Almost every Tuesday in 2002, savvy late-night channel surfers in Seattle stopped clicking when they hit Hip-Hop 101 TV, a program showcasing some of the city's best DJs, MCs, and b-boys. Granted, it played on the public-access station, channel 29/77, but it sure beat the monotony that was otherwise hitting the idiot box at that hour. The host of the show was its co-creator/founder Devin Contreras, otherwise known as Dirty Dev. He would take calls from aspiring rappers--no matter how horrible they sounded--and let them freestyle over instrumentals put down by DJs like B-Mello, DV One, Scene, and Soul One. (I also remember one dude on the show who looked like Captain Morgan and gave the lowdown on what was going down around town--he even had his own theme song that flipped the theme to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood [RIP] with some hiphop flavor.) Unfortunately, due to a paperwork snafu, Hip-Hop 101 TV was temporarily taken off the air for the past six months, but that hasn't stopped the crew, who in the past have featured behind-the-scenes cats like Brainstorm 2 directors William Lemke and Aaron McCay, as well as fellow beatmakers Silent Knight (Kazuo Oki) and artist Khazma 247 (Danny Kogita) from MADK Productions. The show is finally back on the air, this time running on Thursdays at 10:00 p.m. Its grand April 3 relaunch will feature a performance from Kogita's group Cyphalliance, who have a record release party with local artists Cancer Rising the following day at Supernatural Music.

Georgio Brown and the Coolout Network are also veterans of the public-access regime (12 years strong). Brown is having a new-season/birthday celebration with T. C. Islam at Noc Noc on Saturday, April 5, and a 12th-anniversary party is scheduled for June 21 at the Northgate Theater.

Legendary label kingpin Russell Simmons founded the national Hip Hop Summit Action Network Youth Council in 2001, but the Seattle chapter was started last August at the Umoja Fest by Kwame Garrett (Wyking) and Merciful Allah. I have to send a major shout-out to Garrett (who also co-founded the House of Stylez, a clothing store on MLK Way South)--he's started a monthly hiphop night at the Vera Project that's sure to be a hit with the kids. The all-ages event, called H206 Live Vol. 1, has its official spring break jumpoff this Sunday, April 6, with Jerzeez and Icy White T Night. Garrett will host a night featuring the Knockout Kings (also known as the Black Diamonds)--a crew from Federal Way who recently got a little burn on KUBE during the Nighttime Playas show--as well as performances by Dred I and 2 TRU, with DJ Surreal setting the musical foundation. I'm excited to see what the up-and-coming youth have to show for themselves, as there will be an MC battle and a dance contest included in the lineup. As Garrett explains, "The purpose of this event is to promote youth involvement in the hiphop council while showcasing young, talented artists in a positive and safe environment." (This show will also be a reunion of sorts for the Rainier Beach and Franklin high school basketball teams, who won the 3A and 4A state basketball titles, respectively.) I'm sure several of our future leaders will be at this event--and what better place to bring them together than the Vera Project, which has been a breath of fresh air since its new downtown venue opened up last October.

Since I opened this column talking about what's on the idiot box, I can't close it without mentioning that one of the OGs in the game, Gordon Curvey, has moved his long-running hiphop show Music Inner City TV to Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. on channel 29/77. Gordon has been Clear Channel's worst nightmare, constantly addressing what he deems corrupt policies on sports radio station KJR and rhythm station KUBE. Speaking of KUBE, though, I've never been too proud to call myself out when it's my turn to eat crow, and KUBE definitely made me see the error of my ways in looking down on them when they booked the Massive Monkees for their birthday party last month. Those kids stole the show, for real, and Missy Elliott definitely gave me a new appreciation for her skills as an entertainer. So Karen, Mike, Damon, and the rest of my folks working for the evil Clear Channel regime, you definitely get my respect and appreciation for putting some flavor out there while appeasing the sheep. SAMUEL L. CHESNEAU

hiphop@thestranger.com

REQUIRED LISTENING 1. Boom Bap Project feat. One Man Army, "Dickhead Tracy" (Philaflava)

2. Triple Threat DJs feat. Zion I, "Hit Em Off" (Fat Beats)

3. The Artifacts, "Wrong Side of the Tracks" (Big Beat)

4. Storm the Unpredictable, "Get Your Weight Up" (Ty-She)

5. Norman, "Bling Kong" (Under the Needle)

6. The Click, "World Went Crazy" (Sik Wid It)

7. Pete Rock & C. L. Smooth, "The Creator" (Elektra)

8. Nas, "Money Is My Bitch" (Columbia)

9. 9th Wonder, God's Stepson (White)

10. Planet Asia, "African Style" (Threshold)