Lot of folks have been talking about Seattle as of late and its burgeoning Hip Hop scene. Much of the buzz is due to the success of Macklemore who has had a stellar year.. But folks shouldn’t stop with one artists in exploring the Emerald City which has a rich history and filled with talented emcees.
One of the folks who is standing out is Madeleine Clifford aka Madlines one half of the group Canary Sing which has been on hiatus for a while. She is more than just an emcee, but an educator and activist. As a member of Canary Sing, she along with her best friend Hollis Wong Wear who has sung on a couple of songs with Macklemore, could be found all over Seattle at spoken word events, conducting workshops and hyping up rallies by spitting dope rhymes that gave extra life to the causes they were repping..
The group became fairly popular and released an EP called ‘The Beautiful Baby‘ Standout cuts included the big band sounding ‘Prove It‘, the boom bap inspired ‘Heroine’ and the sultry sounding ‘H206‘ which pays tribute to Seattle.
A couple of years ago Madlines moved from Seattle to Oakland to get her masters degree. In true form she started making the rounds and has become a fixture here in the Bay Area.. She made some noise last year with the release of a horn laden song called ‘I Need a Moment‘.
This year she put her shoulder to the grind to finish her first solo EP called ‘Love Child‘. Here Madlines pushes the envelope and expands her sound to include nice reggae sounding jams like ‘A Good Thing‘ and ‘Irie‘ which features Hollis. According to Madlines, the sound scape to the peroject reflects her West Indian roots..
The EP has a dope stand out track that reflects her more traditional flows called Blocka which features Madlines trading rhymes with Gigante of the group Brwn Bflo. The pair recently teamed up to do a heartfelt song about mass incarceration and the impact it has on families called Beyond the Bars
If you happen to be in the Bay Area at the end of the month December 21 2013, Madlines along with fellow Bay Area artists Aisha Fukishima, Coco Peila and Ana Roth will all be performing at the Legionnaire Salon located on 2272 telegraph Ave in Oakland
BLOCKA (Don’t Block My Shine)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fporPzwxBgE
I Need A Moment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNLcUwOQYlA
Ms.Understood
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVf2WiBh3T0