stonecriesout

Month 1: the hip-hop

As you can imagine, I have to keep the bus music pretty kid-friendly, so we have been on a steady rotation of Destiny's Child, Mariah Carey, Boyz 2 Men, Michael Jackson (& the Jackson 5), James Brown, and plenty of lousy pop-country hits from the radio.  In the meantime, I've picked up a few new albums while on the road, and I have to say: September wasn't a bad month for hip-hop.

My first purchase on the road was Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3.  Being a huge fan of his first Blueprint album, I had high hopes for Blueprint 3, especially considering the 2-disc misguided transition piece that was The Blueprint 2.  Since 2, he has released a bona fide classic (The Black Album - 2003), a somewhat forgettable comeback album (Kingdom Come - 2006), a themed-yet-dynamic pseudo-soundtrack pseudo-memoir (American Gangster - 2007), and now this.  I have to say I was thrilled in July when I first heard "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)," as I saw it as Jay using his power for good.  He has long been ahead of the trend, the fashionable, the popular--it seemed right that he would be the first mainstream artist to publicly defame the auto-tuned mess of radio material--and he never actually used the auto-tune himself.  How many guys who consider themselves relevant can say that?  Anyway, back to the album.
Not a classic.  Doesn't change the game the way Blueprint did.  But also not as forgettable as Blueprint 2.  Jay is a much different man and a much different artist than he was when he made those albums.  He has been CEO of Def Jam, he got married, he is currently seated as the most powerful MC alive, and he takes his roles seriously.  What he does on this album is good.  He rhymes well, he collaborates with other great artists (Alicia Keys, No ID, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams), invites new gifted artists (Kid Cudi, Drake, Rihanna), and tries his hand at some styles that aren't necessarily straight from the BK.  "On To The Next One" is my personal favorite of these--the beat sounds straight out of the Bay--like a Zion I or Grouch beat, complete with multiple switches.  Jay rides it effortlessly, though it does seem strange to have the NYC top-of-the-throat rhyme style over a beat that you'd typically hear a laid-back-basement-studio voice on.  It works, though.  I also applaud "A Star Is Born," in which Jay pays respect to most of the artists who have gotten big during his 13-year tenure at the Top.  You can hear how he views each of their successes, but what is most interesting to me is that each has faded away by now, and he has not.  He is still in the forefront, chronicling their eventual irrelevance.  I have a feeling that if Jay keeps grinding and staying ahead of the game as he has up to this point, we can expect many more good things from him before he finally calls it a career.

The other new album I am excited about is Kid Cudi's album Man On The Moon: The End of The Day.  I knew Cudi from his work on Kanye's 808s & Heartbreak (which I really liked and wrote about in this post), but I didn't really know what to expect from his first full album.  I wasn't thrilled when I heard "Day N Nite" on the radio this Summer, but it grew on me, and I could tell Cudi was striving for creativity and newness in his music.  I've had the album for a week now, and I can't stop listening to it.  It certainly fits the title: it sounds like the digitalized, romanticized trip to the moon.  The "Lonely Stoner" chronicles his romantic mishaps, his escapist tendencies, and all the while balances a mellow feel with a charismatic sense of humor.  He doesn't try too hard to be "different," because he really is doing something that nobody else is doing right now.  You can hear some flashes of 808s & Heartbreak, but it doesn't deter from Man on the Moon as much as it does clarify some of the genius behind 808s.
Like I said, "Day N Nite" wasn't my favorite, but "Soundtrack 2 My Life" pulled me in, and no tracks made me want to back away.  I recommend this album to anyone who is seeking hip-hop that rejects the formula.

I also am enjoying:
Q-Tip: Kamaal the Abstract

I am having fun with:
Busta Rhymes: Back on My B.S.

I am already semi-bored with:
Drake: So Far Gone

Thanks for checking in, everyone!  Any recommendations?

My 24th Year: the Hip-Hop

As many readers may know, I "turned" 24 years old last Sunday.  I'm not much in to my birthday, but I do pay attention to birthdays and other annuals as points of reference in seeing growth and change.  I thought I'd write a few posts sharing some of my favorites from my 24th year (because, as we all know, we "turn" the age we are at the end of living that year).  This one will be about some of my favorite music released this year.

