
A film about Northwest hip-hop from 1993
Phamily Tribal Gang
Time Flies
Phamily Tribal Gang combined the rhymes of rapper Dee-Love (Dwayne Love) with the talents of producer Big Beezie Mack (Fred Byrdwell). Time Flies was the group’s three-song cassette debut.
The song “Time Flies” opens with lone piano notes and drum hits that explore a distant, vast expanse. The sparse instrumentation slowly coasleses into melody. Guitarist “Biggie” Lewis and singer Lisa Allen join in. Dee-Love raps his thoughts about the passage of hours and days. He feels like “Time is goin’ at record speed.” Suddenly, it’s last call at the party. He tries to hook up with his ex, but she ain’t havin’ it. The next day, he’s chilling at the crib with friends. After everyone leaves, he reflects, “Thank God for one more day.” The tape includes two additional songs, “Old School” and “Phuck Me.”
Beezie Mack was part of the posse behind Def In The Family, a record store located on the corner at Broadway and Jefferson. They’d carry explicit rap CDs and tapes that other stores wouldn’t. Their shop also incorporated a small recording studio where many locals cut their first rap tracks. It served as an important hub for the city’s music community. The Def In The Family space was operated by Emery Buford, Godfrey Chambers, Sean Mcafee, Tunde Salisbury, and Damani Williams.
Phamily Tribal Gang followed up this single in 1995 with a 17-song album called Hole In The Chest. The CD’s cover art has no tracklisting or credits, leaving its many contributors and song titles a mystery.
In 1996, Beezie Mack and Dee-Love produced and recorded Phamily Orientated, one of Seattle’s earliest hip-hop compilation albums. Many new artists are featured, including Shabazz Coalition, a new rap collective led by former Di-Ra Boy Sean Malik.
Over three decades, Beezie Mack has contributed musical mojo to dozens of street-level Seattle albums including turn-of-the-millennium gangsta classics from No Good Therapy, Sarkastik, Self Tightld, and Walt Nut. Around that time, changed his moniker to Beezie 2000.
Dee Love dropped his own solo debut in 1996. The album, Show Me The Money, was produced by Criminal Nation’s Eugenius.
Time Flies was created in 1993 and features appearances from: