So-called fly guys and gals know that Portland's top gun, Cool Nutz—actually, he's really more like Tom Cruise and Tom Skerritt's character rolled into one—is doing the CD-release party for his new one, Incredible, at 88 Keys on August 5. Nutz is a vet, a NW treasure, an OG whose work to uplift his city is damn near unparalleled, via his Northwest Breakout Show and the POH-Hop Festival that's been going on for 11 years now. Can you clown-ass rappers in town do the math on that? Try holding down a radio show bigging up your area and a yearly, purely hiphop festival of homegrown talent, all while expanding your own horizons as an artist and label chief before you ever claim that you're a king, a boss, or anything approaching "having the city on your back," you bum-asses! Salute a real one, like I do.

Nutz's eighth album, Incredible, is laced front to back by PDX producer Terminill (of No'thern Lights), who provides scratched-off-serial burners like "Monster Up" and "Crimewave 86," which the Cool one meets with a full clip. This is definitely some of Nutz's strongest, beastliest work to date, with all respect due to his classic early-'90s output (you young'ns need to know about that, though). For best results, go see him rock shit live, as he never fails to tear it down for the people. Also: Fuckin' Framework will be there (new music coming soon, hopefully). Neema will be there. The Yay Area's superintendent of short-bus riders, Mistah F.A.B., will be there, as well as Nutz's down-since-day-one patnas from the Jus Family label: soldierfied MC Maniac Lok and the mighty Bosko. The latter is Portland's own superproducer, having worked a ton with the likes of E-40, Lil Jon, and Too Short, and he's also the NW's master of the talkbox, putting in work with Kanye West—yeah, that's Bosko you hear at the end of Dropout's "The New Workout Plan"—and OutKast's Big Boi (yep, that's him on "Shutterbugg," too). Lucious Left Foot put his best foot forward, and now so can you.

The next night, August 6, at Neumos is the Truckasauras spectacular they're calling Kevin Collabo, where they team up live with a plethora of the region's rightest: Spaceman, Grynch, Geologic, Sol, Jay Barz, Mash Hall, Khingz, and HELLA more. The Truck's analog electro batter-ram beats pack houses by themselves; I predict it's gonna be a riot in there. Now, if you're round the U-District on August 7, my crew Mash Hall are in fact rocking Blue Moon with Olympia's comely Night Fox and Slow Dance—a new crew consisting of MC Murder Dice and beatsman Rudy (of Rudy and the Rhetoric)—with Billy the Fridge on hosting duties. Just saying. On August 11, the very underrated Blacklove MC Dr. Oop is rocking Nectar—sure hope he does his eat-weed anthem "Green Butter," released on 4/20—along with Candidt and Dirty Scientifix. The Dirty Sci just dropped their Ana-Doap EP (free online), and at last my dude Candidt is dropping his long-awaited Sweatsuit and Churchshoes next week. In his own well-known words: POW!!!