Nearly half a decade ago, Blue Scholars released a self-
titled
CD that launched Seattle’s new generation, its second wave, of hiphop.
Before the duo appeared, the post–Sir Mix-A-Lot underground was
defined by the music and politics of Silent Lambs Project, Black Anger,
Source of Labor, and Oldominion. The first wave had its center in the
Central District, the city’s historical black neighborhood; the second
has its center in Beacon Hill, a dense and multiracial neighborhood
(or, to use the language of Georgetown University professor Sheryll
Cashin, a multiracial
island). What Blue Scholars, Common Market,
and Abyssinian Creole brought to the scene in 2005 was the diversity of
the immigrant experience—not only stories and realities from
other countries but also from other states. RA Scion, for example, raps
about tobacco plantations in Kentucky, a world that is as far from
Seattle’s economic and social environment as the Philippines that
Geologic describes in some of his raps.
Now, before we look at the future of the leaders of the second wave,
Blue Scholars, and the possible leaders of a third wave of hiphop that
has its center on Capitol Hill, I want to make a point that I’ve failed
to make in other articles. With the local scene, a distinction must be
made between the crews that continue the mainstream approach to hiphop
from its national level to a local one. These groups tend to be black
and receive almost no press in this and other publications unless, of
course, someone is shot at their shows or parties. The recent explosion
of press about the local scene does not include artists and promoters
like Ghetto Prez, Gameboy, Funkdaddy, and Skuntdunanna. They have their
own network of venues (like Vito’s—where a man was recently shot)
and publicity nodes
(Seaspot.com). They want nothing to do with
KEXP and have placed their eggs all in one basket, KUBE. These
commercially oriented crews exist alongside but very much apart from
Seattle’s currently successful second wave.
One last point to make before turning to what’s new with Blue
Scholars. Another major difference between the first and second waves
of Seattle hiphop is the economic and political climates from which
they came. The first was submerged in the prosperous Clinton years, and
its gloominess—say, the dark tones and themes of Black
Anger—sharply contrasted the terrific prosperity of the period.
As for the second wave, the music is a little more hopeful, while the
political and social climate is bleak. In the ’00s, America is lost in
the wilderness of two wars, one of its major cities is wiped out by the
lethal combination of natural forces and human incompetence, and the
president does his desperate best to break the back of democracy. We
cannot separate the Bush years from the music of Blue Scholars.
“As much as we are a product of those times, our focus has never
been about Bush but the issues,” Geo, the rapper for Blue Scholars,
says over the phone (he is in San Diego for a show). “I mean, really,
we only mentioned him a few times on our records. It was not Bush that
concerned us but the issues. They took greater prominence over just a
person or a presidency.” I have to agree with Geo about this. His raps
are not analytical or even directly critical; they are instead
documents of a way of life, a way of being in the city, in a family, in
oneself. Geo does not expose lies or show us the way to truth. He is
not a teacher or a cultural decoder but a narrator. He simply tells it
like it is.
But what kind of stories will he tell in a world that is shaped by
Obama? Can we expect the same kinds of experiences, voices,
difficulties? “There is no doubt there is a shift away from neocons
running shit,” says Geo. “Those with progressive views finally have
some breathing space. But the bogeyman is no longer out there for the
armchair liberal to point a finger at. There is more work to be done as
a progressive. You see, Bush made it easy for us. Now we have to do
more than just pointing a finger at one guy….”
“I have been hearing a lot about this,” says Sabzi, Blue Scholars’
DJ/producer, in another phone conversation (he is at home cooking with
his roommates). “‘Now that Obama is the president, what are you going
to rap about now?’ What the fuck are you talking about? We didn’t start
a band about Bush. It’s about life, and the last time I checked, life
is still happening!” Later in the conversation: “The real issue is some
people have a very narrow idea of what politics is. You know what I
mean? Now, I don’t want to run away from our protest songs. But,
really, my identity is not based on complaining about things. That is a
sad identity.”
That settled, I turn to the question of the day: Mad Rad. The trio
recently released a CD that begins with hiphop but ends at a completely
different place and register. Here is my position on the group: Mad Rad
represent a new third wave of local hiphop. Whereas Seattle’s first
wave was based in the CD, the second on Beacon Hill, the next wave’s
epicenter looks to be Capitol Hill. More than that, as the first wave
emerged in the Clinton years, the second in the Bush, Mad Rad’s looks
like it will emerge in the age of Obama. Mad Rad, who weirdly enough
are closer to the commercial side of local hiphop (crunk beats, glam
rap, gangsta bling) than the second wave, might be the crew that best
express the situation of an America that’s heading toward a postracial
society. Whatever the case may be, they are causing a lot of noise,
confusion, and controversy.