We all know that I am an apologist for Hip-Hop music, and while 2008-2009 was a "slow" year for some of my usual suspects, we did see some exciting new artists and some breakthrough albums from familiar names.  We also saw some drastic changes in style from some popular names.

My favorite new artists have to be: the Knux (Remind Me In 3 Days - 10/08), K'Naan (Troubadour - 01/09), and N.A.S.A. (The Spirit of Apollo - 02/09).

I know I'm not the first to make this comparison, but the Knux could be to New Orleans what OutKast has been to Atlanta.  The Katrina-displaced brothers remind me of why I love the Big Easy--so much eclecticism, all naturally wound-up in angst and a spirited cynicism that doesn't give in to jadedness.  Their entrenched knowledge of american music combined with their poly-rhythmic MPC freak-outs make for some outrageously fun tracks that both brothers match with their versatile rhyme patterns and buoyant (if sometimes dark) themes.  Check it out if you want to be totally confused yet totally entertained all at once.

K'naan's story begins with his upbringing in Mogadishu, Somalia during their civil war--but it definitely doesn't end there.  He spent his teens in Toronto, and emerged as a spoken-word poet.  To be fair, he did release The Dusty Foot Philosopher (06/05) to wide critical acceptance, but outside of the smaller circles he was running in, nobody as far away as the West Coast was hearing it.  K'naan sings, raps, and altogether defies un-hyphenated genre distinction.  You can call Troubadour alt-reggae, reggae-hop, whatever you want.  He exudes Marley's soul, Wyclef's fire, Akon's appeal, and k-os' funk.  That's not to say he should be compared to any of those artists, but he is that interesting.

N.A.S.A. stands for North Amerca/South America, and is a collaborative project by DJs Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon.  They both operate out of LA, but as Zegon is Brazilian, they decided to mash-up their two native sounds and make an album.  The sound has been called "Brazilian funk," but don't pay attention to that.  It's Hip-Hop, with some new rhythms we Americans aren't necessarily used to, and a lot of horns and crazy singers.  Best of all, the MCs and singers they collaborate with: Chali 2na, Gift of Gab, Chuck D, Method Man, E-40, RZA, KRS-One, Fatlip, the O.D.B., Kanye West, M.I.A., Del tha Funkee Homosapien, The Cool Kids, Ghostface Killah, Scarface, Santogold, George Clinton, Seu Jorge, and my personal favorite: Tom Waits.  Also appearing are some legendary DJsL DJ Qbert, Kool Keith, Z-Trip.  SO much fun.

Some of the usual suspects came around and dropped new albums in my 24th year, and they were: The Roots (Rising Down - 04/08), Common (Universal Mind Control - 12/08), and Kanye West (808s and Heartbreak - 12/08).

The Roots dropped Rising Down less than two years after their CLASSIC album Game Theory (08/06), and I have to admit that my expectations were high.  I saw that Mos Def, Common, Talib Kweli, Dice Raw, Truck North, and Malik B. were featured on the album, and that bolstered the hopes even more.  I should have known that they wouldn't match the dark funky miracle that was Game Theory.  Nevertheless, Rising Down features Black Thought at his very best, especially when listening to "@ 15" (which is a recording of Thought freestyling at age 15--"I have black thoughts/so my name's the same") and "75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)" back-to-back.  BT's command of the language is in full display, as it was in past hook-less tracks like "Thought at Work" (Phrenology) and "Web" (The Tipping Point).  Ultimately, the 10th album from the Legendary Crew is solid and while working through more politics, nihilism, addiction, and hypocrisy, it never depresses.

Common disappointed me with Universal Mind Control.  Okay, let's back up.  He disappointed me back when he dropped Finding Forever (07/07).  But since he has a tendency to go up-and-down with each album, I expected that he would pick it up--which isn't crazy, right?  Well, I was disappointed.  Too many songs about sex, too little discussion of what's actually happening in the world, too much Neptunes, too little of what is left from the Common Sense days.  The single "Universal Mind Control" is a loose remix of "Looking for the Perfect Beat" (Afrika Bambaataa), and is ridiculously infectious.  Unfortunately the album never builds around it.

