
Additionally, his well-documented love of guitar music and his affection for the rock genre would be a natural fit. DMC was approached to add his passion to the cause.
The line-up was set and the chemistry evident.
“All of us in Smash Mouth were raised on Run-DMC. We were introduced to Kool Keith’s music by our keyboardist Michael Klooster. As a result, we all hit it off instantly and started throwing ideas around.” – Smash Mouth’s Greg Camp.
Instrumental tracks were forwarded to DMC including a song that Smash Mouth bassist Paul Delisle wrote. Darryl ended up working on two of them. Camp wrote the chorus for Unity, and Steve Harwell sings it with his trademark punch.
Kool Keith dropped his unique free-styling skills over it. Eventually, a rough mix of Unity emerged and was sent around to the Smash Mouth guys and DMC.”
Camp adds, “I received a phone call. It was Thanksgiving, and I was driving on I-5 Freeway. The caller I.D. read DMC. ‘Uh…hello..?’ On the other end of the phone Darryl said, ‘YO! THIS SHIT IS CRAZY.’ … I’m sure he said something cooler than that, but all I remember is pulling my car off to the side of the road and taking a deep breath thinking, DMC just called me on Thanksgiving!”
“Unity” will perform well and the group believes it plays to an even larger audience in light of the political climate in the United States.
“Many of us are insulted by what’s happening around us, and as artists, it is our duty to use this very fortunate platform to speak out. Music is the most powerful medium and the perfect vehicle through which to deliver our message,” Greg Camp added.
“Unity” was recorded at Eric Valentine’s Barefoot Studios. Smash Mouth recorded most of their records at Barefoot. Kool Keith and DMC tracked vocals at their respective New York studios to complete an effective
“East meets West” vibe for Unity. The song was then mixed by Dave Trumfio at King Size Sound Labs and Mastered by Dave Gardener at Infrasonic in Los Angeles.
This release is the first collaboration between Smash Mouth and Oglio Records.
