Ah... THEESatisfaction. Yo, I love these girls, truly. I first met Cat in a now-defunct practice space in Sodo while I was in between rehearsals with Cancer Rising. She was cool as hell, and her love and knowledge of music vast. I saw her here and there over the years with her girlfriend Stasia, whose stylish cool almost intimidated me. When they started telling me about the music they were making, I was intrigued. Then I heard their mixtape That's Weird—it was rough, lo-fi, but so much more clever and forward thinking than the great majority of square-one hiphoppers in town that it was clear these two were on to something.
The first time I saw them perform was on a bill I put together at Neumos, and though they were shy, there were glimpses of the lionesses that they'd soon become. The crowd wasn't huge, but pretty much everybody in attendance who didn't know already asked me who those cool-ass black girls were. They put out their Snow Motion EP, which still floors me, as do the bits and pieces they've released at www.theesatisfaction.bandcamp .com, from their SA-RA and Stevie Wonder homage mixtapes to "Icing," the slice-of-heaven collaboration with fellow Black Power Arranger Mr. OC Notes. They've rocked bigger and bigger stages and become totally fearless, unforgettable performers. Performing on the EMP Sky Church stage, with infinite space swirling behind them, they seemed like alien invaders, or cosmic messengers, laying down heavy revolutionary sentiments on a mostly white crowd that righteously ate it up.
Now Stas and Cat are readying the release of their next tape, Transitions, which clocks in at 20 minutes of their best and best-sounding work to date. While some try to imitate pop/rap music's current inane lows, these two weigh in on the church, on black identity, on "different changes and transitions that you go through," as Cat says. "How you prepare for another emotion or state of mind or another journey. Whatever way you deal with whatever path you're choosing. Music to get through, basically." "It's the last mixtape before we put out our album [Au Naturale]," adds Stas.
On Thursday, October 28, at the Crocodile, come check THEESat in three acts—"Black Weirdo," "Loves," and "Transitions"—which tell the story of the last couple years in the life of these badass women. DJ Riz will be spinning his typically sumptuous sounds, and I'm hosting.
To add, real quick: Gear (as in clothes) heads take note, the Northwest Sneaker Expo goes down at Nectar that same night, with a welcome homespun alternative to the national sneaker-camp revivals Sneaker Pimps and Dunkxchange. Big ups to Expo organizer Logics, who is performing along with fly bros SOTA, Eighty4 Fly, Spac3- man, Wizdom, JayKin, and your host Vitamin D. But let's not forget the headliner, L.A.'s beloved Pac Div. Get it there and stunt to some cool-guy raps, but for god's sake, don't ask to lick a man's shoes (yes, this has happened to me). Have some goddamn pride, boy! 