Kanye West.  Remember when I wrote this about Yeezy?  Me too.  But hey--let's all try to suspend our judgment of his past and examine 808s and Heartbreak by itself.  Is he still in love with his reflection?  Yeah, sure, probably.  The comparisons with Narcissus could go on all day.  But let me get one thing straight: This Album Fascinates Me.  For so many reasons.  Let's look at the artist first: Genius.  Sonically, did with The College Dropout and Late Registration what so many have been trying to do before and since.  Everyone you hear now has a little Kanye in them (or at least tries to).  Nevermind the million collabos he did on albums for Jay-Z, Dilated Peoples, Slum Village, Lupe Fiasco, etc., you get the idea.  So what does it mean when after Kanye drops a pitiful pseudo-pop-electronica album I won't even name in this post, he drops an album that gets buzz for what he doesn't do on it: rap, or use samples in his production?  It means....he sings with an auto-tuner, and produces purely out of reorganized sounds?  Umm...what?  Granted, the 808 has long been a staple of hip-hop, and the auto-tuner is as much a part of hip-hop's current mainstream sound as the digital clap (thanks a bunch, Akon and T-Pain), but this sure seems to be a boring stretch for the self-proclaimed "Best International Male" to Barack Obama's "Best Interracial Male."  Let me just tell you: give the album a chance.  This is the way hip-hop is going.  Clearing samples is getting to be such an impossible business--totally de-regulated, full of shady lawyers, greedy obscure producers from the '70s.  Artists now are draining their entire production budgets on clearances, and have no funds left for studio time or for bringing in artists to collaborate with.  So the only way to stay in the black is to forgo samples.  The only problem is that most people left to their own devices with their 808 or MPC make boring, plastic-y sounding music.  The challenge is to create a digital sound that translates well in to the live show.  Kanye succeeds.  "Love Lockdown" and "Heartless" (the two lead singles) seem simplistic, but wait until you see them in full orchestration, played by the instruments that the sounds he used were derived from.  You'll be dancing.

As far as the auto-tuner goes, it does add to the over-digitalized sound that pervades popular music now, and I can't defend it.  It's there to auto-tune because the singer can't tune himself.  It fits with the sound he's got on the tracks, but that's about the best thing I can say about it.

What I will defend is Kanye's lyrical expression.  After losing his best friend and Mother in 11/07, and then splitting up with his long-time girlfriend and fiance of 18 months 7 months later, it sure sounds like he just locked himself in the studio and made this album.  It's true, I believe, that suffering breeds creativity, and Kanye had to suffer here while making this album.  Having split up with a long-time girlfriend myself just before this album released, I connected with Kanye's confusion, his pain, his self-doubt, but ultimately his belief that he could go on.  That's going to come off pretty cheesy, but if you've broken up before, you know what I'm talking about.

I am giving 808s and Heartbreak some time to determine how relevant I think it is to hip-hop overall.  Hip-hop doesn't really seem to know what to do right now, and I see 808s as Kanye stating his case for where it could go.  Nobody will argue what his influence has been--now we will just have to wait to see what his influence still can be.

Along with those albums, I really enjoyed the return of the Abstract: Q-Tip (The Renaissance - 11/08), the long-awaited full-length from what's left and still rapping from ATCQ.  Deft and non-stop rhymes layer the updated drum-and-bass style that once was ATCQ trademark on "Won't Trade" and "Manwomanboogie."  Overall, a fun album, and a welcome release from an ageless personal favorite of mine.

I should also mention T.I. (Paper Trail - 09/08), which is a surprisingly revealing and apologetic album from a gifted M.C. on his way to the Penitentiary.  Check out "Ready for Whatever," "No Matter What," and "Dead and Gone" to hear his side of his latest charges, and prepare to be convinced that he is truly on his own road to redemption.

