On Friday May 15th, we released the album “Beautiful Foundations” by New York State rapper & producer duo Tone Chop and Frost Gamble.
It is in essence a celebration of the pair’s working relationship and friendship which spans back over three decades, and in the same spirit the guest featured artists are those with whom they’ve built during that time including DJ Eclipse, The Bad Seed, Pf Cuttin, Grea8gawd, Decon Blu, Pa Pa Fresh and many more.
To mark the occasion further they have filmed a documentary about their entire time togetherwhich has just been published on Youtube today. In a highly impressive presentation, they delve deeper into their earliest days growing up in Binghamton and the impact hip hop culture had on them, and ultimately how they came to meet and work together for the first time.
They describe their initial recording sessions in Frost’s basement, referenced in the album’s title, and chart their subsequent journey including Frost’s move to Canada, reuniting several years later and building once more to become one of the most prolific partnerships in hip hop over recent years.
Industry trials and tribulations along the way are also covered and will resonate with many independent music artists from any genre, making this not only an overall fascinating insight to their own story, but will also likely hold significance for those with a particular interest in hip hop’s own progression over the years.
New Dawn Records are proud to announce the upcoming release of the new album “Beautiful Foundations” by New York State rapper and producer duo Tone Chop and Frost Gamble on May 15th 2026, digitally distributed by Xelon Entertainment.
The release holds special importance for the Binghamton pair, celebrating both their long term friendship and working partnership of 35 years. We as a label, coincidentally celebrating our own 30th anniversary next year, are thrilled to join them on the latest part of their journey which dates back to their earliest days of recording demo’s and mixtapes in a basement, armed with a Four Track, MPC60 and Gemini DJ Sampler.
Originally part of the crew Binghamton’s Most Wanted, Chop had already built a fearsome reputation in the local rap battle scene prior to the link up with Frost, but from their first meeting, a strong connection was made and a lasting bond built, both musically and personally.
The turning of the page into the 21st Century also marked a temporary pause for this close collaboration as Frost made the move to Canada. Now permanently relocated, he began production work on projects with artists such as Young Bleed, Sadat X and Fresh I.E., while back in New York, Chop remained prolific dropping upwards of 50 mixtapes including the “Chopper City” series.
However some ties can never be broken. Destiny determined the inevitable, with the pair re-uniting to deliver the “Veteran EP” in 2016, their first official release together. Our in house promotional division UrbanElite PR handled the publicity at the time for both the EP and the album “Respect is Earned Not Given” the following year. The resulting worldwide media coverage and public response would act as the catalyst for what would become their most prolific period of output, with a quite phenomenal back catalogue of singles and EP’s built up over recent years.
The reflective and celebratory nature of the new album also represents Chop and Frost’s steadfast passion for all aspects of the culture through the years, embracing change while being true to the essence. This is never more evident than in a new short documentary they have just filmed which will be premiered shortly after the album release. A fascinating autobiographical account of their story which also provides a historical narrative of hip hop’s own development through the decades.
Heads get ready for this. Beats, bars, turntablism, the culture….hip hop is something you live
WATCH THE OFFICIAL ALBUM VIDEO TRAILER ON YOUTUBE
Four singles will be released ahead of the album, beginning with the title track on December 9th. All will be available to download and stream on Bandcamp, Apple / iTunes, Spotify, Tidal, Amazon and more.Visuals will appear on our official Youtube channel @newdawnrecords
All press, multimedia and radio DJ inquiries can be addressed to our in-house promotional division UrbanElite PR
We would again like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support since we re-launched the label in 2019, the public, the media and of course the artists we’ve worked withas we move forward into the completion of our third decade in existence overall. From the beginning all these years ago to now, it’s been quite a ride, so our appreciation to all.