State Of The Artist drops their official full-length debut, Seattlecalifragilisticextrahelladopeness this Friday, 4.23.10, at Pravda Studios. Peep the flyer below. In the meantime, click here or below to download the track, “Hey Hey” (featuring P Smoov and Shaprece Renee) from the forthcoming album.
Fact: The mainstream continuously fails true hip-hop heads. It’s a body of water we’d rather not swim in, thank you very much. Mainstream hip-hop is full of disposable product and tepid pools of radio waste that doesn’t biodegrade, but just sits there festering, growing mold until the original fundamental organism no longer exists. Hip-hop in this form is unrecognizable. The mainstream is why your parents hate rap music.
Me and a friend went all Atlanta-brave last night and snuck our way into the sold-out K’naan and Wale show at The Fillmore, NYC. Those suckas have a separate “smoker’s section” roped off just outside the venue. The area has a separate entrance and everything — easy to infiltrate if you’re skinny and quick on the dash, FYI.
The show was notable because it was the jump-off for K’naan and Wale’s co-headlining US tour and, even though I’m not a huge K’naan fan, my friend wanted to pay tribute because she’s from Toronto, a city where K spent a good part of his life after immigrating from Somalia.
Anyway, the highlight of the show was when K’naan told the story of the first time he ever heard Illmatic, a formative hip-hop experience that I’m sure we can all recount with perfect clarity. The backing band started playing the song “New York State of Mind”, with K’naan rapping the first verse, and when he was done, this happened:
Needless to say, the roof nearly caved in. It was one of the greatest live hip-hop moments I’ve experienced. What made it so great is that The Fillmore is not a huge venue (capacity is probably a little more than The Showbox). Thusly, New York’s Finest (debatable) did not appear as a mere speck on the horizon, but a living, breathing slice of hip-hop history we could almost touch.
The moment served to remind me that live hip-hop is only truly enjoyable in small, intimate venues. I’ve had great experiences with other live music in large venues, but never hip-hop. Like K’naan’s rhymes, the lyrics are often intensely personal. The shorter distance they travel from the source, the greater the impact.
206UP.COM loves THEESatisfaction. Not only because of their immeasurable talent and fresh sounds, but because of their willingness to so boldly reach for what they believe in. Their commitment to the art of hip-hop and passion for music will propel them to places most other groups only dream of reaching. Exhibit A: The Black Weirdo Tour.
Here’s a website where you can donate money for the tour.
And here’s the tour flyer:
Tell a friend!
Here’s a not-so-bold prediction for Seattle hip-hop: The first half of 2010 will belong to Tay Sean and Jerm, the Beacon Hill duo that comprise Helladope, the spaced-out hip-hop/funk crew that had even the shyest of wallflowers acting the fool with their 2009 track, “Just So You Know”.
A young local cat looking to find his voice and place in Seattle’s crowded hip-hop market, Antbeezy, and fellow baby brethren like Brothers From Another, are looking to go straight from high school to the pros.
Success will probably be fleeting at first, but it should be interesting to see who emerges an All-Star. Download the first track, “The Becoming” off Antbeezy’s forthcoming mixtape of the same name:
(UPDATE: 2.18.10, 8:40 am) Antbeezy and BFA linked up for this track, “Holla.” A little something to look forward to at the 80’s Babies show tomorrow night. Click below to download:
BFA have already rocked a few shows around Town, but this one might be their best look yet. Catch Breez and Goonstar (and ‘Beezy, too) at the 80’s Babies benefit show in the U-District. According to this flyer, Macklemore and Blue Scholars will be there. Oh, word?! Check it out this week on the 19th!
You should hit this up. Here are three reasons why:
1. THEESatisfaction: Two dope ladies who will undoubtedly be responsible for planting Town Music’s flag on the national scene. If you don’t know, get hip.
2. Canary Sing: Ditto.
3. It’s LADIES NIGHT: And about damn time women who practice this art form called hip-hop with equal love and flair as their male counterparts get recognized with their own show. Matter of fact, f*ck that — start putting these women on the same bills with them dudes! I wanna see Lioness (of Canary) spit bars with Fatal Lucciauno.
PUT THESE WOMEN ON, NOW. That is all.
On 2.16.10 at the Highline Ballroom in Manhattan, Freeway and Jake One are having their (New York) Stimulus Package album release party. Sometimes living in NY has its benefits — okay, living in NY always has its benefits, but it’s especially great when a collabo like this goes down.
Free, for all his talent and quality discography, always seems just this shy of blowing. I think he’s been underrated his entire career. He’s the quintessential mainstream backpack rapper. I dig his sh*t, and always have.
And what can you say about local boy Jake One other than he’s the most well-known unknown producer in the game, and (I contend) one of the most versatile producers working today.
If you’re in NY on Feb. 16 hit up the Highline. I’ll definitely be there.
(The album packaging is f*ckin’ filthy, don’t you think?)
For those of us far-removed from Haiti, be it because of simply geographic location or because we have no personal relationships with Haitian folks or others who were in the country when the earthquake struck, we face a very different challenge at this time: the temptation to turn our backs on the crisis.
As the immediateness of the tragedy fades, and we turn on our computers and televisions every day, there is the temptation to pull away from the images. Through the dulling filter of news media and Twitter feeds we can allow the pain and suffering to become as real, or as make-believe, as we want. From the comfort of our living rooms we can choose to not pay attention. It’s uncomfortable to watch, and so easy to turn away.
It’s unnerving when disasters like this happen and those of us in a position of being unaffected are allowed that luxury. Everyone is guilty of simply ignoring humanitarian crises in communities far-removed from our own. We all do it every day — and not just with Haiti.
This is especially not the time to succumb to the temptation of turning away. Those of us fortunate enough to have not been personally affected by the earthquake (which probably constitutes the majority of this country’s citizens) have a different kind of personal responsibility during this crisis. The responsibilities of paying attention, supporting those who are affected, and then helping in some way, any way, possible. To do otherwise would be to fail ourselves and our fellow man.
Read the stories in the paper, look at the pictures, watch the videos online. Spend time recognizing how delicate and precious life is by acknowledging the recent event on a daily basis, and then pray for the strength and resiliency of those who experienced the earthquake, survived it, and are left to pick up the pieces.
Comfort our brothers, Sol and Khingz, and all of the other Haitian folks in the Seattle hip-hip community by supporting them and their families and then making a tangible difference through responsible contributions to the relief effort. Hopefully you’ve already done that. If not, start by attending this benefit show on February 4th at Neumos.
(For more about Sol’s involvement, read this article from The Daily UW.)
UPDATE (1.28.10, 9:45 pm): A clip of Sol and Khingz in the studio recording a song dedicated to the recent events in their home country.
The truth about Shabazz Palaces is, no one totally knows the truth. We are only privy to what the progenitors of the project have allowed us to know. The music has, for the most part, been allowed to speak for itself. And speak it will at the group’s first show in The Six. Don’t you dare miss it.
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