Also to be heard: Grandmaster Flash (The Bridge - 03/09)!!!!  Yes, you read that right.  Flash is back!  Far from being the most innovative of this decade, Flash nevertheless displays his trademark precision and creativity with the resources he is given.  Every song bleeds NYC adrenaline, carried through the late '70s, '80s, '90s, and all the way to 2009 through Flash's fingertips on the turntables he still spins.  He brings in legends: KRS-One, Q-Tip, Big Daddy Kane, Grandmaster Caz, Busta Rhymes.  He brings in underground superstars: MC Supernatural, DJ Kool, Mr. Cheeks.  He brings in relative unknowns....he does it all.  Overall a VERY fun album from the one and only GMF--you won't be disappointed.

That was the best hip-hop of my 24th year.  I'm sorry for not mentioning the new Nas album, but ya know....I'm not a big Nas fan.  Heard the album, it was interesting, now I forgot about it.  That's my review.

I'm looking forward most to a new Mos Def album in my 25th year, and maybe some new projects out of the Quannum Crew.  Haven't heard from Blackalicious in a while!  Would love to hear something out of the Coup, Jurassic 5, even dead prez.  I'm curious what they have to say about our black president.

Check back for more of my favorites from my 24th year!

Kanye West's "Graduation" = Disappointment 2007

A full review is forthcoming, but just know that today, September 11th, 2007, Kanye West released the most disappointing album I have heard in years.  I need to give it a few more listens before I can write a post, but just listen closely yourselves and see what you think.

I'm wondering if perhaps Hip-Hop could actually be dead.  The evidence is piling up.

-hvc

"Your career is a typo, Mine was written like a Haiku"

July 31st was a day that I was personally anxiously awaiting for months.  Truthfully, I have been awaiting that day for over two years, ever since my mind was blown when I picked up Common's last album, "Be."  Like nearly every other reviewer I have read in the last few weeks, I cannot review "Finding Forever" without first commenting on "Be."  "Be" was a classic--no dispute.  Common's first classic was invariably "Resurrection", produced by fellow Chicagoan No I.D., who later would happen to mentor a certain young artist named Kanye West.  After Kanye got done making himself a mainstream juggernaut, he got back down to business and put together "Be."  To keep things short, Kanye & Common continued what Common had started with No I.D. over a decade earlier.  The expectations for "Finding Forever" were precariously high.

The album is 12 tracks long, and begins with what we know to be Common at his best.  In "Start The Show," Com tears down all those faceless, soulless rappers that only feed off hip-hop and don't respect it.  His bluntness has been misunderstood before, and it has happened again here on this track, when he declares, "12 monkeys on stage, you can't tell who's the gorilla/you was better as a drug dealer."  I've read reviews stating that Com is calling fellow Black Americans "monkeys" and "accepts drug trade as a justifiable means over music."  Come on, that's nonsense.  Watch BET for 15 minutes and you'll see exactly what Com is so angry about.  They are making a living mockery of what he holds so dearly.  Com's tenacity shines on this track, along with "Southside," "U, Black Maybe," and "The Game," all in which he satisfies his fanbase who appreciate it when he shows he's not just Mr. Sensitive.  Listening to "Southside" for the first time was the most fun four minutes I've had all month.  He and Kanye trade punchlines over a crazy beat that just makes you want to jump around and pump your fists like crazy.  "The Game" was produced by DJ Premier, and is Primo doing what Primo does.  Sick little drum breaks over grimy bass-lines and chopped-up hooks.  Other guest artists are few, but that's the way I like it.  Com can carry the album on his own.

Most I've talked to have either heard "The People" or seen the video, showing him walking around Chicago, hugging and giving daps to strangers.  Personally I think the video is a little contrived, but the song has been well-received.  Some critics hail it as a follow-up to "The Corner," and while it may very well be so, I don't think they fit together.  "The Corner" was about bringing hip-hop back to it's citizens (did you listen to the Last Poets on it, or what?).  "The People" was about being hip-hop for it's citizens.  At least, that's how I take it in. So while they might seem related, I'd rather keep them separate.

