My Philosophy

Okay, milkbreath, I’ll make this brief: Go see Diamond D this
Friday at Nectar, or you’re an asshole. It just doesn’t get more
official than the Bronx-bred D.I.T.C. OG who brought the world
Stunts, Blunts & Hiphop. Cancer Rising,
Scribes, and Eardrumz & Sentric open up, the host is
the best rap writer Seattle ever had (Samson Spears), and the
DJs are Fever One and Marc Sense. We absolutely crystal
here?

Now let’s chat about Khingz. Since he’s been on the
scene—and that’s been a long time now—he’s made his
hallmark not just his fierce lyrics and lightning-struck delivery, but
his individual vision, his refusal to be boxed in. From utterly
decimating MC battles to grassroots activism to decrying colonialism
and homophobia on his now eight-year-old debut album, Mi Vida
Negra, the cat most know as Khalil has always forgone being hard in
favor of being complicated. His last decent chunk of work,
Abyssinian Creole‘s Sexy Beast, was a study in the
contrasts between him and his brother Gabriel Teodros, with
Khingz providing the brassy, boastful counterpoint to Gabe’s righteous
affirmations.

On his long-awaited sophomore album, From Slaveships to Spaceships, Khingz rolls out his own
personal vision of the Harlem Renaissance’s New Negro: an outsider, a
bookish black skater, a proud “Southside rider” from Rainier Valley who
grew up around gangs and “more Filipinos than Daly City.” Finding a
shockingly expressive middle ground between head-taking lyricism and
unblinking outrospection—just check the unstoppable “Bladed
Poems”—Khingz is the best he’s ever been. The production, mostly
courtesy of newcomer Toast, is frantic and futuristic, if at
times amateurish, but big K’s full commitment insists to your ears that
it’s all intentional.

Khalil’s uncontestable heart remains his greatest weapon, whether
it’s the sensitive poet’s heart he spills dry on joints like “Escape
Society” and the title track or the asphalt-bred hoart he shows
on fuck-you-I’m-me anthems like “Pony Boy” (which is my
serious joint): “It’s funny I got dissed for being too dark/But
not acting black enough and it tore me apart/Basically I was too nigga
and not nigga enough/And it all finished the minute I stopped and said
fuck ’em!”

So don’t miss the CD release (Sat June 20 at Chop Suey) for someone
who will always be one of the finest MCs to ever emerge from Seattle,
no matter where his wandering feet take him, be it the Bay, Brooklyn,
or Burkina Faso. Also on the bill are the Physics—who,
quiet as kept, are readying some of the best hiphop this raggedy town
will be lucky to claim as its own, come time—and Yirim
Seck, who desperately needs to have an album out soon (be it
solo, with LaRue as Black Aries, or with Pearl
Dragon and Rajnii as Pyrate Radio). The whole
throwdown is being spun by the trumptight Daps1 and hosted by
the one and only Spaceman. Going up!