Kevin Lavitt — frequent collaborator of Raz Simone and Sam Lachow — dropped a new single last week: “About Her” featuring raps by Dave B and vocals by Mario Sweet. It’s from Kevin’s forthcoming Planets. This one grooves and swings in all the right ways and is a testament to the bubbling R&B talent in Seattle.
The shortest distance between relative obscurity and the front page of Complex is a “Mustard on the beat, ho” audio watermark. Seattle’s Royce The Choice — simply “Choice” nowadays — hopped on Dijon’s 10 Summer label last year, popping up in a few spots on the (nearly) eponymous compilation record, 10 Summers.
Now, Choice has a mixtape to call his own: Rich Off Mackin. Okay, make that a co-mixtape; he shares rapping duties with Pushaz Ink recording artist RJ. It’s a moderately enjoyable party record, turnt and disrespectful in all the right places. And Choice shines in comparison to RJ, a rapper with dexterity but not much in the way of personality.
Of course 206UP prefers Choice before he dropped the “Royce The.” His concept album, Razorr Ramone with fellow Town native GMK, revealed Choice to be a big personality on the mic, conversational and casual, a bit like an updated version of Shock G less the kitsch and with added danger.
In any case, it’s dope that yet another Seattle MC is finding shine prominently outside of the area code, but disheartening as well because whenever you hitch your wagon to an already well-entrenched team there’s bound to be some diminished creative returns.
For a minute last year, Seattle became the center of the pop music universe based solely on the appeal of a pretty-good-for-hip-hop-karaoke indie smash hit. (Don’t worry Macklemore riders, I’m not forgetting the handful of Billboard sediment that got stirred up in the post-“Thrift Shop” tidal action. But I am saying the country wouldn’t know “Can’t Hold Us” in the same way if Mack hadn’t first rocked the faux tiger skin.)
Anyway…
The biggest irony of this unlikely shift in cultural orbit around the Upper Left was that even though the song in question was, in fact, a rap song, the city from which it emerged was never fully acknowledged as a “rap city.” Seattle as a bonafide center for hip-hop culture hasn’t been named as such in the Court of Public Rap Opinion. Of course we all know that’s unfair, especially if you’re a frequent reader of this blog, or, better yet, one of the many hard-working, nine-to-five wage-earners who also moonlights as a dope MC in the Town. Hip-hop grows wherever struggle lives, and that is to say everywhere. I know this, we know this. Blue Scholars, The Physics, Dyme Def, Thraxxhouse, and Moor Gang know this. But in a broader cultural context, half the battle in getting your town put on the hip-hop map is getting more than just a grip of outside observers to project that most nebulous of conditions upon you: Realness. Whatever that means.
Again, anyway…
In yet another corner of Seattle’s rap mini-verse stands Raz Simone. The Central District’s chief street reporter was busy in 2014 making moves with one of the most preeminent figures in rap music history. If you’re prone to making such subjective proclamations you could have said that, other than Macklemore, Raz was Seattle’s other “big story” in rap music in 2014. Since signing a creative partnership with 300 Entertainment Raz has been — in the parlance of our times — “on his grind,” touring with Strange Music’s Rittz and amassing a cadre of well-wishers, energetic collaborators and — very likely — straight dick-riders (hey, it comes with the territory). Raz’s “The Village” is equivalent to Macklemore’s Shark Face Gang, except that the latter’s import exists now only to stoke its fellow members’ enthusiasm for Mack. Shark Face Gang is the cult underwritten by Dr. Pepper. The Village, on the other hand, is still a natural resource. A resource that Raz himself knows is necessary should he wish to continue his ascent to music stardom.
Which brings us to Raz’s new video: “Macklemore & Chief Keef.” It’s true, Raz calls out Macklemore for not doing as much as he could to put his city on and that’s undoubtedly what internet commentators will obsess over. But Raz is savvy enough to know that charges of outright jilt are more complicated than that. He also knows that a particular contingent of folks in Seattle wish him to be the darker (pun intended) counterpoint to Macklemore — the real side of this 2-0-6 rap shit. (Again, whatever the hell that means.)
