The full cut of The Roots’ visual summation of their recent cautionary tale, Undun. A masterwork of hip-hop drama by the only band capable of doing it.
VIDEO: “The Crown” – The Good Sin & 10.4 Rog (dir. by Detooz Films)
Late, the EP collaboration between MC The Good Sin and producer 10.4 Rog, is one of the best local releases of the year. It’s a type of musical awakening for these two artists, both highly-respected within the area code but relatively little known outside of its tight-knit community.
It’s only right then that the video for “The Crown” moves beyond the SEA. Here we see Sinseer on a trip to Southern California, going to rock with Blue Scholars and Bambu on their recently concluded tour. As fellow performers (The Physics, Brothers From Another) endeavor to keep an exhausted Sinseer from dozing off, it’s a young girl from the ubiquitous Occupy movement that gets in the final word — a nice touch of immediacy from the ever-improving John Harry Baluran of Detooz Films.
REVIEW: Yuk The World – Dyme Def
Dyme Def’s new full-length album, Yuk The World, features the track “Fresher in my Kicks” which is, for my money, the best song the group has ever done. It was a little surprising to see it included here because it’s old (at least by rap standards) but it’s only right that it finds a proper home on an “official” DD release.
In this blogger’s estimation, the trio of Brainstorm, S.E.V. and Fearce Villain are the most important rap group currently operating in Seattle, and a track like “Fresher in my Kicks” is the reason why. Superficially the joint is just about shoes, a tribute to the ubiquitous hip-hop classics like Jordans and Air Force Ones. Turning the track over, however, and having a look at the sole reveals something more revelatory: A somber reflection on what the rappers’ kicks have carried them through, both physically and spiritually. For Dyme Def, shoes have been vehicles for expression, for fashion, for upping rep, and, more figuratively, as protection — a type of armor to lace up as preservation against a brutal outside world.
On YTW (and on the group’s first LP, Space Music) you find many sentiments like these. “Blaastin Off” is an optimistic dedication to finding something better, an escape from tribulations as caught in the rear-view mirror. “When it Rains” finds Brainstorm reflecting in the most literal terms possible on growing up without a father. This all sounds fairly dispiriting, so for those uninitiated to Dyme Def’s hustle it should be noted emphatically that this is a group that prefers to rap about good times, something they do better than anyone else in Town. (Much credit should be given to the group’s primary producer, BeanOne, whose drums on Yuk The World carry the most trunk-rattling knock of any local release this year.)
I’m of the belief that the majority of Seattle doesn’t have a real understanding of what goes on in the city’s South End. Maybe they do in theory, but the philosophical disconnect that exists between north and south of Jackson (or, more accurately, between light and dark complexions in any of Seattle’s geographic districts) is something that’s not bridged nearly as much as it should be.
Dyme Def expresses a vivid representation of this city’s stark divide in race and class. I remember a brief period of time spent working with high school kids in the South End, boys with stories that matched those of Brainstorm’s exactly. These particular young people laced up the same kicks as Dyme Def and for exactly the same reasons — yet more layers of armor for traversing life’s rugged terrain.
Yuk The World contains a dose of reality Seattle needs to hear: It is not all good, rap fans — even in your own backyard. But the one edifying thing about all this, and what Dyme Def themselves portray in their music, is that when everything around you seems covered in shit, the sweet stuff seems that much more syrupy. And right there alone is cause for celebration.
VIDEO: “Def Yoda Pt. 3” – Kung Foo Grip (dir. by A.K. Romero)
The two cats from Kirkland’s Kung Foo Grip (Greg Cypher and F is H) are both under the age of 20, but got-damn if this ain’t some old hip-hop-soul music. Their Capitalize is available for streaming and download right here:
REVIEW: Liberation of the Monster – Khingz
Click album cover to purchase at Bandcamp.
Town rap veteran Khingz is equal parts self-reverential and self-referential on his latest LP, Liberation of the Monster, a release backed by Vancouver, BC record label Wandering Worx Entertainment (home to rappers Moka Only and Planet Asia, among others). The entire project was produced by Rel!g!on, who favors decidedly West Coast-derived slap matched with chopped samples and liberal doses of aggressive keyboard — imagine a more forward-thinking version of the early Dogg Pound aesthetic.
Indeed Khingz makes immediate connections to his West and East Coast roots (the MC has spent considerable time on both geographic margins) on album opener, and Dogg Pound-referencing, “DPG in NYC.” On the track he threatens to “stomp through the city like Dogg Pound in N-Y,” certainly a lyrical salvo meant to highlight his considerable skills as an MC. That’s the self-reverential part.
