This song is not about Morgan Freeman. It’s not even really about Captain Morgan Rum. It’s mostly about those idle times that wrought devil’s playground hands, told to you by Donte Peace and Nacho Picasso. It’s hella grimy in the best possible way. With someone called Maxtrax on the beat.
Photo courtesy of the artists’ Facebook page.
THE SIX is a regular interview feature on 206UP.COM with a simple format: One member of the local hip hop community and six questions. For past editions click here.
The Physics had the best Seattle hip hop album of 2013 — by this website’s estimation, anyway — with Digital Wildlife. And that record wouldn’t have come together as well as it did without the musical talents of the group’s two vocalists: real-life couple Malice (given name: Crystal) and Mario Sweet. Their R&B harmonies with The Physics generally act as subtle but vital backdrops to the crew’s deep hip hop roots, and the natural chemistry they share with rappers Thig Nat and Monk Wordsmith, and producer/rapper Justo, makes for the most appealing collaborations in Seattle rap.
Malice and Mario stepped out on their own with 2011’s Happy 2 Year, a celebration of both their love for music and second wedding anniversary. H2Y was followed in July of 2013 by Enjoy Like Love, an upbeat collection of original songs unapologetically inspired by R&B/soul from the ’80s and ’90s, as well as pop culture touchstones from those decades. For those of us born in the late ’70s and early ’80s, Enjoy Like Love feels like an audio love letter written just for us.
Malice and Mario jumped on THE SIX to answer questions about their backgrounds in music, what it’s like performing and touring as The Physics, and what their musical futures might hold.
Moor Gang/Cloud Nice affiliate Steezie Nasa dropped a brand new seven-piece three days ago. The usual Moor suspects have their fingerprints all over this one: MackNed, Rob Skeetz, et al. And Caz Greez lends bars to one track, thereby closing the circle on two of the Town’s best rap collectives.
The dream is the nightmare is the beautiful revery. Chimurenga Renaissance drops knowledge on the B.A.D. (Black American Dream). Zimbabwean harmonies collide with Bomb Squad noize and Shabazz Palaces consciousness on “The B.A.D. Is So Good”. Chimurenga’s DNA is still being sequenced, but click here to find out what we’ve learned thus far.
The Bar’s Prometheus Brown and Bambu are featured on Power Struggle’s latest drop, “A Round For My Friends”. Nomi (frontman MC for PS) links fundamentally/organizationally with his Beatrock Music brethren. “Fight music ’til there’s nothing left to fight about,” raps Pro Brown. This is fist up, marching music.
West Seattleite Nottus Tre’s flow is a slow burn. His The Methadone Musical doesn’t wreck your senses at first listen. Its effect grabs you more like a slowly turning vice grip; the python of recent Seattle hip hop records. “Lights” (featuring Sportn’ Life’s Fatal Lucciauno) is the rapper’s latest video.
300’s first hip hop signatory Raz Simone with a fresh clip: “Still Mobbin” featuring vocalist Ariana DeBoo and directed by Raz and Andrew Imanaka. This is mobbin’ as a way of life. I chuckle at the number of white people who likely crossed the street to avoid Raz and his boisterous video mob.
Rhymesayers artist and current Seattle resident Grieves dropped a new single (“Shreds”) and announced Winter & The Wolves — his new album, due March 25 — is now available for pre-order at various online outlets. “Shreds” is an electro-tinged boom-bap effort, produced by B. Lewis. Grieves makes allusions to those who might do him wrong. Does he mean heads of religious institutions? Record labels? The amorphous and always disdainful “hater”? Who can be certain?
(h/t Potholes In My Blog.)
Mike Champoux raps and produces, probably more successfully at the latter than the former. Still, though, his passion for the art form is clear. “All I Need” is a love letter to music and an outtake from his upcoming album, Michael, due in April.
Tyrone, the working class hero, dropped this single back in November. Shout-out to him for linking me to it in the New Year, though. “Work Boots” forgoes the space oddities, triple beam dreams, and hyperbolic monetary chamber rap of contemporary hip hop, for the always grueling, rarely rewarding rhythm of hard labor. The best thing about this joint is how Tyrone bridges the seemingly unrelated divide between all manners of hustle.
A SEATTLE HIP-HOP BLOG 