"Of course DJ Wicked and Evil One have their thing on Wednesday nights, but there is nothing on the weekend where people can have a choice to go someplace that doesn't have mainstream jiggy shit. The Portland crowd seems really open--it's not too different than Seattle. It's real original, with a little more variety than your average commercial radio mix. It's still in the building stages, but it's been consistent and only getting stronger, which is a good sign. I plan on bringing more of a mix of old-school shit that the people will appreciate--you know, for this Halloween party I got some Michael Jackson Thriller. I want to bring some funny music, so that when people are drunk, they'll hear it, smile, and dance. I gotta keep them on their toes."
Scene's whole style is indeed based on that shock value. He's never been afraid to take risks and play something completely unexpected. That's not a very easy thing to do--many try, but few can do it with flavor. There are very few underground hiphop nights--if any--that are worth going to nowadays; and when a decent one starts, you can only check the calendar to see how long it takes before the night either folds or switches up the format to a more mainstream-friendly vibe.
Direct Productions have also done their best over the past several years in the Pacific Northwest to stay true to what brought them success in the first place. As promoters for the night, Ron Enright of DP and Phoenix Media put it simply: "This is [event] a long-term thing. We've done several nights in the past that have started out playing the real shit and as it peaked it started to cross over into the mainstream audience. This time around we are making it a point to not let the success of our night change the foundation that we set up to achieve it to begin with. We may not make as much money, but we are having fun and that's the reason we throw parties like this to begin with."
REQUIRED LISTENING
1. DJ P, Hell on Wheels (White)
2. A Tribe Called Quest feat. Erykah Badu, "(ICU) Doin' It" (Jive)
3. Jean Grae, "Code Red" (Babygrande)
4. Run-D.M.C., "Peter Piper" (Profile)
5. Vitamin D feat. H-Bomb, "Touch the Sky" (Rhymesayers)
6. DJ Babu feat. Rakaa-Iriscience, "Ends to Means" (Sequence)
7. Run-D.M.C., "Run's House" (Profile)
8. Dead Prez feat. Sticky Fingaz, "Last Days Reloaded" (Landspeed)
9. The Procussions, "Just Over Broke" (Basementalism)