“I acknowledge the polarizing aspect of that group,” says Geo, “We
can relate to that. We might have a different approach, but when a
group comes around, ignites the scene, and has people debating the form
of hiphop and its content…. Is that the theme of ’09? Is it ‘no more
of the same’? It doesn’t matter what I think. I say yes!” As for Sabzi?
No real opinion yet. “I heard the album once. I’m looking forward to
seeing the live show. Either way, I’m excited to perform with them.”
Mad Rad fucking suck and don’t even deserve to be mentioned within the same space as Blue Scholars. Get over it Charles! Does the Stranger give you a quota of Bands to write about who drink at the Cha Cha?
herpes sure is fun
lol at that mad guy above
MAD RAD IN THE BUILDING!!!
MadRad have nothing to do with Seattle hip-hop, except that they’ve become it’s newest running joke!!! I think Buffalo Madonna is going to notch up even more bitch slappings in 09 than he did in 08. Better stick to the Cornish kids and snowbunnies.
Don’t be too serious. Blue Scholars are not that great either…There is no upper or lower echelon of hip hop in Seattle…. just a flat plane of lame. There, I said it.. biotch.
You left out some serious key players in the hip hop scene, huge miss.
what a pile of shit, i want my time back.
shut the fuck up all of you, all of you are on my nuts and i hustle hard with the scholars and Mad Rad cuz I’m the biz and yall lames are my tranny granny’s jizz
I don’t know what you’ve been told, but I’ve been rappin’ since I’m five years old, blah blah blah… Y’all need to quit pounding on your chests and elevate your art form before REAL music fans lose interest more than they already have and quit buying your thrown together CD’s and stop going to your expensive live shows altogether. There… I said it.
yizzo on the fliziiile
i bang your chicnk/she sang my dic til she hic/cup double d/wus fucking with me/og since tribal dropped pharmacy/i roll deep like a skating rink/i have a snitch or fake mc/i fuck broads outside and use their pom pom juice/to paint walls like Specs or lace the booth with the truth like merm and mal/tell your girl i got the sperm to make her call/fuck yall that don’t know the dollar/i am the body guard for mAD rad and Blue Scholars
Yo dropping the knowledge/since I went to college/where I learned the knowledge/so I could drop the knowledge/so you could also learn the knowledge/and go to college/and get more knowledge/so you could then drop that knowledge/and I could learn that knowledge/and then we could both drop that knowledge simultaneously/and it would be just like college again/snow covers the foilage/911 is a joke
blue scholars are mad boring, yo.
f-f-f-ffresh want’s my sac on his chest/best better know/i whoop on that ass like yo/you out here Fao scwarztin cause you a toy/i’m cavorting with sportin’ life cause i’m a d-boy/holding court in life with my desert eag/you better believe/i sneeze you bleed/oh vey/i’m a sea dwella all day/from westlake to the raineir to aurura ok/you a babe in toyland/i’m 4 4 real though/bumping that Jace and Blak while these stranger cats fuck dildoes/yall weird yo
Mad Rad really is a steaming pile of hipster bullshit. In that sense, yes, they’ve captured our era perfectly.
A steaming pile of hipster bullshit/
Me? Senile, up in your pullpit/
Preachin the Gospel, tiltin’ the 40s/
2nd wave rapper, well in my 40s/
Fellas before me was 1st wave suckas/
Bruthas that’s next is suck wave ruckus/
Knuckles crackin’ the cold, hurts to grind/
Hustle crack in the snow – 3rd & Pine/
Mudede and Mad Rad all up in your Macintosh/
Next wave Cap Hill-bombs over Bagguette Box/
Wave caps, bags of bomb, dirty old Chucks/
69 assholes tied in a knot. Hooray! Lizard shit! Fuck!
Thirty years ago Rap was new
Now it’s Old School, like Haiku.
How will the kids keep their composure
When hard times call for Old-school closures?
