Lefty, Up and Coming Hip Hop Artist, Drops First Mixtape

After much speculation and hype, Helper's iconic white glove, Lefty, dropped his first mixtape today, featuring five original tracks and two music videos. Initial reports: it's lit. Collaborating with Twin Cities hip hop artists and a group of young, hungry up-and-comers, Lefty stays true to the streets in creating a soundscape that's both authentic and hilarious.

Experience the interactive Multimedia News Release here: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7769951-general-mills-helper-lefty-mixtape/

Seriously, this isn't a joke. You can listen to the greatest mixtape of all time about Helper here and watch the music videos below.

Helper collaborated with McNally Smith College of Music students, along with Twin Cities artists, Dequexatron X000 (DJ Tiiiiiiiiiip & Bobby Raps), and Twitter, Vine and Snapchat rising star, Retro Spectro, to produce rhymes and beats that encapsulate Helper's cunningly entertaining and relatable brand. The Helper mixtape, titled Watch the Stove, gives up-and-coming artists like the students at McNally Smith a platform to share their original music.

"Above all else, Watch the Stove is a product of fan love. Our followers have been joking with us about a mixtape for a while, and we wanted to actually deliver on it," said Ashley Wright, marketing communications planner for Helper.

The newly-released album includes the following five original tracks, two of which were also made into music videos:

• "Crazy" by Theory and illWIN
• "She's in Love with the Glove" by Dan D
• "Food for Your Soul" by GenReal
• "Feed the Streets" by Dequexatron X000 (DJ Tiiiiiiiiiip & Bobby Raps)
• "Hamburger Helper" by Retro Spectro

"We intentionally took a grassroots approach when developing this mixtape because Helper is for the people, by the people. If we tried too hard, it wouldn't be us," said Liana Miller, creative lead for Helper.

Toki Wright, member of Rhymesayers/Soul Tools Entertainment and McNally Smith program coordinator, enlisted some of his top students to craft original tracks for the brand. Students were prompted with the challenge of creating music that captured Helper's brand, while keeping it relevant.

"I try to give my students as many opportunities to get out there and live through their art," says Wright. "I thought this was the perfect chance to show variety and creativity in their music."

Two students' tracks were also selected to be produced into music videos: "Crazy" and "She's in Love with the Glove." The video for "Crazy" follows the story of a man who obsesses over Helper, showing the crazy things he does for his beloved dish. "She's in Love with the Glove" shows a young woman swept off her feet by Lefty's undeniable charm in a nightclub.

"I believe hip hop is all about having something meaningful to say in your lyrics," said Nicholas "GenReal" Trahan, creator of "Food for Your Soul" on Watch the Stove. "I grew up eating Helper, so I was eager to create tracks that showed the authenticity of the brand and represented the talent at McNally Smith."

You can download Watch the Stove, the full Helper Mixtape, on Sound Cloud and watch the music videos above. You can also follow the conversation on Twitter at Twitter.com/helper.

About General Mills
General Mills is a leading global food company that serves the world by making food people love. Its brands include Cheerios, Annie's, Yoplait,Nature Valley, Fiber One, Haagen-Dazs, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Old El Paso,Wanchai Ferry, Yoki and more.Headquartered inMinneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills had fiscal 2015 worldwide sales of US$18.7 billion, including the company's US$1.1 billionproportionate share of joint-venture net sales.

SOURCE General Mills, Inc.