That's That...: Grynch

Showing posts with label Grynch. Show all posts

Sam Lachow presents..."Young Seattle Pt. 2"

EDIT: Added a couple Sam Lachow (and Raz) songs down bottom to get to know him better. The first is a sorta-kinda love song from his EP 5 Good Reasons with Raz Simone, the second is the opening track from his Avenue Music EP.

In light of Macklemore's runaway success, let me introduce some Seattle spitters that haven't ever been featured on this site. Internet, meet Sam Lachow, Gift uh Gab, Nacho Picasso, Jarv Dee, La, Raz Simone, and Grynch.

These rappers aren't total unknowns (we've featured Grynch on this site more than once), but this showcase is a great way to get acquainted with their various styles. Each of the emcees is quite different, keeping the song really fresh. It also doesn't hurt that each emcee only gets a quick 16 before handing off the mic. This is a video that needs to be watched more than once.

Sam Lachow and Kromagnon construct a sparse beat, perfect for each verse to have full reign of. Most posse cuts have a repetitive beat that doesn't grow over the course of the song, but this song takes a more subtle route. Instead of leaving the boom-bap of Sam's verse for all the other's to do their thing on, the producers make slight shifts after each verse, complementing the style of each emcee. Sam Lachow's goofy, laid-back flow sets the tone, Gift uh Gab gets a shaker effect and a breakdown, Nacho Picasso takes the beat into outer space...I could go on, but words pale in comparison to the aural experience.

Just like any good posse cut, there's the accompanying debate about who really killed it. I'll withhold my opinion, but let us know down bottom.
"Coyotes (feat. Ariana DeBoo)"

"Got Soul (feat. Ariana DeBoo)"*

*I swear Ariana DeBoo isn't on all of his tracks, although her voice is beautiful.

206ness 2013: A Celebration of Seattle Hip Hop [Bracketology]

(Click to enlarge)

Live from occupied Duwamish territory, I bring you this massive post celebrating the Seattle hip hop scene.

I originally considered writing this article in my younger days when I first started this blog back in 2009, but decided against it for two reasons. The first was that I don't believe in ranking songs/albums/mixtapes as better or worse than each other. Good music should be appreciated as good music without the pressure of being quantified.

The second and frankly more pressing concern was that there wasn't enough of a Northwest hip hop scene to make it worthwhile. Had I put together this bracket four years ago, it would have been composed almost entirely out of Blue Scholars, Common Market, and Dyme Def songs and I would have had to stretch it to include 64 songs.

So, what's changed over the past four years? We've seen the continued emergence and growth of post-Massline generation acts like Dyme Def, The Physics, Fresh Espresso, and Grynch to name a few. We've seen the reconstruction of Nissim (formerly D. Black), the resurrection and subsequent explosion of Macklemore, and the emergence of talented young producers in P Smoov, Ryan Lewis, and Brainstorm.

For me, this post isn't so much about determining what Seattle songs are better, so much as celebrating the artists and songs that have transformed the city into a shining beacon within the hip hop community. Far removed from the draconian burdens of the Teen Dance Ordinance, hip hop in the Upper Left is alive and thriving.

The quality of the music has reached the point where, in the process of compiling this article, I narrowed down the potential songs to a quote-unquote "short" list of 187 songs. There are so many talented local artists that classics such as "Second Chapter," "White Privilege," and "North By Northwest" didn't make the final cut. Four years ago, I probably would have had to include "Baby Got Back." Today, it didn't even make the song short list (though "Posse's On Broadway" made the short list--the song is a lot better than memory serves).

Artists from 25 groups make at least one appearance on the list, pushing even the revered Blue Scholars song, "The Ave," (probably my favorite of their live songs) off the final 64 song cut.

The difference between #42 and #90 was minuscule, so an argument could be made for many more songs making the list. If you can't believe that I left off Song A or had Song B beating Song C, please be sure to give your preference and describe, in great detail, precisely how brain damaged you believe me to be in the comments section below. I encourage the conversation and enjoy hearing what other people's favorites are (especially if you believe that I overlooked an artist).