“My city thought I might part the sea open,” Raz proclaims here. But even a deal with Lyor Cohen and a national coast-to-coast tour hasn’t changed the fact that he’s “still in the field” in order to make ends meet. The further you get into this song, the more peripheral Raz’s displeasure with Macklemore becomes. There are grievances to be aired sure, but in the end it’s really only about what hip-hop’s political operatives have known all along: It’s the game, stupid.
Of course the greater lesson here is the natural attrition your creative vitality suffers as celebrity grows. The more number one hits Macklemore accrues, the more he becomes engulfed by the fake empire that his main collaborating partner preached about in a college art project. As celebrity grows, so too does the abstract nature of your persona. Jay Z, at this point in his career, is more of a story — an idea, really — than he is flesh and blood. Raz isn’t ignorant; he knows that’s how it works. My guess is that the venom he spits in “Macklemore & Chief Keef” is more a product of his frustrations over the reductive nature of ubiquity than the fact Macklemore might not be returning his phone calls.
In any case, the shit’s real, son.
The Brand Kings and EMP Museum Present: Through the Eyes of Art Black History Month kick-off event featuring The Value of Black Life artist showcase with appearances by Talib Kweli and Draze | EMP Museum Sky Church | Saturday, February 7, 2015
Words by Emery Desper. Photography by Rafael Ochoa.
OTOW Gang’s fearless leader KA.lil fronts this mixtape collection of tracks recorded over the course of the last three years. Fellow Operation Take Over the World crew members Massiah, Uce Wayne and Mic Flont reveal their West Coast rap affinities over a range of beats produced both in-house and jacked from classic source material. For our money the win goes to Massiah for his head-ringing “Crazy Asian Rapper Pt. 3” which does well in subverting the “all Asians are well-behaved” stereotype bolstered by racist-ass white people everywhere. Do you, bruh.
Left Coast MC and activist Bambu brought his fiery brand of protest party music to Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory last October as part of Brother Ali’s Home Away From Home Tour. 28HUNDRED sat down with Bambu backstage after his set to discuss a wide range of topics, including the release of his latest album Party Worker, events in Ferguson, MO, the nature of his work as a community organizer, and the camaraderie found on tour with Brother Ali.
About 28HUNDRED: 28HUNDRED is a media company formed by 206UP and Jae Change dedicated to producing original video content and in-depth, personality-driven interviews with some of your favorite artists. Stay tuned here for the latest 28HUNDRED productions.
Nacho Picasso gets back with a vengeance. From his Stoned & Dethroned album with Blue Sky Black Death. Shot and edited by Lea Godoy.
In which Lakehouse Ent’s BenadriLL travels to Sin City, only to find his first show in the 702 is cancelled. In true Lakehouse fashion, he makes the most of a crummy situation. “Sick & Tired” can be found on Ben’s latest, Under The Table.
Dave B with a new drop in his Loosies series: “Do That” is a fresh, upbeat track by Portland’s producer of the moment, Stewart Villain.
Underground rap hero Kublakai has a new EP out called Wheels Up. It is, by far, his most personal piece of work and, probably not incidentally, his best.
Over the course of nearly a decade, the rapper has become proficient at riding a beat — technically he’s on par with the best in town, dropping earnest bars that fall in line with the Grieves and Macklemores of the region. He does similar things lyrically on Wheels Up, but the difference here is that nothing sounds forced. In the past, some of Kubi’s Golden Era-influenced boom-bap was formulaic: one part 16 struggle bars, one part break beat, one part sticky hook.
It was his fun-loving persona, sense of humor and outright dedication to the hip-hop craft that kept Kubi from sinking to the middle of the backpacker pack. Not to say 206UP doesn’t fuck with the classic formula, but things were generally predictable, musically, when it came to a new Kublakai joint.
With Wheels Up, the MC allows his affinity for jazz to rise more prominently to the surface. It shows in the freewheeling nature of “Moan” (named for the artist’s all-time favorite song, “Moanin’,” by Charles Mingus). Likewise, the vibe on the standout party starter “Morning Light” is looser. Kub’s still in the pocket, but he’s letting out — emotionally, physically — more than he’s drawing in. Call this his Waiting to Exhale moment.
A SEATTLE HIP-HOP BLOG 