Ring in Black History Month (now with an extra day!) at Chop Suey on Friday, February 1, with Sportn' Life Records' 4-Star Friday. This all-ages showcase sports a heavy-duty lineup of D.Black (currently hard at work in the lab), Grayskul (headed to Spain at the end of February), the Physics (request 'em on KEXP!), and Kingzmen. No, not the "Louie Louie" guysâI'm talking about the Life's young capos Spaceman and Joe King. Also appearing are SnL's SK and Action Buddie, a majorly cracking local black rock outfit from back in the day that recently reunited and features the one and only Davee C on the drums.
Those in attendance will also see the premiere of the video for far and away my personal favorite cut off D.Black's The Cause & Effect, the Jake Oneâproduced "This Is Why." This is why I'ma be up there! Zing. And what's up with the new album anyway, Black? "I'm just hard at work on the album," he says. "It's NOT the D.Black everyone may be expecting. A new me." Any sports predictions? "G-MenâI'm going with the NFC." Word.
On Saturday, February 2, the Vera Project hosts a show presented by the homey Scribes called 206 Stand Up II. This all-ages extravaganza brings together the talents of Dyme Def, Scribes, KnowMads, GMK, Solstice, and PhilHarmonic. It also features dance performances (you know the kids just love the dancin') from BYC, Miechia Taylor and the girls of Kutt'n'Up (Renton High School's dance team, son), Burgerlicious, and Samantha Hanson. And it's hosted by that dude of dudes Khingz of Abyssinian Creole (go pester him for his brand-new Bigger Than Jeezuz mixtape, and get me one, too!).
Scribes himself dropped an ill album in '06 (that I zzzzzzzzzzzzz'd on) called Sleepwalk. If you can't find it, you can cop it on his MySpace (www.myspace.com/scribes1). Trust me, give it a listenâdude goes hard and grabs your attention from word one, with a flow and ear for beats (from Sound Dialect and my man Sebino) that's both classically minded and original. I definitely look forward to hearing more from him.
Later that night you can lace up your boots and hit up Ladies First at Hidmo. The female-focused hiphop night goes down on the first Saturday of every month and is sponsored by CARA (Communities Against Rape and Abuse), KBCS 91.3 FM, and B-Girl Bench.
This month, feast your senses with Southern Komfort, SKIM, MC Kylea (of Beyond Realityâgo cop A Souls Journey), and local artist OneSevenNine. Fellas, don't get it twistedâthis night is fully dedicated to the b-girl, but you Y-chromosomers should feel free to head on down and support as well! Oh, and while we're on the subject, Hidmo is a well-known hub of positivity in our scene and in our city, so police, kindly step the fuck off! 
