So if you hear a sound/From down here on the ground/My friends/It's only me/Trying to fly
—Lou Rawls (RIP), "Down Here on the Ground"
Rest in peace, Lou Rawls. I can only hope some unscrupulous producer—I dunno, Irv Gotti or somebody—doesn't try to put out a gang of subpar posthumous albums using your previously recorded (not to mention released) material to cash in. I mean, really y'all, can Biggie get a goddamn minute to rest? Does he have to be on your hook, your mix-tape track, or your cheesy rap 'n' bullshit song that features Nelly, for chrissakes? The dead aren't the only ones whose music gets raped by Sean Combs... Just like the LOX said on Hot 97 recently—before they finally got Puffy to let go of their publishing—Diddy really might need a refrigerator dropped on his ass. The man gives a rat's ass about his roster, such as the always-underrated Black Rob, whose new joint is nice but is destined to go triple balsa.
It's the high power original, b-boy traditional...
Attention all footwork fanatics! January 21, you can check out the newest edition of Winter Nights, a free b-boy battle featuring the Southsider Outsiders—DJ Bles One (Massive Monkees/Mash Hall) and Tony Sosa. It's goin' down at The Center, up the road a ways at 2900 NE 200th Street. Hit up 391-4037 for more info. While you're at it, do bless the good folks of Circle of Fire over at War Room's Soul City Mondays with your presence, a'ight? A'ight.
So, it looks like the stylishly named Larry's in Pioneer Square has lost its liquor license, ladies and germs. People have been complaining about the hiphop hotspot for a minute, but after Seahawk Ken Hamlin got beat down and a NYE stabbing, the Liquor Control Board finally swooped in and shut down their Hennessy privileges. To be real, I don't really fuck with the spot too crazy—I just don't go to Pioneer Square as a rule, unless I'm trying to become violently ill from gel and testosterone poisoning, "brah." But has the place been unfairly targeted? You're a fool if you don't think it's at least possible—let's not forget the city we live in, y'all; that liberal front dries up quick when folks get uncomfortable. Then the old double standards show their faces; the violence that a certain crew in the local hardcore punk scene is apparently causing somehow ain't bringing about the same kind of attention that violence in a black club does. It is what it is—and it ain't nuttin' new.
That said, it's another year and all that. Local radio, press, and most importantly, the people have been supporting local hiphop crazily... as evidenced by the great turnout and energetic crowd at the Shocked on the Buzz show at Chop Suey. Now, I just need some new dope shit to get in my hands. Seriously! I realize that the fresh shit isn't solely the domain of the people you see on Seatown bills currently; somehow, I haven't gotten that jaded and snobbish—yet.
