I am all on-board for Pacific Northwest Hip-Hop.
Honestly - growing up in the promised land (Bellingham, Washington) I new there was a good music scene in the area, but was unable to catch many live shows due to the utter paucity of all-age venues. How tragic! Death Cab for Cutie was playing some of their first shows while I was in town, but I never caught them live. Yes, I have strolled Railroad and Holly, and still do every time I go back, but I regret that I never caught them live during those nascent years.
Now that I am far removed from the NW, it appears that all age venues abound and the local/regional music scene is as strong as ever.
One group that I am particularly excited about is Common Market. Made up of the Kentucky-raised(fried?) MC "RA Scion" and Blue Scholars DJ Sabzi, they blew me (and many others - including KRS ONE) away with their self-titled debut album in 2006. RA Scion already had a couple of solo efforts under his belt and Sabzi had received critical acclaim with his Blue Scholars project with MC Geologic.
Both members of the Baha'i faith, RA Scion and Sabzi market a brand of socially and spiritually conscious hip-hop. Just wait - it gets better . . . . they have new releases coming out soon!
Right now you can purchase Black Patch War, an EP gearing us up for the September release of the full length EP Tobacco Road - both out on artist-run Massline Media.
So - go buy them, listen, enjoy. These guys are great. I hope they break it big.
Add them to your collection!
Also, consider their associated act Blue Scholars (same DJ, different MC)
Oh man, I know what you mean! Listening to some of those Death Cab lyrics, thinking how many times I've been in those exact spots... I'm pickin' up what you're puttin' down, my man.
ReplyDeleteI love Blue Scholars, and I've recently gotten into Common Market as well. I love the unabashedly local flavor; it makes me feel special, or something. :)
Nice post, B. I like how you write about music.