Today was a rough day. Friends were in town last night on their way back West on a cross country adventure. Their trip has been incredibly eventful to say the least. It was really good to see a few friendly faces and catch up with them at a bar where shots were two dollars and pitchers only ten. How we managed to spend over a hundred and sixty dollars is beyond me. Somehow I made it back home in time to get ready for school, threw on the first few garments I saw and happened to be decked out in all black.
Don’t make fun of me for this, but I felt pretty badass looking like Jay Z for the day. Made me realize that I haven’t been giving Hip Hop enough love in this space over the past few months. To make up for it, I’ve uploaded two wicked tracks for you wicked folk. Apollo Brown is an incredible producer worth noting. He is a member of The Left, but foremostly a Hip Hop producer and self proclaimed ‘Beat Maker.’ Prometheus Brown is the alter ego of Geologic, the MC of the Seattle duo Blue Scholars. A bit weird how those names work out eh.
I haven’t been giving Hip Hop enough virtual love lately through the blogosphere. Since I just flew a plane for the first time and I’m feeling quite like a gangster, I suppose there’s no better time than now. Here is a small collection of some of my fav’s and a few new tracks.
Mad, crazy love,
Grant.
I’ll start with my absolute favorite Hip Hop artist who happens to be from my twin city, Seattle. Mack will never ever cease to amaze me. If you haven’t heard of this incredible individual, take some time from your day to read about his story, seriously. It truly makes you appreciate the music he’s been cranking out recently and how open he is about the terrible experiences and hardships he’s had to endure. I had the pleasure of seeing him live a while back, and to everybody’s surprise, he threw in this new track in the middle of it all.
Since we`re on the topic of the Northwest Hip Hop scene, I may as well introduce to you the multicultural duo known as Blue Scholars. The group is made up of Iranian DJ/Producer Sabzi and Filipino MC Geologic. I don’t think the two could be paired any more perfectly. Sabzi constantly lays down the most amazing beats that could stand up on their own and Geo’s laid back style and meaningful lyrics could be straight out of a poetry book. Ever since I heard of these guys six years ago, they’ve been consistently laying down wicked tracks. Sabzi has even done a handful of remixes of a few of my favorites. Their most recent album Cinemetropolis is available on Bandcamp and should be downloaded by you immediately. I don’t think I need to do any convincing after you hear the tracks I’ve posted for you below.
Holistic is a Hip Hop trio formed Indianapolis but now based out of New York. These cats have been around for over a decade and continually crank out some sweet tracks. The reason I like these guys so much is that they stick to the raw, low budget, uncut sound of old school Hip Hop. Far too many new artists rely too much on a polished sound and expensive production. Fact of the matter is, I’m more impressed by the grungy looking MC on the street corner rapping about who walks by than Jay-Z.
A group of guys that have been together longer than Holistic are the boys from People Under The Stairs. The duo is made up of Thes One and Double K. This LA duo was formed way back in ’97 and have become an international sensation over the years. They have performed on every continent, with the exception of Antarctica, and have released seven critically acclaimed albums. Below is one of their most popular tracks from their album “O.S.T.” released in 2002. Hard to believe it is just as awesome a decade later.
If you can’t already tell, I really like Hip Hop groups as opposed to solo artists. I think that having multiple opinions and approaches to a song can seriously enhance the end result. It also helps keep things interesting since, let’s face it, one rapper’s specific flow can become a bit repetitive after a while. A Hip Hop group from right here in Vancouver have clearly avoided this problem. Up until last year the Sweatshop Union had seven members, but just before the recording of their most recent record, The Bill Murray EP, Kyprios decided to leave the group all together. It may or may not have something to do with him winning over a hundred grand from a local radio station’s contest for emerging Vancity artists, but that’s just me. The first track below is their major hit from 2009, and the second is off their most recent record without Kyprios.
I’m somewhat particular when it comes to the Hip Hop I listen to.
The beat of the song has to be slow enough that I can understand what the artist is actually trying to say. The samples to accompany the beat can’t be overpowering and I prefer laid back backgrounds. The majority of poets that I listen to are from the Northwest. It just so happens that the majority of rappers from this corner of the earth can fit that critique so easily and more often than not.
One of the biggest up and comers from just below my city is twenty four year old Grynch. Born in Seattle as John Overlie, he learned about Hip Hop at a very young age and desired nothing more than to be completely immersed in the culture. In his senior year of high school he released his first EP and since then he has released many more. Each has been a one up of the preceding project and as a cause of that, the world has surely taken notice. If you have yet to hear of this guy, get to listening.
Stay beautiful,
Grant.
Grynch – If Only ft. Macklemore
Grynch – Bar Time
Grynch – If Only ft. Sol
Grynch – Volvo
Bonus
Sol – Spliff Remix ft. Grynch, Prometheus Brown and Thig Nat
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Don’t make fun of me for this, but I felt pretty badass looking like Jay Z for the day. Made me realize that I haven’t been giving Hip Hop enough love in this space over the past few months. To make up for it, I’ve uploaded two wicked tracks for you wicked folk. Apollo Brown is an incredible producer worth noting. He is a member of The Left, but foremostly a Hip Hop producer and self proclaimed ‘Beat Maker.’ Prometheus Brown is the alter ego of Geologic, the MC of the Seattle duo Blue Scholars. A bit weird how those names work out eh.
somesortofmusic. 