Considering the songs that just missed, the final 64 is a fairly select group that's also fairly representative of the music scene as a whole. As I mentioned, emcees from twenty-five local acts make at least one appearance on the list with Massline, Sportn' Life, Out For Stardom, and most local consortiums being represented. But enough of me talking. You want to hear the music.

The first thing one notices when listening through the latest offering from this twenty-one year-old Seattle emcee is the refined sound throughout the project. Productionwise, Solzilla's latest features laid back synth-based instrumentals reminiscent of the backdrops on J.Pinder's Code Red FreEP, released earlier this year. Unlike Code Red, which featured production from the likes of Seattle legends Jake One and Vitamin D, the Seattle's next generation of producers, Ill Pill, Jack The Ripper, Smile Future, and DJ Green take the helm for the production on Dear Friends, Vol. II.

As far as the emcee himself, Dear Friends, Vol. II represents a huge artistic group for University of Washington junior. While the first incarnation of the series saw Solzilla at times outmatched by guest artists like Grynch, Vol. II sees him holding his own against fellow next generation Seattle artists J.Pinder and Grynch as well as 206 legend Geologic. The content addresses pretty much what you would expect from a twenty-something college student, discussing one-night stands ("Not The One") and love of the reefer ("So Damm High," "Spliff Remix"), but also addressing the short 15 minutes of fame that artists receive in the genre ("Cruise Control"). Even the tracks that address the prior subjects prove to be fairly conscious and don't sound like one-diminsional pop songs in any which way.

At the end of the day, Dear Friends, Vol. II is a cohesive project that is a major step forward for Sol as an artist who is sure to be a leader for the next generation of Seattle hip hop. Hit the jump for the download link/tracklist:

The closing song on the King of Ballard's Chemistry EP (which you can dowload for free here), this laid back track ended up being one of my favorite songs of 2009. Inverse's Tunji and Blue Scholars' Prometheus Brown joins in on this song that is beautiful in its elegance.

While I'm on the subject, props to Grynch for breaking 120k views on his music video for "My Volvo."

Grynch - "My Volvo" [Music Video]

^^^This

Grynch - "The Right Way" (Prod. Illmind)

New material from the King of Ballard off of Illmind's upcoming Blaps, Rhymes, & Life. Props to Shake on the drop.

Fuck supporting hip hop, support good music.

Previous: P Smoov feat. Grynch - "You're On"

P Smoov feat. Grynch - "You're On"

A snippet of this song was featured on P Smoov's Face Scrunchers, Vol. 1 beat tape (which I definitely suggest downloading if you haven't already), but P Smoov (Fresh Espresso, Mad Rad) just released the full version last night. As is typical with P Smoov beats, the song provides glossy production as Grynch and Smoov trade what ends up not being the best verses I've heard from either, but I won't complain about new, free music from two of my favorite local artists.

Peace, Love, & Hip Hop,

Northbest Noah

Kyle Lucas - It's Always Sunny In Marietta Preview

It's been a while since we checked in with Kyle Lucas, but the kid's been putting in work check the video for snippets of songs from It's Always Sunny In Marietta. God! I can't wait for this mixtape to drop. No word on when the official release date is, but I'm kinda feeling like Cartman right now...

To hold you over, I've posted a couple KL songs.

Kyle Lucas - "Purple Ribbon Representative (Royal Flush Freestyle)"
Kyle Lucas & Captain Midnite - "The New Light" feat. Sol & Grynch
Kyle Lucas - "Sometimes I Take Chances; Sometimes I Take Pills" (prod. MW)

Fresh Espresso - "Bedroom V1"

I posted the remix of Fresh Espresso's "Something New" with Grynch, Macklemore, and Gatsby a couple days ago. Now hit the jump for the music video of the remix and a track they dropped the same day the video premiered. The track is typical of the style of the group's style. It doesn't hold much weight content-wise, but it just sounds goofy and fun. Make sure to cop the group's debut album, Glamour.

