Macklemore - "The Unplanned Mixtape"

This weekend, after catching Macklemore's set at Bumbershoot, I copped the mixtape he put together for the festival. A mix of old and new songs, some released as features or on compilation albums, this 10 song mixtape features the artist at his finest. Starting off with the soon to be Seattle anthem "The Town", Macklemore is able to capture the essence of the hip hop community in the city. With the line "The skyline is etched in my veins, you can never put that out, no matter how much it rains" expresses his love for the Seattle that I assume many who are like me can relate to. The mixtape also presents two alter egos, the "terrorist fighter" Aberdeen and the dance sensation Raven Bowie on "And We Danced" which has the ability to truly become a pop hit. Aside from "The Town", my personal favorite is "Fallin", a very rough but genuine cut of the pains of like and depression. If you are a Macklemore fan I definitely recommend getting your hands on the project, and although it isn't an album, it is a very good piece of work to hold over fans until the Ryan Lewis projects are released.



Download "And We Danced" Produced by Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, Shno

Download "The Town" Produced by Scenic W/ Cuts by Vitamin D

Bumbershoot 09

Every year I try to hit up Bumbershoot, on of the best music festivals there is located in the best city this nation has to offer. In the past I have been fortunate enough to catch Talib Kweli/Common, Matt Costa, an epic Blue Scholars/Kanye night, and Brother Ali among others. This year was no different, I made it out for both Sunday and Monday. Here are a few of the highlights, both good and bad:

The Good: The top three sets I saw were Macklemore, Raphael Saadiq and Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears.

Macklemore's set was legendary showmanship from an artist I have seen many times and have high expectations of. From his new song "The Town" which was capped off by the cities greatest gift (rain), to "Love Song" with Evan Roman, as well as the creative wit and humor in "Dance Song", Macklemore pulled out all the stops in proving once again why he reigns atop the city's hip hop scene.






Raphael Saadiq isn't someone who I have listened to a lot, but had heard good things and checked out part of his set, turned out to be one of the better choices of the weekend. Along with the throwback music came such a well rehearsed stage cadenced, with back up singers spinning and snapping on point made this one of the most professional sets I have seen. (Unfortunately I don't have pictures of this).

Last spring I read an article in SPIN about a funk band who was bringing back the music with their own style and attitude. Shortly after reading this I went to Best Buy and bought Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears "Tell 'Em What Your Name Is!" and have been a huge fan since. This act was incredibly with the big band feel and left me looking forward to seeing them again in an indoor venue.




Another awesome side note, I met Sarah Silverman!



The Bad (and UGLY):

I consider myself a longtime Common Market fan and follower, however after the set this weekend I was so disappointed and in awe of Ra Scion's performance I don't know if I will see them again. Looking like a cross between Jonnie Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean and David Bowie, Ra took the stage along with a band and group of actors simulating a period of slavery. Given their 2008 Tobacco Road Ep, I thought this could be interesting in a good way. However the show continued to display Ra singing soul music, his daughter dancing as a ballerina, him having the crowd sing happy birthday to her, and exiting the stage with 15 minutes remaining on his set time. As he left a good portion of the crowd stood asking one another, "What just happened?" Although at first I thought I would have enjoyed that time back, I would never have comprehended the stories had I missed it.






All in all it was a very good Bumbershoot weekend and just left me looking forward to next year. Here's a list of the performances I saw:

-Cold War Kids
-Dyme Def
-Common Market
-Spaceman & D. Black
-Raphael Saadiq
-Macklemore
-Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
-Janelle Monae
-Franz Ferdinand

RIP AHyppa's Basement

Last night a crowd gathered to take part to memorialize a site that has played a large part in Tacoma's history, AHyppa's infamous basement, the home of Hoodstock '09. This sight has brought many people together, they laughed, they cried, they raged, they even made babies. Ok, maybe not the latter, but it is that amazing a location. On the night of August 29, 2009 that basement held it's final festivities, loaning out its floors to the performances of 10th and Commerce, EvergreenOne, J.Hill and John Crown.

