My Philosophy

Last week I saw something incredible. Jake One, DV One, Tha Stahi Bros, Fatal Lucciauno, Spaceman, the Saturday
Knights, Grayskul, Cancer Rising, Nite Owls, J.Pinder, Dyme Def, GMK,
Blue Scholars, Grynch, Macklemore, Common Market, Piece, the Physics,
Mad Rad, and others all sat in a room, ate a crackin’-ass dinner, drank
like fuckin’ fish, and gave a series of short, intimate,
straight-up-thrilling performances. It was definitely one of the
favorite experiences I’ve had since being involved in music—and
this is coming from someone who got to fucking meet Marvin Gaye. I want
to thank photographer Chase Jarvis and restaurateur Michael
Hebb for putting that incredible event together. Having so much
of our incredible scene under one roof, sharing their talents, sharing
a damn good time, put us all on the same page for once and (color me a
hippie here) fostered a real sense of family—a feeling that I
haven’t yet shaken. Okay—even without my grandiose sentiments,
it’s major just having everybody together in a setting like that, and
seeing what each other can do in a real way.

I hope we can all keep that feeling going, remember it, and let
it inform all our interactions in the future.

But now lemme inform you of some things you need in your personal
future—like a li’l show at Nectar on January 22 starring one of
the town’s illest, Khingz. Hopefully on the verge of finally, at
long last, dropping his album From Slaveships to
Spaceships, the man once known as Khalil Crisis (hey, somebody loan
me a copy of his Vitamin D–helmed debut Mi Vida Negra,
huh?) is sure to shake the crowd up with his fiery brand of
gumbo—part dread-whipping crunkrock crazy, part lifelong street
rep real, part hello-third-world diaspora dialectic. He’ll be in damn
good company, too, as Step Cousins (XPerience and
Macklemore), Waves of the Mind (Mic Flont,
Inkubiz, and Khanfidenz), DJ WD4D, and host
Rajnii Eddins (of Alpha P) will have his back.

On January 23, you’ve got a choice between talent-packed lineups:
The Corner or “Bring Em Back Home”? The Corner (now on
its 10th edition) is at the Rendezvous, featuring Lightheaded‘s
Othello and Ohmega Watts, Dee.aLe (of OG 206 crew
DMS—you know, “Back Up off My Tip”—and dude is
killing it right now, too), Xperience, and Mr.
Hill. Go check out
Dee.aLe’s MySpace page (/darealdeeale) and
get up to speed—homey got spits. “Bring Em Back Home” at Neumos
is a tribute to the Seattle Supersonics (RIP) featuring Neema,
Grynch, Wizdom, Spaceman, DJs Money D and
100Proof, hosted by Jay Barz. Dave “Softy” Mahler of KJR
Sports Radio, number-one Seattle sports fan Big Lo, Cedric Ceballos,
and the Sonics Dance Team will also be there; I just know one of you
fuckers on the bill is going to shed some manly, maudlin tears onstage
for our lost team—I’m lookin’ at you, Wiz!