Allyson Putman
Staff writer
A winning basketball team has not been the only successful act emerging this season, as local hip-hop artists put together a hype song and music video to fill students with Racer pride.
The hip-hop group known as Trubz N Matlock is composed of two Murray State students: Jacob Matlock, junior from Paducah, Ky., and Zach Noonan, senior from Louisville, Ky.
The two said they have been recording music together for their album “Sundrop and a Bag Full of Chicken” since August 2011.
The most well-known of their recordings, however, is the “Murray State Anthem.” The song has received more than 23,000 YouTube hits since its release prior to the basketball season. The song is also available on iTunes.
Matlock said the two wrote the song to support the men’s basketball team and create a theme song for current and future students featuring memorable moments and facts from Murray State basketball history.
“Every student should have pride in attending Murray State right now,” Matlock said. “This school is a very positive and energetic place to live.”
Not only did students take notice of the YouTube sensation, the University Communications department has taken a sincere interest as well.
Matlock and Noonan said University Communications has been a huge help to the group, especially in shooting their recent music video.
“We shot our video with some of the top professionals from around the University,” Matlock said. “Where else can you do that?”
The video was shot in three days throughout campus walkways, conference rooms, a basketball game and the CFSB Center, he said. The video features appearances from the basketball team, cheerleading squad, dance team and Dunker.
With the help of University Communications, the duo has had the video edited by a top film editor at Murray State.
“This video is something you won’t want to miss,” Matlock said.
He said that they are expecting big things to come.
The group said the video will be uploaded to YouTube this Saturday, though preview clips are available through OneWayMGMT’s YouTube channel.
Though TNM has seen the most success for producing the “Murray State Anthem,” the hip-hop duo said they are looking forward to their future careers.
“I think this will help us and the school in the long run,” Noonan said. “We’re glad to serve as a face for Murray State’s hip hop culture.”
Ben Ballard, senior from Bowling Green, Ky., has been the manager for TNM for roughly six months, along with various other artists and groups through his business label, OneWay MGMT.
He said he has enjoyed his experience with the group and University as well.
“The University really let us know that they were open to our ideas and (to) venture out into our culture,” he said.
Since the release of the song, the team has worked so closely with University Communications that TNM said they have given the faculty various “hip-hop” nicknames such as: “D-Light,” “DJJJ” and “Mama Cat.”
To learn more about TNM and One-Way MGMT, follow these users on Twitter: “@trubznmatlock” and “@OneWayMGMT.” To listen to the “Murray State Anthem” or any other recordings by TNM, search for OneWayMGMT’s channel on YouTube.
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