The only criticism I have of the album is that there are too many love songs.  This is a typical criticism of Common.  Almost half of the album is written toward women/a woman!  This is too many, despite the fact that one of my favorite unique traits of his is that he presents an authentic expression of his confusion and emotions concerning relationships with women.  Some people will criticize his promiscuity while ignoring the reality of celebrity, and still others will see his authenticity as a lack of masculine strength.  I'll defend him against both of those attacks, but my personal taste (and most of those of his fanbase) were looking for him to tear the mic up, rather than lament over heartbreak.  Or at least, if he was going to spill his heart out, don't sprinkle in street classics among an album of emotional release.  That combination confuses me and diminishes the power of the individual songs by association with the others and the lack of fluidity of the album.

Overall I still recommend "Finding Forever."  I cringe when I think about my company selling it in it's stores (believe it) and NOT playing any tracks from it on the overhead music selection (b.s.!), but if more Yuppies and Zippies picked up a Common album every once in a while, maybe some of the arbitrary criticisms of hip-hop can slowly be diffused.  If I had a rating system, I would say that it is an Excellent album--not a Great album, and not a Classic.  But still Excellent.  Enjoy it.

                                "you can tell the real by how the real interact
                                            in the middle of wack"
                                                    -common
                                                    (the game)

Blackalicious show!

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Blackalicious show!

Hey all you wannabe hip-hop heads! Blackalicious is rolling in to town and playing a show at the Nightlight on Monday the 28th! If you are at all interested in hip-hop, come to this show. Perhaps you are like me and you already love Blackalicious and the Quannum crew. If that is the case, you'll be happy to hear that Blackalicious are bringing their own openers, which are probably up-and-coming Quannum artists. So come check it out! If you want a preview, I have a DVD of Blackalicious performing in Seattle. So come check that out if you want!

Tickets are $22, available at the Nightlight, Avalon, and various other establishments. You can check out the Nightlight's website if you want more info.

ALSO!!!!

The Nightlight just posted a show for June 15th! None other than GZA (the Genius) from the Wu-Tang Clan! If you aren't familiar with the Clan or GZA's solo work (start with Liquid Swords), then GET familiar! And them come to the show with me! Not too often that Bellingham gets any New York hip-hop.....

Gutterfly: the Original Soundtrack

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Gutterfly: the Original Soundtrack

Yesterday, Portland's finest, the Lifesavas dropped Gutterfly: the Original Soundtrack. I can immediately say that this concept album has not only a smoother listening flow than Spirit in Stone, but the production of the individual songs are far more complete. Spirit in Stone was like most debut albums for gifted hip-hop artists: a collection of excellent songs. With Gutterfly, JUMBO, Vurs, and Shines have given themselves the extra challenge of telling a story in film format, with only songs. They take on alter-egos throughout, but remain true to the essence of their hip-hop chemistry. Through only one listen, I heard references to Public Enemy, Tupac, Wu-Tang Clan, and many other lesser-known MCs. They don't bring in any other Quannum MCs which is odd, but they do have a wide collection of other underground stars like dead prez and Smif 'N Wessun. They even bring in Seattle's own Jake One to produce a few tracks, and if we know Jake One it is probably from his work on Gift of Gab's 4th Dimensional Rocket Ships Going Up, or his recent work with E-Real as Universoul. If you are an early fan of hip-hop this album probably wasn't made for you. I feel it was probably made for hip-hop heads, heads enveloped with headphones, hands busy scratching out hopeless rhymes, feet tapping to the snare. But it's great listening--so give 'er a spin!

The Lifesavas are celebrating their album release in Seattle on May 9th, at Neumo's. While Neumo's isn't exactly my favorite venue, the Lifesavas put on a great show (I've seen them twice) and it should be a ton of fun. There is a 21+ bar area and an all-ages area too, so everyone should come down with us and get crazy!

LB/Coup/AbCreole = hip-hop

Monday, March 12, 2007

LB/Coup/AbCreole = hip-hop

www.thecoupmusic.net

www.lyricsborn.com

On Saturday, March 3rd, I saw one of the better hip-hop- shows I've been lucky enough to see. Two of my favorite artists at the same show! Quite a steal for $17. I've been listening to the Coup for 10+ years now, after I got their second album, Genocide & Juice. Lyrics Born I have gotten to know through the Quannum crew. I have all their releases except the Coup's Kill My Landlord, their hard-as-hell-to-find first LP. Opening for them was Abyssinian Creole, the two-man team of Seattle legend Gabriel Teodros and Brooklyn emcee Khingz Makoma. Gabriel is a recent addition to the Massline Media crew, hooking up with the Blue Scholars and Common Market. I saw all three of these artists perform on WWU's campus last fall, and all three rocked pretty hard.

