Seattle Rap | Hip-Hop and Politics

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

Sir Mix a Lot

Sir Mix-A-Lot aka the JR Ewing of Seattle does not always get his just do for his contributions to Hip Hop. For many he’s simply the guy who did the pop, fun-loving anthem ‘Baby Got Back’. The reality is Mix is pioneering figure in West Coast Hip Hop.. He was one of the first to come out and put Seattle on the map. His career was built on and independent label he co-founded called Nasty Mix.. His deejay at the time Nasty Nes was one of the first people in the country to do a Hip Hop radio show..He was one of the first to have his own TV series ‘The Watcher‘.

When Mix’s first single Square Dance Rap dropped, many immediately thought he was a new artist from LA or down south.. It was later discovered that Sir Mix A Lot was from Seattle and what appeared to be a gimmick type song was actually the first stone in a long career that has gone over 25 years..

In our Hard Knock Radio interview we talked with Sir Mix-A-Lot about what it took to make it in music and how he’s managed to keep himself on top. He offers up keen advice for artists just getting in the game. We talked to Mix-A-Lot about the way the industry is changing and what he finds exciting about it.

He talked about the success of Seattle’s latest star Macklemore and his relationship to the indy artist. They are good friends. Mix-A lot talked at length about the importance of being independent and what that meant when he started vs what it means now with respect to an artists like Macklemore. He gives a nice history lesson about how rap especially in the West Coast was always about being independent. He noted that there was no other way for folks to get on but to put out music on an indy label.

We talk to Mix-A-Lot about the story behind his landmark songs Posse on Broadway and Baby Got Back.. He says both were homages of sorts.. Posse on Broadway was tribute to all the cities that have a Broadway where folks gather to show off their rides and check out the scene. It was initially inspired when he visited Arizona and saw they had a Broadway similar to what was in Seattle..

In Baby Got Back, he said he wanted to have a fun and respectful way to let women know it was ok to have curves and show them off. he explained at the time of him doing the song, many women were being told to slim down and hide their curves, especially if they wanted to ‘make it’ in Hollywood or the world of modeling.. Sir Mix-A-Lot’s song changed the perception as he intended. He said his song has stood the test of time, because it had a bit more substance and wasn’t exploitative.

Lastly we talked about Mix-A-Lot’s other career and love which is high-tech.. Many don’t know that before he started rapping Mix-A-Lot was into high-tech on the hardware side and that he even had his own computer store. He noted that he’s always been good with his hands and his soldering iron game is ‘sinister’. He also noted that he makes frequent trips to the Bay Area and spends quite a bit of time in Silicon Valley. Currently Mix-A-Lot is working on a new venture that will help artists who wish to enhance their own music studios. He talks about that new project in our interview..

Mix A lot will be performing at Yoshi’s in San Francisco this weekend..

Sir Mix-A-Lot ‘Posse on Broadway ‘

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBPpy_SVV_0

Sir Mix -A-Lot ‘My Hooptie’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_F76ySzk48

Categories

3 Dope Songs from Madlines Making Noise from Seattle to the Bay Area

BLOCKA (Don’t Block My Shine)

I Need A Moment

Ms.Understood

Hard Knock Radio (HKR) Intv w/ West Coast Legend & Pioneer Sir Mix-A-Lot