This Saturday, July 19, at the Chop, Scarub of the Living Legends is hitting up the West Coast with the sensational live bands Crown City Rockers--the Bay Area act formerly known as Mission--and Procussions. I caught Procussions at the B-Boy Summit, and they definitely bring it. As for the Crown City Rockers, Raashan Ahmad and the crew put down an incredible live set, so this show shouldn't be missed. With DJ Tre, who placed third in the DMC regionals, as selector for the evening, this is the underground hiphop show of the night.
Bles One, more commonly known out here as the B-Boy's DJ, has been on the grind as of late, and it's really starting to pay off. He has several notches under his belt--as a DJ for Lords of the Floor, as a staple at the memorable Broken Beats night, and for doing the jiggy thing with SupaSam at Club Fever for a minute. He's one of the main organizers for DJ ZigZag's Hiphop Tonight DJ/MC/B-Boy Battles (big ups to Illtrax, Onry Ozzborn, and Massive Monkees, respectively, for winning each of the battles--and a cash prize--earlier this month in Portland), and he's really trying to come into his own with his music and mix tapes. In perfect alignment with his new release of the Massive Monkees Soundtrack--which he produced a majority of the music for (with some featured cuts from his group Mash Hall)--Bles has a couple of dope gigs happening this week. This Saturday, July 19, you can catch Bles at the Random Acts of B-Boying lottery at Tacoma's Puget Sound Christian Center, where he'll play the cuts for all the up-and-coming dancers from Tacoma to Vancouver who want to get a piece of the cash prize. Unlike most crew battles, this lottery will require each three-team tandem to draw names out of a hat to figure out their teammates--meaning some of the greats could end up paired with newjacks, and they'll just have to deal. Bles One will also be spinning along with dancers from the Massive Monkees crew this Wednesday at EMP's Flava at the Liquid Lounge. Flava has become a cool club night, giving several DJs and groups around town an opportunity to floss their stuff. Other events on the horizon for Bles One include two gigs at this year's Bumbershoot: DJing Center Circle Spin--he was one of the founding members of this dope event for local dancers to showcase their stuff--and DJing at this year's Freestyle Session Special Edition, which showcases some of the best crews in the world.
Speaking of the Massive Monkees, they're a good reason--along with Ludacris and Wayne Wonder--to make the trip across the state to the Gorge Amphitheatre for KUBE's Summer Jam on Monday, July 21. In preparation for this year's big event, KUBE will announce the winner of the mayor's hiphop award at the Pre-Summer Jam party on Sunday, July 20, at Benaroya Hall, and will host various symposiums and shows throughout the weekend. On Thursday, July 17, at About the Music, there'll be a discussion of how local artists can get radio play on various stations, followed by an appearance by Chicago native and incredible Roc-a-Fella producer Kanye West, who'll perform with Felicia Loud & the Soul. Friday, July 18, Rock Salt hosts a marketing panel in which artists can learn how to get more attention for their work, followed by performances by Darrius Willrich and Mista Ock. On Saturday, I'll actually be one of the panelists at the Seattle Art Museum, discussing hiphop artists' social impact and their responsibility to the community. Later that night, there will be performances by Mystic, Split 50, Unexpected Arrival, Kurupt, and Mr. Cheeks at the Paramount, followed by the big Summer Jam on Monday at the Gorge. SAMUEL L. CHESNEAU
REQUIRED LISTENING 1. Kanye West, "Through the Wire" (Roc-a-Fella)
2. Breakestra, "Show & Prove" (Kajmere)
3. Jay-Z, "Politics As Usual" (Roc-a-Fella)
4. Dilated Peoples, "Bullet Train" (Manhattan)
5. J-Zone, "Fuck You Pay Me" (Old Maid Entertainment)
6. De La Soul, "Much More" (Fat Beats)
7. Onry Ozzborn feat. Luckyiam.PSC, "The Breaks '03" (One Drop/BSI)
8. OutKast, "Ghetto Music" (Aquemini)
9. Wordsworth, "Thanks for Coming Out" (7 Heads)
