In deciding to return to the yesteryear in support of some classic underground hip hop albums, my first stop is the Pacific Northwest, where some of the best hip hop in the country is being produced by groups like Blue Scholars, Common Market, Ohmega Watts, and Sweatshop Union. All of the aforementioned artists are primarily motivated by protest rhymes, educated by traditional conscious hip hoppers, and backed by the implementation of classical musical styles into their production.
Moka Only – The Desired Effect
Moka Only gained fame from his role with the legendary Canadian hip hop crew Swollen Members. Since most of the Members are from BC/Vancouver, I originally planned to talk about them during our Northwest tour. But after their dismal showing on “Armed to the Teeth” (seriously, what happened there? I can’t tell if they completely lost their minds or if it’s a hoax, Joaquin Phoenix style…)
November 14th, 2009 |
by el gringo rico |
published in
back to the basics, hip-hop, pacific northwest | 1 comment
Ohmega Watts – The Find
One guy we gotta make sure to check out before departing the beautiful Pac Northwest is the uber talented Ohmega watts. He’s a bit of tornado in terms of his origins: his parents were Jamaican and he was born and raised in Brooklyn and Queens. He then spent some time in Florida before settling down in Seattle. His diverse history appears to have had a positive impact on his vision towards hip hop: philosophic, spiritual, relaxed, and well versed.
November 13th, 2009 |
by el gringo rico |
published in
back to the basics, hip-hop, pacific northwest | 2 comments
Sweatshop Union – Water Street
The group’s latest album, Water Street, is awesomely refreshing. Listening to these guys gives you faith that (counter to what Talib might have reflected upon us in Reflection Eternal’s “Too Late”) hip hop is not dead.
November 2nd, 2009 |
by el gringo rico |
published in
back to the basics, hip-hop, pacific northwest | 2 comments
Common Market – Tobacco Road
In Common Market, Sabzi is paired up with MC RA Scion, who is slightly more aggressive than Geo in terms of his lyrics and political commentary. Scion rhymes with a reason, taking conscious hip hop to a whole different level than rhymers like KRS-One ever took it to.
November 1st, 2009 |
by el gringo rico |
published in
back to the basics, hip-hop, pacific northwest
blue scholars – self titled
Geo is also a spoken word poet in Seattle and Sabzi is also a classically trained jazz pianist. This unstoppable duo would have you saying “this is the best thing to come out of Seattle since Starbucks!” except for the fact that Geo openly criticizes big business and Starbucks specifically.
October 30th, 2009 |
by el gringo rico |
published in
back to the basics, hip-hop, pacific northwest