On Liberation, we also see Khingz highlighting his own personal struggles, those derived from racial injustice, identity crises, and conflicts when his power as a man intersects with mutual gender reciprocity. It’s all heavy stuff, especially “For Colored Boys Who Consider Suicide,” a figuratively titled song that can’t be anything but autobiographical.
For those that follow Khingz, they know that he’s equal parts sci-fi nerd and reformed gang banger, at-odds identities for those that like to stereotype, but commonly-occurring mutual states of existence for heads that actually observe. The MC’s self-referencing habits (like those found on his excellent 2009 LP, From Slaveships to Spaceships) feel like rap therapy sessions for Khingz, and edifying moral support for listeners who find themselves in the same beautiful category as him.
DOWNLOAD: “Something is Happening Here” – Spekulation
Click image to D/L.
There actually is something going on here. It’s a remarkable alchemy between the rugged flow of area MC Spekulation and legendary folk-ster Bob Dylan. Here, Spek interpolates Dylan’s “Ballad of a Thin Man” into rapped commentary on today’s multimedia-consumed culture. I think Robert himself would be please with the results.
Spekulation showed us his knack for crafty mash-ups (actually, call them “virtual collaborations”) on the previously released Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em (get it here), a reworking of Jay-Z vocal tracks with new, original backing by The Jason Parker Quartet.
Watch for Spek’s self-titled EP dropping on 1.10.12.
VIDEO: The Untitled Kondabolu Brothers Project (feat. Blue Scholars)
It’s fairly clear from this clip that Sabzi should be the (un)official third host of The Untitled Kondabolu Brothers Project, a semi-regular comedic freestyle session that occasionally features prominent guests (like Blue Scholars, for example).
For the uninitiated: Hari Kondabolu is an up-and-coming (sorry, I hate that term) comedian who has roots and connections in Seattle. Check out his steez, here. His brother, Ashok, is the third member of Das Racist; and if you don’t know who that is, well then why are you even reading this? Get out of here. Now. I’m serious.
(Via Blue Scholars’ tumblr.)
VIDEO: “Go Far” – J. Pinder (dir. by Jon Augustavo)
The official video for the track, “Go Far,” off J. Pinder’s Code Red.
NEW MUSIC: “Cadillac Spaceships” & “In The Morning” – NW Factory by Members Only
Click image to D/L.
Click image to D/L.
Check out these two joints from the Members Only hive-mind, and throw a few dollars their way while you’re at it. It’s for a good cause: a fund to help support label co-founder Rob Milliron’s recovery from heart surgery. Incidentally, I recently saw Big Rob (as he’s known) on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives last week (it was a re-run) and now have a supreme hankering for that clam linguini at Bizzarro Cafe in Wallingford.
More from the MO press release:
During the recently past Summer the Members Only mind squad came up with a concept for a show featuring 100% new and original music crafted by unique combinations of vocalists, be them emcees or singers, with producers. We dubbed the night NW Factory.
Today we are excited to present to you two of the songs that were made for the evening. We are going to be taking donations for downloads to go towards helping our business partner Rob Milliron with his medical bills. He was undergoing major reconstructive heart surgery at the time Factory was happening.
“Cadillac Spaceships” saw State of the Artist member Parker and Cloud Nice representer Jarv Dee teaming up to wreak havoc over a bubbling and bass heavy WD4D slapper. Play as loud as your neighbors can stand.
“In The Morning” shows off a Parker production complete with a vibrant synth line that is sure to set the mood. If that’s not enough listen to the sweet harmonizing courtesy of Mario Sweet. Sport N Life’s young gun SK along with Parker cap the tune off with some bars aimed to please the ladies.
NEW MUSIC: Unearthed – Wizdom & Epidemmik
Click album cover to D/L.
How often do you run through the entirety of a hip-hop album and come away feeling like you really know the cat who just spit lyrics in your ears for the last half hour or so? Not very, is my answer.
For those seeking some semblance of good old-fashioned honesty in their rap, I present to you Wizdom’s new EP, Unearthed. Along with producer Epidemmik, Wiz crafts down-to-earth anecdotes about his affinity for sneakers; his aversion to weed, alcohol and large crowds; and his unlucky-in-love travails with the fairer sex. Epidemmik’s colorful, soulful boom-bap is fresh and well-executed, and provides nice balance to Wizdom’s amiable flow.
On Unearthed, Wizdom holds a mirror up to himself and recites poetry about what he sees reflected back at him. It’s a brave exercise that offers rewards not only for him but observers of his documentation, as well.
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