Peace, Love, & Hip Hop,
NxNW Noah

It's been a while since I posted any Grynch, but the Seattle MC's been generating quite a buzz in the underground hip hop community. Grynch recently released Chemistry 1.5 with four previously unreleased tracks and has steadily dropped dope songs (among them, these two of my favorite tracks out of Seattle, ever). The first offers a hopeful look at the future, while the later sees Grynch, Macklemore, and Gatsby remix one of the better tracks on Fresh Espresso's Glamour.

Peace, Love, & Hip Hop,

WordIsBorn

"Tomorrow"

"Something New (rmx)"

Grynch - "My Volvo" X "That's Hip Hop" X "Memory Lane" Feat. Sonny Bohono

Grynch is one of those rappers that I'm not sure whether or not to feel guilty about liking him. As a white kid from North Seattle, the King of Ballard is able to speak to me with knowing songs like "My Volvo" in which he raps about the love of his '86 Volvo (I've laughed in that car/ Cried in that car/ Knock on wood, man I'll probably die in that car), but is this true to hip hop culture or something targeted towards the largest consumer of hip hop (Caucasians). Afterall, mainstream hip hop culture doesn't particularly value a beat up Swedish-engineered automobiles (Kanye West, though he might not be the best example considering recent events, even rhymed on "Run This Town," I bought my whole family whips, no Volvos). But this also begs the question, do rappers like Mr. West, who coincidently is chopped and screwed on the hook of "My Volvo," represent the true spirit of hip hop, one that originated as a political movement for those who often had no other outlet for their voice.

Inverse - So True EP

There are many regions that have generated numerous hip hop greats, but only two, New York and Southern California (namely Los Angeles) can boast that they are Meccas of the genre. While NYC has produced legends Biggie, Jay, Nas, Mobb Deep, Black Star, and countless others, LA boasts an equally impressive list with the likes of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, N.W.A., Snoop, and 2Pac (via The Bay) to name a few.

Inverse is yet another group to follow in the steps of their SoCal forefathers. Emcees Toby and Tunji come from diverse backgrounds. Toby is a white jewish boy from LA, while Tunji was raised by Nigerian parents in the Bay Area. Despite their different upbringings, Inverse have been making dope music since '01 and have collaborated with the legends KRS-ONE, Big Daddy Kane, Pete Rock, CunninLynguists, Brother Ali, and Little Brother (Tunji also drops a verse with Geologic of Blue Scholars on Seattle emcee Grynch's classic "Smoke And Mirrors"...check out Grynch's FreEP Chemistry here...).

I have to admit, I've been sleeping on this group more than I'd like to own up to, but I've been a big fan of this SoCal duo ever since first hearing their January 2dopeboyz-featured So True EP [Update: the linked page is no longer available, so you can find the FreEP embedded below].

I've always been a huge fan of EPs. It is nearly impossible for an artist to make a classic LP as putting together a 14 or 15 track album without filler is a difficult task even for the most talented artists. With shorter albums such as Nas' classic debut Illmatic or EPs like the Blue Scholars' The Long March, artists have less room to put in a bad track or two and the results are often albums that you can listen to front-to-back all day long.

This is definitely the case with this six-track EP as every track borders on greatness. The songs I'd like to single out on the EP are "Rise & Shine" and the Deacon of CunninLynguists assisted-title track "So True." "Rise & Shine" has become one of my favorite hip hop tracks of all time. Everything is simply perfect, the soulful sample, the verses, the production-everything lines up for this track to make it undeniably powerful and beautiful. The same goes for the title track.

At the end of the day, Inverse is one of my three favorite up and coming groups (the others being Dyme Def and Fresh Espresso) and if you like what you hear on So True and see on the equally dope video of "So Far," I highly recommend copping their 2008 release So Far (The Collection). Definitely make note of the name in the upcoming years.

Peace, Love, & Hip Hop,
Noah