Duo Shares New Song “DUNK CONTEST” Produced By BEAM

Announces Nationwide Friends and Family Tour Kicking Off This Fall

(Reach Records; Atlanta, GA; July 3, 2017) – Reach Records lyrical powerhouse and founder of Miner League, Andy Mineo, announces a collaboration with Wordsplayed, Miner League’s promising up-and-coming rapper, for the release of their 90s-inspired mixtape, Magic & Bird. Available for pre-order today, July 3, Magic & Bird will officially release via a partnership with Reach Records on August 4.

Andy Mineo & Wordsplayed, also now known by their moniker Magic & Bird, dropped without warning a buzzworthy new record and video for “KIDZ” on June 14, which left curious fans wondering if there was more to come from this dynamic duo this summer. Today, Andy Mineo & Wordsplayed reveal details for their anticipated new project, and share the latest single “DUNK CONTEST,” a lively track produced by BEAM (2 Chainz, Meek Mill) chock full of witty sports references. The song is available as an instant grat download with the mixtape’s pre-order, along with “KIDZ” and the bonus track “LAY UP.”

Listen/Share “DUNK CONTEST”: http://bit.ly/DUNKCNSTsc

Most will agree there’s nothing like a good rivalry, especially in hip-hop and sports, and the playful and nostalgic approach of Magic & Bird becomes evident throughout the 13-track mixtape, complete with hilarious interludes. What is clear from the jump is the chemistry between Mineo and Wordsplayed, as they trade bars and toss one another alley-oops on wax. To let Wordsplayed tell it: “The whole project is about swag, and about bringing people that NBA Jam vibe.” While the lightheartedness is certainly front and center, Mineo and Wordplayed are mindful to give heads something of substance to chew on too, “It’s like sports,” Mineo explains. “We wanted to keep things fun and competitive but not without insightful moments.”

Along with BEAM, Magic & Bird boasts production from Mineo’s labelmate GAWVI (Lecrae, Trip Lee, KB ) and !llmind (J.Cole, Drake, 50 Cent), who also produced Andy Mineo’s previous LP Uncomfortable, which became the No. 1 Independent record in the country and delivered a No. 3 and No.10 position on Billboard’s Hip Hop and Top 200 album charts, respectively.

This fall, in support of Magic & Bird, Wordsplayed will join Andy Mineo on the Miner League presents Friends and Family Tour, alongside fellow rappers Social Club Misfits. The 29-city nationwide tour kicks off on September 21 in Nashville, TN and will stop in major cities including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and more. For more information on the tour and to purchase tickets visit FriendsandFamilyTour.com.

Miner League presents Friends & Family Tour Dates

Sep 21 Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works

Sep 22 Cincinnati, OH – The Underground

Sep 23 Memphis, TN – New Daisy Theatre

Sep 24 Kansas City, MO – The Truman

Sep 25 Denver, CO – The Summit Music Hall

Sep 28 Las Vegas, NV – Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Vinyl

Sep 29 Sacramento, CA – Ace of Spades

Sep 30 Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern

Oct 01 Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren

Oct 03 Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater

Oct 05 Waco, TX – Waco Hippodrome Theatre

Oct 07 Dallas, TX – Gas Monkey Bar N’ Grill

Oct 08 Houston, TX – Warehouse Live

Oct 10 Lima, OH – The Ohio Theater

Oct 12 Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room at Old National Centre

Oct 13 Saint Louis, MO – The Pageant

Oct 14 Chicago, IL – House Of Blues

Oct 15 Grand Rapids, MI – The Intersection

Oct 16 Detroit, MI – St Andrews Hall

Oct 17 Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall

Oct 19 New York, NY – Irving Plaza

Oct 20 Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls Theatre

Oct 21 Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live

Oct 22 Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts (TLA)

Oct 24 Greensboro, NC – The Cone Denim Entertainment Complex

Oct 25 Columbia, SC – Music Farm

Oct 26 Jacksonville, FL – Mavericks at the Landing

Oct 27 Atlanta, GA – Center Stage

Oct 28 Fort Lauderdale, FL – Revolution

We Speak Authors

The Publicist Who Changed Everything: Howard Bloom and the Art of Making Legends

Published

9 hours ago

May 15, 2026

Jimmy Star

Before there was a science of influence, before algorithms decided who mattered and viral moments manufactured stars overnight, there was Howard Bloom — working the phones, shaping narratives, and building some of the most enduring legends in the history of popular music.

In an era when the music industry ran on relationships, instinct, and the sheer force of personality, Bloom was operating on a different level entirely. He wasn’t just doing publicity. He was doing something closer to cultural architecture — understanding not just how to get an artist covered, but how to make them mean something. How to make them matter. How to embed them into the fabric of American life in a way that outlasted any single hit, any single moment, any single headline.

The roster tells the story. Prince. Billy Joel. Kiss. Lionel Richie. Michael Jackson. Bob Marley. These were not simply clients. They were cultural phenomena — and Howard Bloom was one of the key minds helping to shape what those phenomena meant to the world. At a time when rock and roll was the most powerful cultural force on the planet, Bloom was at the center of it, helping to translate raw talent into enduring mythology.

What set him apart was not hustle alone — though there was plenty of that. It was his relentless intellectual curiosity, his insistence on understanding the deeper forces at work beneath the surface of pop culture. While others in the industry were counting chart positions, Bloom was asking bigger questions. Why does this artist connect? What need are they meeting? What truth are they telling that the culture is desperate to hear? Those questions drove everything — and the results spoke for themselves.

His approach was years ahead of its time. The strategies he developed intuitively in the back rooms of the music industry would later be validated by neuroscience, sociology, and the emerging study of how ideas spread through human populations. Howard Bloom was not just a publicist. He was, without fully knowing it yet, a theorist of cultural contagion — and the music world was his laboratory.

The industry has changed beyond recognition since those years. The gatekeepers are gone, the major label system has been disrupted, and the very concept of a music publicist has been transformed by social media and the democratization of attention. But the principles Bloom operated by — find the truth in the artist, find the human need they speak to, and tell that story with everything you have — remain as relevant as ever. Perhaps more so, in a landscape where genuine meaning is harder to find and easier to fake.

Howard Bloom didn’t just help make stars. He helped define what stardom meant in the most electric and consequential era in the history of popular music. That is a legacy worth understanding — and one the industry is still catching up to.

The official website for Howard Bloom may be found at https://www.howardbloom.net