I hope you caught Oldominion's homecoming show at Chop Suey Tuesday the 3rd--and sorry I didn't getcha word of that in the last column. Fresh off tour, Sleep, JFK, Siren's Echo, Pale Soul, Bishop I, and Smoke returned to the great Northwest to do the damn thing. Opening were the seriously buzz-heavy rockers the New Mexicans and the Saturday Knights--a new group comprising Ol-D'sBarfly, Tilson of the Gra'ain, Brian Weber (Dub Narcotic Sound System), and DJ Suspence. I caught the Knights last week and can't wait to hear more from these guys, as they not only had me noddin' my head but almost made me spit rum thru my nostrils with their hilarious, lounged-out antics onstage.
Maybe you recall the Brainstorm 4 battle I told y'all about in my last column? Well, the Seattle regional competition is going down at Neumo's on Thursday, August 12, so emcees, bring ya best. Mic-handlers from around the country will be competing for September's $2,500 grand prize.
Congratulations are due to Georgio Brown, Kitty Wu, and the whole crew at The Coolout Network for receiving The Mayor's Award For Excellence in Hiphop this year. Coolout has been broadcasting since 1991, giving local artists some much-needed shine via live performances and interviews. Between its urban music format and the staff's tireless devotion to hiphop in our community, Coolout has become an institution Mayor Greg Nickels couldn't ignore. You should catch 'em too-- Sundays at 11:30 p.m. on cable channel 22/79. I'd be remiss if I didn't also remind you that Hip Hop 101 will be returning to the air in September; stay tuned for more ink on that one.
Beef Watch: Seems the self-proclaimed "King of the South," T.I. , has earned the enmity of not only Houston's Lil' Flip, but fellow ATL-ien Ludacris. Luda and T.I. have been dissing each other on the low for a minute now, but it's heated up on "Stomp," off of Young Buck's album, where both dudes actually take shots at each other on the same song, à la LL Cool J's air-out of Canibus on his "4,3,2,1." I would guess this is some grand marketing scheme of 50 Cent's beef-mongering ass--speaking of which, looks like 50's errant comments about incarcerated scarface Shyne have prompted the ex-Bad Boy to record a diss record straight from the clink, X-Raided style. My bet's that the G-Unit general's rep might be in trouble real soon, what with the anticipation for Shyne's next record on Def Jam, 50 backlash, and the fickleness of the streets. And, really, Curtis, what exactly is the point of dissing Wyclef? Why not beef with Farnsworth Bentley while you're at it?