AbCreole set things off right--some crazy storytelling and much political inflammation laced in to smart, jazz-induced beats. I'm not sure who does the production for AbCreole, but it sounds like the NW for sure. Gabriel is a gifted storyteller with a lot to say. Khingz Makoma has some crazy energy and has a lot of fun rocking a mic. Get your hands on Gabriel's brand new release Lovework if you want to learn something, and have some fun while you're doing it.

The second group up was the Coup--let me just mention that I've been waiting to see Boots step on stage in front of me for 10 years now. He is one of the most intelligent and strong-willed emcees (dare I say) ever; and besides that, he's a gifted lyricist and one funky badass man. The Coup is made up of Boots and his DJ, Pam the Funktress. Pam doesn't tour, so Boots brought along a 3-piece band (electric guitar, bass, drums) that had so much energy sometimes it looked like they would spontaneously combust. They ran through almost all the tracks from their newest release Pick A Bigger Weapon, but also picked up some of the best tracks from Party Music, Steal This Album, and ended the show with the classic "Fat Cats, Bigga Pimps" off of Genocide & Juice. The Coup is straight up funk-induced, bass-heavy, high-energy, Oakland/Bay area (civil disobedience--"I'm from the land where the Panthers grew/you know the city and the avenue"), pro-Black love, vicious lyricism. They mince no words and pull no punches. The Coup is absolutely necessary for hip-hop, and subsequently, America.

After the Coup rocked my world (and my eardrums), the one-and-only Tom Shimura aka. Lyrics Born took the stage with the touring band he's assembled: electric guitar, keyboards, drums, and a rock-star bassist. LB (like the rest of the Quannum crew) is known for his infinite amount of energy to get the crowd up when he blesses the mic. Not just an emcee, not just a singer, not just a beatmaker, LB is a super versatile artist who keeps you interested through an entire album, or in this case, live show. His first album Later That Day.... almost transports you to the San Francisco/Berkeley part of the bay. The cooled-out funk and soulful lyricism just takes you back (if you've been there, you know what I'm saying). His second album, Same Shit, Different Day, is a partial remix album with new tracks intertwined in. He mixed up his set mostly, playing songs from both recordings, and also a couple of tracks he recorded with Lateef the Truth Speaker, as the legendary Bay area connection Latyrx. LB's got a live album out now called Overnite Encore, which has a show he did in Australia and a few new tracks. It's worth picking up if you like his first two albums. All that I heard about LB's live show was true. Crazy energy, he mixes it up, and of course his tracks sound great live, which is something you don't always find. His band was really talented as you could tell, and his young bassist nearly stole the show. LB also brought up Joyo Velarde, a solo singer signed to Quannum Projects, and their chemistry was great. You can see she shares the same sense of humor but profound sense of self that makes all the Quannum guys great.

The only thing left to mention is that Neumo's, the venue in Seattle, BLOWS. It's a big awkward room with no real great sight lines, and it's basically a hole in the ground off Broadway and Pike. If you have to make a decision between a show there or elsewhere, take your chances elsewhere. It didn't feel like a show, it felt like a big converted basement with bigass speakers.

So check out Lyrics Born, definitely check out the Coup (that is, if you want to get smarter....find out some of the 5 million ways to kill a c.e.o., for example), and don't check out Neumo's. Give AbCreole some love too. Peace.

-hvc

Lifesavas show!

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Lifesavas show!

The Lifesavas played a show at the Nightlight here in Bellingham on Friday, February 23rd. I must say that the Lifesavas might be my favorite Quannum Projects group to see live. Blackalicious, Pigeon John, and Lyrics Born all have crazy energy, but I think I connect the most with the Lifesavas performance style and lyrical themes.