AHyppa welcomed all with open arms, after hearing a calling from above, "If you text them, they will come."



The Hip-Hop/Rock/Funk/20 other genre band 10th and Commerce rocked a live set and got the party started off right. They even started filming "Fade to White" (lame hip-hop joke, but its my blog, so shut up!).




Then EvergreenOne graced the party with his presence to get everyone ragin'.




In the end it was an night of epic proportions that will long be remembered. AHyppa's basement will forever be a piece of Tacoma History and be remembered as the Northwest equivalent of Woodstock.

Yours truly and the man, the myth, the legend, AHyppa!

An Artist's Take On Downloading Music

Downloading music is often a very controversial subject. As a college student on a budget, I myself face the dilemna of wanting all this music, but not being able to afford it. However if I am truly a fan of the music and want to show appreciation, how can I not support the artists that make it? Brother Ali, one of my favorite artists, approaches the subject in a very personal and philosophical manner. He says that he supported Rakim once he became a fan, this is the way I view it. If an artists makes an album I truly appreciate and think is great, I will go out and buy it anyway. What about you?

2009 Song of the Year?

2008 provided us with the mega combo of Kanye, Jay-Z, T.I. and Lil Wayne with the hit "Swagga Like Us". One half of that group has come back together to provide a song for Lebron's movie More Than A Game. Drake and Eminem join Wayne and Kanye in a song that in my opinion is murdered by Eminem and Drake (Who I'm still not sold on aside from hooks). I think this or D.O.A. may be the song of the year this far.

Download "Forever" complements of 2Dopeboyz

Soon to be Seattle's favorite sports team...

After a day in which I listened to an uneducated radio show host (is that an oxymoron?) from OKC trash Seattle in an interview in which Nick Collison stood up for the city (interview here) I decided to get mast the negative and look forward to a wonderful future of Seattle sports, The Seattle Mist! Lingerie football has grown past the Lingerie Bowl on Super Bowl Sunday into a full grown league, in which teams will have a 4 game season. Don't know about you, but I will definitely be in attendance for the best thing to happen in women's sports since Brandi Chastain graced us with the sight of her sports bra.






Seattle Mist Website

This Sportsmanship Trend Has To End

Coaches, NCAA back new effort

College football teams are planning to start the season off on a courteous note.

As part of a sportsmanship initiative, the American Football Coaches Association and NCAA are encouraging schools to arrange teamwide handshakes on the field before kickoff.

Grant Teaff, executive director of the AFCA and former Baylor coach, says college football players and teams are in a pressure-packed environment and that encouraging respect and sportsmanship is important.

"It is symbolic," Teaff told USA Today. "But it is, we think, a very important initiative."

Coaches are required to shake before and after games, but having players do it in an organized way is new. The handshake is only planned for the first week of games, and is not mandatory, though Teaff says all schools have been asked to participate.

"I'd be surprised if the high, high majority of our teams do not participate in this," Teaff said, according to USA Today.

Teaff said the AFCA and the NCAA would talk further to see if they should make the pregame handshake routine, though he expressed uncertainty over the feasibility of it.

"I know basketball shakes hands after games, but football has a lot larger numbers and it's kind of burdensome and cumbersome. .. to do that," Teaff said, according to the newspaper.

The NCAA's football rules committee, meanwhile, is weighing its own sportsmanship-related measure. Taunts or showboating by players in mid-play -- for instance, as a ball carrier is five or 10 yards from crossing the goal line -- could be treated as live-ball rather than dead-ball fouls, potentially wiping out scores in the same way holding and clipping do.

The panel considered the change for the coming season and passed, but will look at the issue again next year, say its secretary and rules editor, Rogers Redding.

"I think the sense is it would stop it in a heartbeat," says Redding, the Southeastern Conference's coordinator of football officials.

"The issue is not around celebrating.. .. We want the [the players] to play with enthusiasm and celebrate with their teammates and enjoy the game. The line gets crossed when there's taunting and inciting."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.