The dynamic duo of Cool & Dre has produced mulitplatinum hits for The Game, 50 Cent, Fat Joe and Ja Rule.  Three years later, upon creating their own label, Epidemic Records, Cool and Dre have inked a deal with Skeleton Key Entertainment/EMI’s Imperial Records.  Imperial Records will provide distribution and label services such as radio promotions, marketing, on-line marketing, street team, video promotions and publicity for the Epidemic Records’ album, Misery Loves Company by Cool and Dre’s premier artist, Joe Hound. "We're really excited about this Joe Hound project and about us being in business with Imperial,” said Cool. “It's the beginning of a long lasting relationship. Epidemic and Imperial are gonna take it all the way to the top." Dre, agreed and added, “This is one of the best deals we've done in our career.”

This is the album Miami has been waiting for with anticipation building more and more each day.  The album Misery Loves Company is chock full of life lessons and missed opportunities, scattered with detailed musical bits and pieces of Joe Hound’s rise as an emcee, while simultaneously describing his life as a common street hustler.  Born in Miami and raised on the heartless streets of Liberty City, Joe Hound has been a star for the majority of his life.  He briefly attended Bethune Cookman on a basketball scholarship but before he could familiarize himself with college life, Hound was forced to return home due to family responsibilities.  Ironically, while he was going through all this his childhood friend Andre Lyon (Dre of Cool & Dre), was making noise in the streets as a budding producer.  A chance meeting in a recording studio provided the opportunity for them to rekindle their friendship and collaborate on a number of musical projects, an album created strictly for the streets, Stressed Out, Lost and Confused and two mix tapes, one hosted by Miami’s premier DJ, DJ Khaled. Now with the new Imperial Records/Skeleton Key Entertainment deal, their latest project is produced entirely by the Grammy nominated production team of Cool & Dre, Misery Loves Company, sparked by “She Likes It,” the radio friendly lead single.

Neil Levine, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Imperial Records comments,  “Imperial is pleased with our association with Skeleton Key and Epidemic Records,” “With Cool and Dre’s magic touch Joe Hounds’ album is filled with catchy hooks as well as profound lyrics.  We’re looking for some big things from Joe Hound in 07.”  Joe Hound is also thrilled to be working with an innovative independent distributor such as Imperial.  "It's been a great experience,” Joe Hound says about joining Imperial Records. “They take care of our needs. It's been a really professional relationship. They give us opportunities to do whatever we want because they let us control our own music. You can't ask for anything more than that."  With more than enough heat from Cool and Dre on the production side and Misery Loves Company Joe Hound still finds time to tell his unique story, Joe Hound has finally arrived.

 For more info visit www.JoeHound.com
                                www.myspace.com/JoeHound
                                www.ImperialRecords.com
                                www.myspace.com/ImperialRecords

For more information on Joe Hound and to schedule interviews please contact
Steven Whitaker (Steven.Whitaker@imperialrecords.com  212-786-8499) or
Zenobia Simmons (Zenobia.Simmons@imperialrecords.com  212-786-8496)

JOE HOUND - BIO
His first name is ‘Joe,’ his last name is ‘Hound.’  He is the young, hungry, unforgettable force of the bunch, the one everyone admires. He’s down for everything and anything at the drop of a hat, oozing street savvy and untapped artistic potential.  Miami born, Liberty City raised, he is the streets and the streets are him.  He is the heartbeat of the 305.  He is Joe Hound. 

Easily one of Miami’s most coveted and likewise undiscovered myths, Joe Hound is a victim and conqueror of the desolate streets of the MIA, produced by the Grammy nominated Cool & Dre, (who are responsible for hits from the Game, 50 Cent and Fat Joe) his album, Misery Loves Company is self-explanatory.  “If one person buys it or a million people buy it, somebody’s going to vibe,” says the confident emcee.  “I just want people to understand that no matter how long it took for us to get to this point where we are right now, we can still deliver good music.”

A standout athlete in high school, Joe took his God given talents to Bethune Cookman, where he attended briefly on a basketball scholarship before returning home to handle some family responsibilities.  In Miami, where the drug trade produces the mentality that it is easier to come up on a ‘brick’ than a ‘break,’ Joe tried to resist but was forced to provide for his family any way that he could.  While staying on his grind and dabbling in his hobby of rhyming and dropping in on various studio sessions he bumped into his junior high school classmate, Andre Lyon (Dre of ‘Cool & Dre’).  The two decided that they would build on their already solid friendship. “At the time I didn’t really know how serious they were doing it,” Joe remembers. “But I always knew Dre and them for singing and what not.  Upon vibing with Dre and his partner Cool, Joe was convinced that if a new wave was to surface, Cool & Dre would be a part of it. “They looked to me like they knew how to get in the game and I got lucky,” Joe says. “They were just learning how to make beats and I could rap, but I didn’t know how to make a record.”

Inspired by the support given him, Joe took to the streets with poster boards, a staple gun, flyers and any other promotional materials he could get his hands on. “I wanted to work the deejays and work the street,” he says. “I used to stay out there ‘til three, four in the morning. They could have afforded to hire somebody to do it, but I took the initiative to do it myself.”  Joe’s work went unnoticed by Miami radio but he continued to press on and after generating moderate success on the streets, Cool & Dre invited him on tour.  However, an unexpected phone call from his label’s CEO stopped the whole show.  “He said he was shutting down,” Joe remembers.  “So it was like we were at an all time high and then it all came crashing down.”

However his tenacity paid off and he is now ready to release Misery Loves Company.  This album, marks the official reunion between Joe and his powerful producing cohorts, the album is scheduled to drop this fall on Cool and Dre’s Epidemic records, distributed through Skeleton Key Entertainment/EMI’s Imperial Records. Imperial Records will provide label services, marketing, on-line, promotions, publicity, etc. for the project.  

Misery loves Company is an album full of street anthems, radio hits and Miami inspired tales of life lessons.  Perhaps the most impressive of the bunch is the radio friendly, lead single, “She Likes It.”  Some other gems on the album include, “Swing For the Stars,” featuring Dirtbag and “Roll Wit Me”.  Joe describes the album as the complete package “If you tryna vibe, that song is the one,” Joe says of the upbeat track. “It’s a vibe.  The Rick Ross assisted “Money In Bags,” serves as the only major collaboration, the captivating “They Wanna Know,” “Connect Boy” and the 2pac inspired “Sittin’ on the Porch,” peer further into the depths of Joe Hound’s sometimes complicated spirit.  Says Joe Hound. “I don’t want people to see me as a cat that gave them one single or two good singles. I’m not tryna do that.  I’m tryna give the people a good album.”