My Philosophy

Just caught another free local EP in my inbox well worth your
precious time: dapper upstarts State of the Artist (that is
Parker, Young TH, and Hyphen8d) and their
Californication-inspired three-song suite, the Hank Moody EP. It’s mellow, contemplative, and stylish, with all three MCs
standing out with their own individual presentation—and at a mere
eight or so minutes, it’s the SOTA boys’ best-yet document of their
ever-jelling vibe, chemistry, and slick wordplay (“A taste test
tantalized by the zest I possess/Some flavor for the labor we put in as
creators/The essence of my sweet/Strawberry to match the
leaf”—from “Common Senses”). The growth from this summer’s
Shapeshifters mixtape is evident—do like me, and look
forward to more from these three in 2010.

Also just saw Rockwell Powers—the Tacoma MC who dropped
the Kids in the Back LP with Ill Pill (producer of
Grynch‘s “My Volvo”) this year—has teamed up with producer
Mat Wisner from Viper Creek Club to drop the Pocket
Full of Stones EP, naturally available for free at www.kidsintheback.com. Don’t be
fooled by the title, there’s no crack to be sold here
(awwwwwwwwwww!), just Powers’s raps over Wisner’s dancey indie
stylings. Speaking of the Tac, maybe you’ve noticed Street Academic
Logics going hard on the collaboration tip. In the last few,
he’s dropped some mixtape-type joints such as his remixes of “Forever”
with Spaceman, Brainstorm, and Grynch; “The Last
Hope” with Geologic and Fice; “Boss Life” with Fice and
Fatal Lucciauno; and “The Second Coming” with Grynch. Hit your
friendly neighborhood blog circuit for those if you haven’t.

Mayer Hawthorne is bringing his throwback Ray-Ban soul to the HUB on
December 10, along with Spokanistan’s own Stones Throw boogie brat
James Pants and 206ers Le’Roy, aka Waystyles and OC
Notes. That’s a lineup even a cougar could appreciate, so music
lovers of all ages and school affiliations: Be sure and head to UW, ask
five different people where the HUB is, then stumble upon it by
accident. That’s how I do it, and it works pretty good.

Nectar’s got a spicy-nice (as Ghost would say) bill comin’ up
December 16—the Grouch, Mistah FAB,
Fashawn and Exile, the Prime, and DJ Fresh;
Cali’s in the house! The Grouch you surely already know for his
frequent excursions this way, solo and with Living Legends. But the
Yellow Bus Rydah, Fabby Davis—at Nectar? I love the sound of
that, just like I do the Exile-produced Fashawn album Boy Meets
World, because it’s an absolute gem, in the vein of Exile’s last
collaboration with an MC (you know, Blu‘s Below the
Heavens?); plus, the guest appearances from Blu and Aloe
Blacc make it all the sweeter. Then there’s the Prime, which is the
Grouch’s fellow LL rep Luckyiam with PDX’s prodigious
Sandpeople MC/producer/singer Sapient. I’m thinking
that’s gotta be my type of hype, and you should probably join me. Peer
pressure’s a bitch, don’t you be one, too.