Yo yo yo.. I want a piece of this cause my breathe smells like licorice/ You think I’m ticklish but it’s really just the jaeger/ it’s 1993 – so hit me up on on my pager/ oh shit, no its not, but bend over, I’ve got a taser/ It’s 15 years lasers, it ain’t reinvented prose/ With knees highs at your ankles you know you best be crankin those/ Up to your thighs you be looking like stank ho ho ho’s; whats wrong, dude? my wig is orange, you know I brushed my teef/ you know I eat the green shit, so what you got beef?/ yr hip hop is a joke, I do this shit fer free.
Thirty years ago, Rap was new
Now it’s Old School, like haiku
How will the kids keep their composure
When hard times call for Old-School closures?
“You left out some serious key players in the hip hop scene, huge miss.”
sir, i know all of the key players in this town–all of them. nothing in seattle is hidden from me. nothing. i now this scene like just ice knows how to go “way back.”
Stoney Tony Balogna is killin’ shit™. Who says rap in Seattle is dead?
you guys are haters. mad rad has every right to do whatever they want. whats not hip hop about them?
the anger is ridiculous. mad rad works harder than anyone ive ever seen in the music biz and there hustle is being recognized. good for them.
i guess you preps could keep being angry because someone is a little different but thats some weak shit.
thanks mudede for having some balls and being broad in your music appreciation.
Yo! I just made the beat y’all!!! This shit is fresh! Check this out!
84 bpms
4/4
Kik || x—x—
Snr || –x—x-
Hat || xxxxxxxx -repeat x72
And then just lay this sample over the skelton on the 1:
MmmmmmmaaaaAAAUtotuuuuuneeee Yeah Baby!
Sick slaps, right?
Fuck yes! We are cypherin’ y’all!
Everybodys sayin that they know whats up, but the way they presentin’ it’s looking like front, like the snow storm comin’ in off the coast, keep hatin’ this way we’ll all become ghosts, so take some advice from a young mc, don’t make me count it out like 1, 2, 3, listen to McCartney and just “Let it Be,” much love and respect from S, E, A to the T.
whaddya mean you dont know what squirrel titties smell like??
Sometimes a controlled burn is what is needed to reseed an area.
Sure the Stranger is for wank hipsters and might I add for better or worse really damn harsh at times. I don’t know how to take such honesty.
All I know is this sure ain’t Minneapolis when it comes to hip hop. It doesn’t seem horrible, but strong its not. This from my amateur 6 month long life here in the area.
I love Blue Scholars and Mad Rad! I love listening to their music. 🙂
Please hire someone who likes hiphop/rap and takes it seriously. Thanks.
Yo mudede. your ignorance is on display, sucka duck. You don’t know shite about mid nineties seattle hip hop. go work for kube, mark.
Good God. If I ever needed further confirmation that Hip-Hop is dead, this article would be a mortician.
Wow, there are some upset people writing here. I’m a huge Blue Scholars fan and glad to see an article that recognizes their awesome beats and community activism.
Mad Rad is dope.
I think that Seattle Hip-Hop is so diverse that you can’t categorize it with anything.
Props to Charles for his interpretation of the scene. For better or worse, he does the nail on the head.
Still, why write off “mainstream” groups in the Seattle area as too “commercially oriented” to really talk about? Think Mad Rad and Blue Scholars aren’t commercially oriented?
Where’s the story here anyway? I’d rather hear more about the other groups. Talk about why they shun the Stranger and KEXP, what’s up with the violence, what’s the scene all about. The Stranger ain’t covering it…
I don’t know what’s funnier, the article or the comments section.
if you wanna read about all those groups that The Stranger almost never writes about, just read my column in The Stranger(i think I represent the ‘almost’). I’d love to tell you about this years’ Gangsta Nutt/Twin G LP.
there’s a difference between complaining and expressing your ideas and beliefs into a song – or even a conversation for that matter.
Ther’s a difference between passively not giving a shit and intently not giving a shit.
Take your pick. Either way I don’t give a shit.
SNG: Those who REALLY don’t give a shit don’t post comments on blogs.
sCollars aZul…siempre un soplo de aire freso yall heralds of the Glocal from the peoples dialectic, straight out the belly! keep keepin on the protract bros…adelante!
the scholars have brought some substance back to seattle, where ringtone rap rules the streets.
sad that some of you can’t appreciate that.
BLUE SCHOOL AND BAD SAD RAD ARE FOR WHITE PEOPLE. REP YIRIM SECK OR DIE.