MINNEAPOLIS, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- After much
speculation and hype, Helper's iconic white glove, Lefty, dropped
his first mixtape today, featuring five original tracks and two
music videos. Initial reports: it's lit. Collaborating with
Twin Cities hip hop artists and a
group of young, hungry up-and-comers, Lefty stays true to
the streets in creating a soundscape that's both authentic and
hilarious.
Experience the interactive Multimedia News Release here:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7769951-general-mills-helper-lefty-mixtape/
Seriously, this isn't a joke. You can listen to the greatest
mixtape of all time about Helper here and watch the music videos below.
Helper collaborated with McNally Smith
College of Music students, along with Twin Cities artists, Dequexatron X000 (DJ
Tiiiiiiiiiip & Bobby Raps), and Twitter, Vine and Snapchat
rising star, Retro Spectro, to produce rhymes and beats that
encapsulate Helper's cunningly entertaining and relatable brand.
The Helper mixtape, titled Watch the Stove, gives
up-and-coming artists like the students at McNally Smith a platform
to share their original music.
"Above all else, Watch the Stove is a product of fan
love. Our followers have been joking with us about a mixtape for a
while, and we wanted to actually deliver on it," said Ashley Wright, marketing communications planner
for Helper.
The newly-released album includes the following five original
tracks, two of which were also made into music videos:
- "Crazy" by Theory and illWIN
- "She's in Love with the Glove" by Dan D
- "Food for Your Soul" by GenReal
- "Feed the Streets" by Dequexatron X000 (DJ Tiiiiiiiiiip &
Bobby Raps)
- "Hamburger Helper" by Retro Spectro
"We intentionally took a grassroots approach when developing
this mixtape because Helper is for the people, by the people. If we
tried too hard, it wouldn't be us," said Liana Miller, creative lead for Helper.
Toki Wright, member of
Rhymesayers/Soul Tools Entertainment and McNally Smith program
coordinator, enlisted some of his top students to craft original
tracks for the brand. Students were prompted with the challenge of
creating music that captured Helper's brand, while keeping it
relevant.
"I try to give my students as many opportunities to get out
there and live through their art," says Wright. "I thought this was
the perfect chance to show variety and creativity in their
music."
Two students' tracks were also selected to be produced into
music videos: "Crazy" and "She's in Love with the Glove." The video
for "Crazy" follows the story of a man who obsesses over Helper,
showing the crazy things he does for his beloved dish. "She's in
Love with the Glove" shows a young woman swept off her feet by
Lefty's undeniable charm in a nightclub.
"I believe hip hop is all about having something meaningful to
say in your lyrics," said Nicholas "GenReal" Trahan, creator of
"Food for Your Soul" on Watch the Stove. "I grew up eating
Helper, so I was eager to create tracks that showed the
authenticity of the brand and represented the talent at McNally
Smith."
You can download Watch the Stove, the full Helper
Mixtape, on Sound Cloud and watch the music videos above. You can
also follow the conversation on Twitter at Twitter.com/helper.
About General Mills
General Mills is a leading global
food company that serves the world by making food people love. Its
brands include Cheerios, Annie's, Yoplait, Nature
Valley, Fiber One, Haagen-Dazs, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Old El
Paso, Wanchai
Ferry, Yoki and more. Headquartered
in Minneapolis, Minnesota,
USA, General Mills had fiscal 2015 worldwide sales of
US $18.7 billion, including the company's US $1.1
billion proportionate share of joint-venture net sales.
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SOURCE General Mills, Inc.