The Big Apple and the Emerald City are trading hip-hop artists this week.

Seattle will receive Ghostface Killah in exchange for Blue Scholars, D. Black, Grynch, Champagne Champagne, THEESatisfaction, and a player to be named later (just kidding). And, from my point of view, while Ghost is a heavy-hitter and obvious future hall-of-famer, that deal seems kinda f*cked-up. Sounds like a trade Woody Woodward would’ve made (Heathcliff Slocumb, anyone?). Good thing it’s only for one day. The line-up goes like this:

On Saturday, 10.24.09, at Showbox at the Market, Ghostface Killah headlines a show that also features Town dudes They Live!, 503 feel-good outfit Animal Farm (who I’m pretending I’ve heard of, but in reality I just sampled their sh*t on Myspace — I like!), and 206 rapper Cheezaleo (who I won’t even pretend to be hip to).

A few weeks ago I finally took a listen to some of They Live!’s material (go to their blog here for a bunch of FREEBIES). They’ve been dubbed “weed rap” by a few local blogs and writers and, I must report, it’s true. They rhyme about (and presumably smoke) weed on a very consistent basis. I expected to be bored (and hungry). Surprisingly, I was not. They Live! are just good got-damn party music. And I should have known better than to doubt them, if only for the fact Seattle hip-hop renaissance man, Larry Mizell, Jr. is mixed-up in their shenanigans. Props to They Live!

This pic by Rabid Child Images and stolen by me from They Live!'s Myspace page.

Also on Saturday the 24th, and this time in NY (my current home, in case you didn’t know), Blue Scholars is scheduled to play the Duck Down NYC Showcase at The Gramercy Theatre in Manhattan. (I say “scheduled” because I’m hearing reports now that they might have backed out. As of this writing they’re still listed, but I’ll update if the opposite is confirmed. UPDATE, 10.20.09, 11:12 pm: a little Twitter told me that Geo will be there solo to rock a short set — and I’m not talking about the kind Fresh Prince buys at the mall in “Summertime.”) With ELEVEN different acts, this show will be bonkers. Click the photo below and check the list. I wonder how much stage time our dood will even see?

And finally, on the same night at The Suffolk, D. Black, Grynch, Champagne Champagne, and THEESatisfaction will play a Seattle showcase for CMJ. Here’s a good write-up on Publicola about the evening. How’s about that for an opportunity for Seattle hip-hop to shine?