Detroit’s Red Pill & Hir-O have teamed with Fat Beats to release their full-length debut, “The Kick.” With Red Pill’s candid blue collar rhymes and Hir-O’s stirring mix of soul, electronic music and live instrumentation, “The Kick” executes a loose concept while creating a universal listening experience. A limited guest list includes appearances by Michigan rap vet Jamall Bufford and Detroit reggae forefather Ras Kente. Readers on HipHopDX have voted “The Kick” as the highest user-rated album of 2013.

The release comes on the heels of Hir-O’s critically acclaimed “Peace King” Christmas EP with Doss The Artist, and after the announcement that Red Pill will join Apollo Brown and Verbal Kent for “Ugly Heroes,” a new trio whose self-titled album will hit stores in 2013.