(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- Garden State Hip-Hop and Makin Waves Summer Rap ‘n’ Rock Tour will feature three groove-rock bands, four rap artists, three hip-hop bands or collectives and two DJs Friday, July 12 to Monday, July 22, throughout the Mid-Atlantic.

Rodney Coursey of Garden State Hip-Hop, concert promoter, music publicity and blogging and Bob Makin of the Makin Waves music column, radio segment and concert series joined forces to unify New Jersey’s rap and rock music scenes.

“This tour will present mixed bills throughout the Mid-Atlantic to promote interracial relations, unity and harmony, while providing a great experience to deserving acts who lack the representation to schedule and promote an effective tour,” the organizers said. “Together, we have been able to do just that with very limited resources and means, but with a whole lotta soul.”

A special set will open the tour on July 12 at Asbury Park Music Foundation with a performance by students of the Hip Hop Institute, APMF’s after-school music program for under-served teens in partnership with Lakehouse Music Academy and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Monmouth County.

“It's been an honor working with talented young up-and-coming artists at the Hip Hop Institute,” Program Coordinator Myster-E said. “They've been working hard on their craft, and I look forward to seeing them share the stage with several other great musicians and artists at this Rap ‘n’ Rock show in Asbury Park! Let's get it!”

The tour will donate $350 to Asbury Park Music Foundation’s music education programs for under-served youth across New Jersey. For more info about them, visit asburyparkmusiclives.org/programs. 

The tour schedule will include:

July 12, Asbury Park Music Foundation, co-presented by APMF & Independent Venue Week

July 13, The Fire, Philadelphia

July 14, FM Bar, Jersey City, co-presented by The Rock-it Docket

July 19, Mill Hill Basement, Trenton

July 20, Sunnyvale, Brooklyn, co-presented by Excess dB & Dadager Entertainment

July 21, Blackthorn, New Brunswick

July 22, Wonder Bar, Asbury Park, co-presented by Happy Mondays.

Tickets to the shows are $10, except Blackthorn and Happy Mondays, which are free. For complete lineups, set times and other details, visit facebook.com/makinwavescolumn/events. Also, hash tag #rapnrocktour on Facebook and Instagram. 

Participating in the Summer Rap ‘n’ Rock Tour will be:

• Dane the Beautiful Monster (DBM), a Newark rapper with a new LP, “FARAK,” the release of which will coincide with tour and follows two singles and videos, “Slow Money” and “Nefertiti (In My House)” 


• Green Knuckle Material, a New Brunswick hip-hop-flavored groove-rock band on their third of four tours planned for this year in support of an EP, “Back to Your Roots,” and a single, “Queen of Dragons” 


• Black Suburbia Music Group, Asbury Park-based, Wu Tang Clan-like collective led by its most dynamic and productive artists rapper-vocalist Drew the Recluse and rapper Miles Nxbxdy


• Mista Encore, Long Branch rapper who’s been working hard all year in support of his latest self-produced EP, 2018’s “The Cleanse”


• Apollo Ali, Camden rapper who honors his grandfather, the great heavyweight champion “Jersey” Joe Walcott, with his latest single, “Champion Sound,” from the new album, “Don’t Bite”  


• The Band Called FUSE, New Brunswick outfit who combine rap, hip-hop, rock, funk and soul into an eclectic mix that has been featured on several albums, videos and singles throughout the past decade   


• Chris Rockwell Collective, prolific Asbury Park rapper who recently recorded a live album with a new band featuring live backing musicians and rotating special guest rappers and vocalists


• K-Prez, Jersey Shore rapper, who has released several singles since 2017, leading up to the new EP, “Back to the Drawing Board”


• Chalk & the Beige Americans, Philly’s Fishtown favorites with members from the Trenton area in a blend of hip-hop, soul and rock ‘n’ roll


• Switch Mob, dynamic young group out of the esteemed music program at William Paterson University who combine jazzy Earth, Wind & Fire-like R&B with a soulful Groove Collective take on hip-hop


• DJ Ronny Rayz, resident DJ for Garden State Hip Hop, as well as Major Record Labels Showcase, who’ll open all but two of the shows with a set, back the rappers, and spin between 


• DJ Rachel Barkley of Black Suburbia Music Group, who’ll spin and back at Sunnyvale and Wonder Bar. 

Playlists of the artists can be found on Spotify and YouTube. Here’s what some of the participants have to say about the tour:

DBM: "The RnR Tour is a talent-rich Molotov cocktail of sound. To be on this roster, with these vivid, ground-breaking acts is a special opportunity. We will lift up everyone to a higher vibrational state. This is all about positive energy.” 

Green Knuckle Material: “It’s something that the scene really needs. Hip-hop for some reason gets a bad reputation, but honestly, some of the most fun shows I’ve ever been a part of have been hip-hop shows.”

Chris Rockwell: “This whole tour is gonna be fun as hell! I’m so psyched to be jumping on stage with all these phenomenal and diverse musicians. We’re ready to get wild!”

Tommy Brennan, Blackthorn manager: “The Rap ‘n’ Rock Tour was very important for us to put on here at Blackthorn because I personally love going to a bar where there is live music. Just seeing a thriving music culture and a business that cares about the artists and the music has always been a great time for me. We at Blackthorn can't wait for this event, as it will be one of the biggest we host here.” 

Switch Mob: “This tour is what Switch Mob is all about. Combining unexpected genres is something we do, kind of like the makeup of our band. Our different musical tastes and different ethnicities and skin colors somehow mesh in a magical way, just like the mixture of bands on this tour. Come out and experience the magic!”

APMF  is a co-sponsor of the tour, as is Independent Venue Week, a seven-day celebration of small music venues and a nod to the people that own, run and work in them, week in, week out.

“We are pleased to be hosting the kick-off of the tour with such a great lineup of musical acts spanning across diverse genres,” APMF Chairman Jim Lenskold said. “As part of Independent Venue Week, this event spotlights Asbury Park’s support of diverse genres, as well as our many great independent venues.”

Other Rap ‘n’ Rock Tour sponsors are Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Massage by Design, and Karma Cartel, Chris Rockwell’s company, which designed the tour poster. Tour highlights include Tito’s Handmade Vodka drink specials at participating venues and chair massages from Massage by Design at APMF and Blackthorn.

The tour also marks the return of the Makin Waves July Baby Birthday Bash at Blackthorn on July 21, Bob Makin’s birthday. In its early days in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Makin Waves hosted a party for everyone in the New Jersey music scene whose birthday was also in July. The free Blackthorn show marks the first time in more than 25 years that the bash will be celebrated once again with a free birthday sheet cake and other fun.

Garden State Hip Hop started as a blog covering the New Jersey scene and evolved into a music public relations company and the foremost concert promoter of New Jersey’s independent and unsigned rap and hip-hop acts in such an esteemed venues as Asbury Park’s House of Independents and The Saint. Events have included a series of cyphers featuring Jersey’s best rappers.

Makin Waves has covered the New Jersey music scene like a blanket since 1988, winning five New Jersey Press Association Awards and 17 Asbury Park Music Award nominations. Makin Waves appears Thursdays in NewJerseyStage.com, monthly in New Jersey Stage magazine and The Aquarian Weekly, and in radio form weekly on AsburyMusic.com.