NW STAND UP! No, people, that's not me with my 206 cheerleadin' ass. That's the name of the event taking place at Chop Suey Wednesday, July 26. This massive local showcase, hosted by no less a personage than Ishmael of Digable Planets, features the talents of E-Dawg, Willie Will, Mr. Dog, Unexpected Arrival, Kevin Gardner, No Good Therapy, Savvy, Onry Ozzborn, Petty-P, Mr. Von, Filthy Rich, CNE, Outrageous, Illzm, J-Reed, D. Black, the Enterprise, Cyphalliance, dRED-i, Screw, and the event's organizer, Sonny Bonoho. You probably know Sonny from his ka-razy stage antics or his excellent Life of a Backup Singer LP, but he doesn't get enough credit for the many local events he's thrown, including Glitta 1 through freakin' 65, the Mad 'n' Mic Battles, and of course the KING Hip-Hop Summit. While it's easy to get lost in what you're doing as an artist, Sonny somehow does his own thing and still finds the time to promote solidarity throughout the various factions of our scene, and is without a doubt one of the Northwest's most tireless promoters and networkers. Ay, homie—you get props over here.
It's time to break out your Pendletons and Ben Davis shirts—even if you were actually wearing visors and JNCO jeans in the day, ha ha—because god damn, Tha Dogg Pound's long-awaited reunion LP, Cali Iz Active, is a straight knock from front to back. I'ma hate myself for saying this later, but I even like the song that Diddy's on, thanks to that faux–"Born to Roll" bass line and one of Kurupt's better repeat-the-same-word flows. The whole thing is almost a West Coast version of a Vegas revue, with Snoop, Ice Cube, Nate Dogg, the Lady of Rage, and even RBX popping up; the production is varied, with the best blaps coming from the very underrated Battlecat, Soopafly, and David Banner. Only thing that would be better is a WC and the Maad Circle reunion, though maybe without Coolio. Uh, West Up!
While you're keeping it gangsta gangsta, however, don't sleep on the rerelease of Mirror Music, the '04 solo debut from Brooknam repper Wordsworth, formerly of the Lyricist Lounge standouts Punch & Words. Wordsworth's everyday BK consciousness is very reminiscent of the last couple albums by the great Masta Ace or even Talib Kweli, although I think Words has always had a far superior delivery than Talib, and Words sounds a tad more earnest, to boot. Don't sleep on gems like "Trust," where he warns his daughter to stay away from fellas like the one he used to be, the poetic hood hopelessness of "What We Gon' Do," or the ill storytelling caper of "12 Months." That Lyricist Lounge TV show sure didn't last too long, and while this LP shares its short-lived inventiveness, its execution is way better.
Lastly, a shout out to Suge Knight, who has finally lost control of the bankrupt Death Row Records. Karma's a beeeyatch!