Opening for the Lifesavas were two Seattle hip-hop legends! First was Universoul, the newest project taken on by the one and only E-Real, formerly of the foremost underground Seattle hip-hop crew, Black Anger. E-Real speaks from the perspective of the Black American Working-Class Male, and voices the frustration of a trapped proletariat. His presence was felt as soon as his lyrical viciousness started pumping out. As E-Real put it though, he is now 32 years old and feels that he should give up his street name and start to be known by his given name, Asim. So, call him Asim.
After Asim got things started off right, the one and only Boom Bap Project took the stage, 2 MC's and 1 DJ, my favorite hip-hop formula. Three fellas who I always thought were black turned out to be everything but. So that was weird. Boom Bap kicked some crazy rhyme patterns (though mostly not understandable at first listen), and had really strong presence. Destro would fly all over the stage and get in people's faces, while Karim would just flow crazy and wave his big belly around. A lot of fun. I picked up their album Reprogram at the show, to accompany their first LP, Circumstance Dictates.

Finally the Lifesavas took the stage. I had seen them once before, at the legendary 4/20 show at the Showbox last Spring (w/PJ, Fatlip, & Blackalicious w/Lateef), and was blown away by them then. The Lifesavas weren't even on tour this time--Vursatyl & DJ Rev. Shynes came up from Portland, and Jumbo (the Garbageman) flew in from the Bay area just to play this one show. I actually ran in to them a couple hours before the show in Fred Meyer and well, that just made me excited.
They kicked off the show with a couple familiar songs from their album Spirit in Stone, and then went right in to songs off their brand-new album "Gutterfly," due out April 24th. I must say that their new music sounds Incredible--they are definitely creating more complete tracks since their debut. Vursatyl is what his name says he is: a very, very versatile MC. He has an infinite number of rhyme patterns, and he can use them to say anything he chooses. He possesses of my favorite MC qualities: in just 2 bars, he can make you want to laugh, cry, change, and dance, all at once. He is a real big guy and holds his presence hard. Jumbo is both an MC and a producer, and you can tell that he knows the structure of his music and sticks to it hard. His rhyme styles are more structured than Vursatyl's, but less creative. Nonetheless, he still speaks a lot of truth in every line. Jumbo's presence is probably what captivates me to the Lifesavas' shows the most. You can tell he has so much respect for hip-hop music, and couldn't live any other life than the one he's living now. Vursatyl's love for hip-hop is also blatant, and seeing that in them is inspiring.
After some old songs, some new songs, and some crazy songs, they finally talked a bit about their stances politically regarding the Iraq war. They have family there and are told that the U.S. presence there is unnecessary and disruptive, and that we need to pull out as soon as possible. That garnered much cheering and led smoothly in to what is probably my favorite song of theirs, "Resist." ("Take a risk! Raise your fist!") They ended the show with basically that and a little live thing they do to show off their DJ, Rev. Shynes. They killed the show and bounced out right after.

If you are looking around at hip-hop that is real, and is searching for truth, the Lifesavas are it. The Portland trio is a lyrically (and sonically) gifted crew with crazy energy and can bless the stage with the best of them. Check 'em out.

PJ Show

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

PJ Show

Pigeon John

Last night I saw Pigeon John open for Subtle at the Nightlight here in Bellingham. His crazy energy and humor combined with his always-improving rhymes made for a really great show. He was accompanied by a live drummer, and another fella playing an acoustic guitar and keyboards. The songs he chose ranged from the albums "Pigeon John...Is Dating Your Sister" (2003) to "Pigeon John...Sings The Blues" (2005), and a whole bevvy of hits from his newest album, "Pigeon John...And The Summertime Pool Party" released last Summer. He danced, joked, rapped, sang, even played a little guitar himself. If you haven't heard any of PJ's work, let me know and I'll hook you up with some tasty treats. Also, you can check out his website http://www.pigeonjohn.com. I recommend picking up Pool Party and Sings The Blues to get you started too. You will be hard-pressed to find another MC who so smoothly blends humor, skill, spirituality, energy, and humility as well as PJ does. Enjoy.

-HVC