Tacoma’s Rockwell Powers (MC) and DJ Phinisey (producer) highlight the Tacoma Murals Project — a grassroots art endeavor that seeks to nurture and cultivate the skills of adult artists in order to “transform public spaces, neighborhood identities and individual lives” — in their new video for “True (Heart Into It)” off their excellent album, Build. Good folks doing good things.
Tacoma’s Rockwell Powers and DJ Phinisey make great music with a humanist spirit. Their Build is important hip-hop from the South Sound; the clip for “Alive” was directed by Peter Berkley of The Art Dept.
“Two Sides” is the first track from Rockwell Powers and DJ Phinisey’s Build record to get the video treatment, courtesy of Portland’s Yusuf Word. Behind-the-scenes staging and live performance footage of the duo’s albums release party last fall are interpolated nicely.
Tacoma’s Rockwell Powers and DJ Phinisey released a brief new track called “101”, an outtake from their most recent collaborative effort, Build. It’s a perfect companion piece to that record, Rockwell and Phin speaking truth to power in a hardcore fashion. Check out the duo’s live, in-studio performance of “Denial” and “101” on KEXP below.
Rockwell Powers and DJ Phinisey have officially released their first full-length project together. Build is live and streaming below and available for purchase if you see fit. It’s by far Rockwell’s most soulful effort to date. He strikes a nice balance between the astute societal observations of his past work and just good ol’ hardcore rap shit.
Tacoma’s Rockwell Powers and DJ Phinisey are prepping for their upcoming release, Build, on October 12 at an album release party hosted by Grit City Grind House. Catch up with the 253 duo along with South Sound teammates The Brakelites and Seattle’s RA Scion. “Radio” is the latest single from the new album.
Tacoma’s Rockwell Powers and DJ Phinisey are gearing up to release a new record called Build this October. “Two Sides” is the first drop and with it comes this video, a compilation of photographs taken by Scott Haydon around the duo’s beloved city.
South Sound makers Rockwell Powers and DJ Phinisey are back in the lab and working on a new project together. The pair’s Kings & Comics EP from two years back highlighted strong boom-bap fundamentals and, according to Rockwell, the upcoming release will show a different musical side.
Click album cover to download.
DJ Phinisey is a name you might not be familiar with but should be. The man has done board work for a number of local artists (Tacoma compatriot, Rockwell Powers, being one of the most formidable) and he’s been known to croon a few bars when the beat calls for it, as well. Phinisey is his first solo release and features a healthy guest list of 206/253 talent: Grynch, RA Scion, Luck-One, John Crown, and Dice among them. Stream it and download for free below.
Click image to D/L.
New drop from 253’s Rockwell Powers and DJ Phinisey. Give thanks for life today like this.
A SEATTLE HIP-HOP BLOG 