There has been some confusion lately as to the difference between Turf and the Massive Monkees (Turf involves dancers from the Monkees breakdancing crew, but it also incorporates spoken-word performance and is usually based around some sort of positive theme). The misconceptions started when Turf's director asked several Massive Monkees crewmates who participate in Turf to audition--as Turf--to appear on Showtime at the Apollo. The competition pared over 300 artists down to a final 14, who competed at the Paramount a few months ago. To no surprise to anyone who's seen Turf's routines, they undeniably brought the house down and were flown out to New York for the next round of tryouts--a performance that was as well received by the Big Apple audience as it was in Seattle. However, it should be noted that a majority of Turf's creative aspect--as far as ideas and moves go--was laid down by the Monkees. Turf will return to New York in August for the actual Showtime at the Apollo TV appearance, and they're seeking donations for the next trip--although they made a big point of upping Washington Mutual and Noc On Wood Records for helping to support their most recent travel expenses. It's good to see Northwest businesses investing in talented local artists, and it's a shame opportunities like that don't happen more often.
Speaking of the Massive Monkees, you'll more than likely see a majority of their crew competing at Cypha '03, the seasonal competition that goes down in Shoreline on Saturday, May 24--this time at the Spartan Gym, with DJ Scene playing the breaks. Also performing at this show will be Cancer Rising, Cyphalliance, and B-Boy Fidget of the Fraggle Rock crew, whose "Slice of Life" track is featured on the Sport-n-Life compilation (which has a couple more bangers in this week's Required Listening). The following day, May 25, the Vera Project will hold a competition for b-boys, rappers, beatboxers, and emcees at Kutcrome's first All Mad n' Mic event. If you don't see the Massive Monkees battling at any of these events, it's more than likely that they'll be preparing for their upcoming shows--at the Ethnic Cultural Theatre on May 29, and at Graceland's Jungle Brothers and Black Sheep show on June 10--or their all-expenses paid trip to Denmark for one of the biggest festivals in Europe, the Roskilde Festival, in mid-June.
In case you've been in a cave for the past few years, so-called "reality rap" (man, I hate that fucking label) has been dead for some time now. Gone are the early-to-mid-'90s glory days when MC Eiht and Compton's Most Wanted, Spice 1, Above the Law, and even Tha Dogg Pound were pushing classic material. Now that the major labels have pushed and pressured these artists, for whatever reason, into making shitty-ass music that will supposedly sell more units, that plan is backfiring. The sad thing is, you have all these throwback rappers (like Fabolous) with cheesy R&B hooks that suck major asshole--and despite their regular rotation on the average commercial radio station, they still can't sell units to save their life. Makes you realize how strong the payola racket really has become.
And who would've thought I'd be on the same page with a couple of reality rappers, Billy Danze and Lil' Fame--two of the few artists who still hold it down. Unlike most studio gangsters, M.O.P.'s Danze and Fame were the cats who'd throw bricks off the roof at people for kicks. On that note, a shout out to my man Herman, author of last week's hate mail about this column--it's an honor to even be considered for attention by someone so reputable and established in the hiphop community as you. SAMUEL L. CHESNEAU
REQUIRED LISTENING 1. M.O.P. feat. Freddie Foxxx, "The Truth" (Roc-a-Fella)
2. Brother Ali, "Forest Whitaker" (Rhymesayers)
3. Gang Starr, "The ? Remainz" (Virgin... still waiting for The Ownerz)
4. Compton's Most Wanted, "Duck Sick" (Capitol)
5. Candidt feat. Kuddie Mac, "Don't Trip" (Sport N Life)
6. Smoothe da Hustla feat. Trigga Tha Gambler, "Broken Language" (Profile)
7. Big Partee, "Sincerely Yours" (Sport N Life)
8. Freeway feat. Young Chris, "Line 'Em Up" (Roc-a-Fella)
9. Nine, "Whutcha Want" (Profile)
