The two best Seattle hip-hop albums of 2010 are region-specific. Def Dee and Language Arts’ Gravity is cloned from the DNA of mid-90’s New York City boom-bap. It’s a perfectly-penned love note to a definitive sound and era when millions of hip-hop heads came of age. The second album, Candidt’s Sweatsuit & Churchshoes, is a refreshing exercise in West Coast b-boy funk. The main complaint with Gravity may be it doesn’t bring innovation to its source material, yet the same can’t be said about Sweatsuit & Churchshoes. Candidt’s sprawling 21-track workout manages to find fresh ideas within a variety of West Coast sounds that came before it. It has one foot in Old School History Class and one foot in the New School hallway; its breadth of modification and manner in which the two schools are bridged are the album’s greatest attributes.
Tag: seattle show gal
DOWNLOAD: “H206” (Canary Sing)
Click above for Canary Sing's "The Beautiful Baby EP"
If you’ve ever followed the local rap community’s Twitter chatter, then you know it’s like a virtual fraternity up in there. Lots of dudes, saying dude-like things, posting up in dude-like poses in their profile pictures. That’s all well and good, but in a town that supposedly prides itself on being “progressive” and “liberal” and “open-minded,” you’d hope the X-chromosome would get its due shine in the club, too.
DOWNLOAD: “Don’t Look Back” (Jack The Ripper f/Prometheus Brown, Sol & Scribes)
Click photo above to download at Seattle Show Gal
Ever wonder what it would sound like if you dropped three Seattle emcees in a European nightclub, cued-up a techno-infused pop/dance track, and let them spit bars over it? Producer Jack the Ripper’s new single, “Don’t Look Back,” helps answer that question.
DOWNLOAD: “The Hustle” (D. Black)
Click here to download "The Hustle".
The transformation of D. Black — the man and the hip-hop artist — was well-documented locally in 2009. The philosophical shift between his debut album, The Cause and Effect, and his most recent LP, Ali’Yah, mirrored the shift taking place in the man’s life, and it was evident to anyone paying attention to the lyrics.
VIDEO: “Cloud Man” (Grieves & Budo)
The dynamic hip-hop duo, Grieves and Budo, are both a throwback to an earlier era (when the one DJ/one emcee ethic was the common practice in the music), and a conspicuously new school example of the far-reaching influence of hip-hop culture. Grieves (rhymes) and Budo (beats), are an archetypal sampling of how the culture has transcended race and class lines.
SHOW: Rhymesayers Presents Soundset 2010
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.
DOWNLOAD: “Circus Hounds” (Victor Shade)
In case you didn’t already know, rappers take their emcee names pretty seriously. Some almost have a different pseudonym for every t-shirt hanging in their closet. Local cats, however, have been mercifully spare when it comes to carrying more than one moniker. For Ryan Abeo (aka RA Scion), a new name is synonymous with a new musical direction.
DOWNLOAD: “The Town (Sabzi Remix)” (Macklemore)
When Macklemore dropped his single “The Town” late last year, it made a gentle but significant splash, sending ripples of 2-0-6 love all throughout the Puget Sound region. The track was a nice summary of rap’s local history, released at the close of a year that brought major vital progression in Seattle hip-hop.
DOWNLOAD: “Paul Valery” (Blue Scholars)
(Click here or above for the download link.)
When folks in this country think about the future, the privileged and well-to-do have the luxury of considering shiny spacesuits, hover-cars, and freeze-dried meals of prime rib and asparagus tips. The working-class, poor, and other marginalized groups of people, have other future fish to fry, however. Like contending with disparate opportunities when it comes to education, health care, and housing.
SHOW: Helladope @ Nectar Lounge on 3.12.10
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 SEATTLE HIP-HOP BLOG 