Fuse TV’s Cassius Michael Kim made the cross-country trek from BK to Seattle to do this mini-doc on the Seattle rap scene. It’s no The Otherside but it’ll do.
Insert coffee to begin.
NEW MUSIC: This That & Th3rdz – Th3rdz
![[CD] Cover](https://206up.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/cd-cover.jpg?w=570&h=570)
![[CD] Back](https://206up.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/cd-back.jpg?w=570&h=570)
This one’s been a while in the making. It was supposed to drop in its entirety last year but instead we got a steady stream of loosies and videos, each one more slap-happy and super-lyrical than the last. Anyway, Th3rdz — the Oldominion supergroup consisting of JFK, Candidt and Xperience — add the full length This That & Th3rdz to the mix and it’s definitely worth your seven to ten ducats. Shit is just fun, freewheeling rap, appropriate for the particular season in which it finally sees a release.
VIDEO: “An Echo from the Hosts that Profess Infinitum” – Shabazz Palaces
Alright, enough Yeezus. Now for some soul-cleansing: the striking, beautiful new video from Shabazz Palaces.
REVIEW: Yeezus – Kanye West
Kanye West
Yeezus
Roc-A-Fella / Def Jam; 2013
Score: Recommended (with sweet and sour sauce)
Buried at the end of “Last Call”, the final track on The College Dropout, is a nine minute long interview-style recording of Kanye West recounting the crowning events that lead to his eventual signing to Roc-A-Fella Records. In retrospect this segment is probably the most captivating part of the rapper-producer’s debut album. Here was a measured, sane, Kanye speaking in endearingly giddy tones about meeting his idols — Jay, Dame, Cam, Kweli — for the first time ever. This moment symbolized the Spring of West’s pop career, a season in which his only crises were ones of the physical world: stacking enough paper to cop a Pelle Pelle and some J’s; moving sight unseen from Chicago to an apartment in Newark, New Jersey; finding enough time in his rapidly increasing work schedule to finish mundane tasks like assembling Ikea furniture. “Last Call” was Kanye at his most relatable. His most normal. His most likeable.
THE SIX: Featuring Dave B
Photo courtesy of the artist’s Facebook page.
[THE SIX is a regular interview feature on 206UP.COM with a simple format: One local hip-hop artist and six questions. For past editions click here.]
Dave B impressed at the 2013 edition of EMP’s Sound Off! competition enough to take home the top prize. Now the solo MC is on the heels of his well-rounded and polished The Coffee EP, one of this blog’s favorite 206 releases of the year. Dude has the gift-of-gab — a little bit Chance The Rapper and a little bit J Cole, able to switch between punchline-laced brag rap and edge-of-the-bed pillow talk. Four wisdom teeth lighter these days, the MC took time out during his recovery to answer THE SIX.
206UP: You won EMP’s annual Sound Off! competition this year. Their website says, “Dave B, the hip-hop group with the sweet beats and saucy swagger won out.” Whoever did this write-up should probably never win an award for music journalism. How would you personally — and more accurately — describe your style?
Dave B: Right, definitely not for hip hop at least. But I’d say it’s for sure nostalgic. I like to think it’s sorta jazzy, tight as fuck. All that.
What’s your earliest 206 rap-related memory?
Aww man, I remember when I was like 16 I ran into GMK and J Pinder in the keyboard rooms at Guitar Center, like right after White Van Music came out. Thought I was hella cool all week.
I think you sound a little like Chance the Rapper. Who do folks typically say you remind them of, and do you think it’s accurate?
I always get like Cole or somebody in that lane. But after Sound Off! this cat told me if Slick Rick and Phife had a baby who could rap it’d be me. I don’t know if I agree. It was entertaining as fuck to hear though.
What was the genesis for “Andy Warhol/Monroe”? Do you have a special love for those two pop culture icons?
Not really. I appreciate a lot of art [and] artists out of Warhol’s generation but those songs were more just a product of my thoughts that day prior to hitting the studio. And it was most likely just a regular day.
You just had your wisdom teeth pulled. Can we expect a Kanye, through-the-wire-type rap soon?
Never, haha. That shit hurt way too bad. It was all about applesauce and Tumblr. I wrote a haiku about a burger I wanted the second day, though I don’t think it’ll make any album.
Finally, tease your next upcoming project(s) for the readers.
The Doughnuts EP, July. Wake that ass.
NEW MUSIC: ILLFIGHTYOU – ILLFIGHTYOU
ILLFIGHTYOU is Tacoma’s EvergreenOne, and UglyFrank and Khris P of Sandlot. One part horrorcore, one part balls-trippin’ drug rap, and one part janky stand-up comedy. On their self-titled debut album (out today) the crew pulls out its impressively-girthed id and smacks you across the face with it. (I think that’s a compliment.)
Click here or on one of the guns above to download the album.
NEW MUSIC: “She Don’t Care”- Spaceman (feat. Sonno Bonoho; prod. by Justo)
Spaceman lets loose with “She Don’t Care”, a drop from his upcoming Beyond The Stars EP. Sonny Bonoho on the lovelorn chorus and Justo on the beat.
VIDEO: “Drunk Talk” – Brothers From Another (dir. by Paul Erlandson)
More of the ongoing antics of Brothers From Another as they try their damnedest to find Tacos on Broadway.
NEW MUSIC: Vampsterdam – Nacho Picasso & Avatar Darko
Nacho Picasso and Avatar Darko pair up for rap horror movie tryst Vampsterdam. Dig the Disney-like font and album artwork reminiscent of OG horror host mainstay Vincent Price. Shit, now I’m just dating myself. Go listen amongst yourselves.
VIDEO: “This is Hip Hop” – Fleeta Partee (feat. Yirim Seck, Jarrard Anthony & John Crown; dir. by The Notework)
Fleeta takes you to school. Literally.
A SEATTLE HIP-HOP BLOG 