Sol and director Noah Porter released the video for “People,” one of two songs from the rapper’s mid-February double single release, “People/Pages.” This well-shot, dramatic clip finds Sol mired in an existential crisis of sorts, torn between a desire for solitude and human companionship.
On the eve of the release of Macklemore Privilege & Chief on Keef Violence — his second album of 2015 — Raz Simone drops the song and video “Them” which functions as the rapper’s own paean to a so-called “post-racial America.” Much of Raz’s output the past few weeks has been antithetical in nature, directly adhering to the titles of his last two albums, Cognitive Dissonance Parts 1 and 2.
Is “Them” meant to diffuse some of the incendiary power balled up in the word “nigger?” Or is the track meant to illustrate the exact opposite: to upbraid the word’s usage among those to whom it was never intended to be directed? Perhaps it’s a little of both. In either case, Raz, Fatal Lucciauno and a marching, armed mass of children dressed in black pose a formidable affront to the sometimes milquetoast Seattle rap landscape.
Brainstorm pulls the ol’ body-in-the-back-of-the-trunk trick again. Tiresome. Directed by AK Romero and produced by Blap Gang.
Thaddeus David lays down “Ouncez” behind visual psychedelia courtesy of director (and frequent photographer for 206UP) Rafy Ochoa. From TH’s Parallels EP.
In “Same Problems,” Raz Simone continues to give musical life to oft-aired frustrations within the Seattle hip-hop community — including among its observers, listeners and fans — that don’t typically find their way onto wax; at least not in the full-bodied way displayed in this and other recent clips. There are a grip of reasons as to why that is, and they are as intertwined as an iPod headphone cord buried at the bottom of your backpack.
“Same Problems” (which features cameo bars from Gifted Gab and Fatal Lucciauno) goes beyond the tired “rap beef” label that many folks will want to place on it, and exposes a hierarchy — musical, cultural, economical, and, not least of all, racial — that everyone knows exists but is afraid to discuss openly. How do we grow beyond the stale dialogue that permeates the majority of discussion surrounding hip-hop in the Town? Only one is truly eating right now, and whatever trickles down from his mouth is just crumbs.
Expect to hear more on this topic on Raz’s upcoming Macklemore Privilege & Chief on Keef Violence EP coming March 3.
“The places you get broken are the places you get strong.” – Gabriel Teodros.
GT’s new video for “Greeny Jungle” (featuring Shakiah and produced by SoulChef) is a vital entry in Seattle’s #BlackLivesMatter protest movement. From Gabe’s excellent Evidence Of Things Not Seen.
Black Umbrella, musical home to Seattle movers and shakers Raz Simone and Sam Lachow, have recently been unveiling projects by other artists under their canopy. Producer-singer Kevin Lavitt will soon release his debut EP, Planets, and rapper-singer Magik holds court this week with his debut music video and single, “Long Run.” His face and voice will already be familiar to fans of Black Umbrella as he’s appeared in the videos “Action Figures” and “Good Reasons.”
“Long Run” is a concise, soulful statement of Magik’s musical goals with insight into a turbulent past and a hope for a brighter future. Co-produced with BU’s in-house maestro, Jake Crocker.
Graves33 drops ill lyrical science from a higher esoteric plane than most Seattle rappers of similar ilk. His brief but affecting Survive EP went live earlier this month. The highlight here is the anti-police brutality gut punch “Pelicula Tocino” (featuring Dox and Araless of Black Magic Noize), which will leave you nauseous and fucking pissed off — exactly where you should be concerning such states of affairs.
Watch the music video for “I Hope You Comprehend” (featuring Thaddeus David), below.
Seattle-based rapper Donte Peace built with Los Angeles-based director Kenneth Wynn for “God Body,” a joint from Peace’s recent Locals Only EP. Donte remains a refreshing and unpredictable MC, able to hold your attention with his lyrical movements that feel like stream-of-consciousness but also contain hidden complexities.
Seattle has a Drake problem and his name is Ryan Caraveo. Hello, emo (or is that hella emo?) could be the subtitle to Ryan’s latest clip, “Paradise” (directed by Chris Volkmann). Like Drake’s best material, this music only lives in the present, serving to make us feel something, anything, like, right now. Everything’s well-lit, but then so is the produce section at Whole Foods. Ryan — and his new album, Swings — was built for mass consumption.
A SEATTLE HIP-HOP BLOG 