Cold enough for ya? Well people, there’s surely enough warmth
in your heart and fire in your spirit to help out our guy DV One in any way possible. Do I have a deal for you! Come out and see a night
of great hiphop at Chop Suey on the night of Friday, December
7—featuring Gabriel Teodros, Rajnii and Language
Arts, KnowMads, Hella Maze, and headlined by that
cool mufucka Macklemore (who’s about to hit the road on an award
tour, with a mic in his hand); in turn, your monies go to help DV with
his legal fees following that fucked-up guilty verdict. Said monies
were also going to help out brother Rajnii in his own case against yet another group of overzealous asshole pigs who
hemmed him up, but he recently had all charges dismissed “with
prejudice”; very apropos, considering they were brought against him
“with prejudice” in the first place. In other FTP news, the city is
coughing up some change to Maikoiyo Alley-Barnes, the local
artist shamefully attacked by those rascally SPD outside the War Room a
while back.
Back to Macklemore: Ever the grinder, he’s flipping a European
vacation (no Chevy) into an overseas opportunity. “I’m booking some
shows now, from Poland to Italy, and all stops in between where I can
hustle,” sayeth the Mack. He’ll be gone for a few, it looks like, so if
you’re at all a fan of the author of the most honest song ever about
the salty 206-hop mentality (“Ego,” off 2005’s The Language of My
World), you don’t wanna miss the aforementioned show.
On Monday, December 10, at Chop Suey bear witness to that rarest of
birds—a hiphop show full of black hiphop artists! Yeah, I’m
clownin’, but you know it’s true. Trust—white, black,
whatever—you’d wanna see these guys if they were
see-through: the Parker Brothaz, A.K., SK,
Spaceman and Joe King (together known as the Sportn’
Life young guns Kingzmen), and GMK are sure to turn
that mother out like MC Hammer in some church glasses.
If you’re not too broke and tuckered out by then, I say take in a
li’l Northwestage at Nectar on Tuesday, December 11.
Taybot—the battle-tested MC (formerly of Estrella),
radio host (catch him on KEXP’s Street Sounds chillin’ with
B-Mello), and hiphop blogger (www.taybot3.com)—is heading up a
show also featuring up-and-comer Premonition (who has an EP out
called Disaster Relief and one coming called Words to Live
By), and Disjointed Isotopes. Also rocking is Portland’s own
Animal Farm, a dope combo of PDX crews Money Shot,
Soundproof, and Cleveland Steamers. Their easygoing,
loop-based hiphop works damn well—peep some cuts from their
Focused Noise release on their MySpace, www.myspace.com/animalfarmrecords.
Also, don’t forget to hit up 2080‘s with DJs Scene and
Fourcolorzack at the War Room on Wednesdays—not to be confused
with the NEW GENRE OF MUSIC that our own Idol Blake Lewis recently claimed to have invented. Randy Jackson does not
approve of biting, dawg. 