My Philosophy

Thank de lawd—2008 is finally behind us. Death, pink
slips, and bullshit; I’m ready for the new-new. But first, some
regrets. I dropped the ball on a couple of shows I said I’d get into
the column, and I certainly regret that—but maybe even more than
that, I regret how much this column has turned into a weekly show
calendar. In 2009, I pledge to be the change that I want to
see.

I regret to say that rap sucks in 2008, just as DJ
Shadow said it did 10 years ago—but I still don’t need
a haole to tell me that, word to my man Samson Spears! Maybe my
local/homey bias is showing right now, but my favorite hiphop albums
came out of Seattle this year: Mingle by the Saturday
Knights, Die Already by the Gigantics, and of course
White Van Music by Jake One. Carter III?
Kanye? Nigga, please!

I’d regret being you if you’re not a ‘net-savvy lover of
local hiphop, because a lot of the best shit this year was free.
Complimentary downloads were rampant, with J.Pinder,
Grynch, and many more giving away fire-ass mixtapes/EPs to
anybody who could type in a browser window, Sportn’ Life putting
an EP’s worth of D.Black B-sides up for download, and even
Type making his first two albums free for all. Shit, Dyme
Def is right now giving out a song a week for free, and
they’re all heatstrokes. This trend will only continue, so keep your
eyes to the plethora of blogs devoted to local arts ‘n’
crafts—off the
top: www.blogsiswatching.com,
www
.drop-bomb.com, and of
course my shit, the very first Seattle rap weblog,
www.rain
drophustla.blogspot.com (I do regret patting myself on the back right there, but I’ll
live).

Ah, but the shows—you do have to talk about the shows! Check
it out: Get a double dose of The Corner this
month—December 26 wear your new gear to the Rendezvous to see
Nite Owls, Orbitron, Ripynt, Jonnie Storm, and Mr. Hill;
then do New Year’s Eve the right way at ArtWorks (923 S Bayview in
Sodo) with Candidt, Grayskul, Xperience, Spaceman, and
Brotha Brown. Of course some of you might hit the Presidents
of the United States of America show at the Paramount on NYE that
Vince Mira and the Saturday Knights are rocking. (Cut the
check, Meinert!) Recuperate for a day, then definitely hit
Nectar on January 2 for One Be Lo (it’ll be about that cold
anyway), Othello, Spaceman, and
Helladope—fire for the (cold) people. On January 7, Nectar
hosts a double CD release for PDXers Mic Crenshaw and Serge
Severe, plus Onry Ozzborn, Animal Farm, Orbitron, and
DJ Wicked.

One thing I don’t regret: getting the opportunity to write this
column for the last four years. I don’t do it for the money
(ha!), and I don’t do it for the status (double ha!). I
do this because I love Seattle hiphop—and, I suppose,
the sound of my own voice. See you guys next year.