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Tag: Draze

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Seattle's Own

On the first track of Seattle’s Own, a 2016 full-length from Draze, he spits, “I’m slept on, that’s why I had to set this alarm.” It’s a welcome clarion call and he’s right.

This album is steeped in Central District hip-hop history: At the end of the first song, he deftly weaves verses around more than 50 town shoutouts from Larry Mizell Jr to Gifted Gab to Raz Simone to Shabazz Palaces to Sir Mix-A-Lot and more. (If you’re local talent, you were probably name-checked here.)

What follows are 13 honest, personal, and intimate Seattle stories. Many of these powerful tracks clock in over 6 minutes and delve into social politics, the gentrification of the CD, and a questionable facelift imposed by outsiders. (Because there “ain’t nobody talking about no real shit.”)

There’s a big, polished sound here with big ambitions, calling to mind the work of Jay-Z and Drake. (The latter of whom my phone’s autocorrect keeps changing Draze’s name to.) Make sure to check out the Zimbabwean-influenced “Children of The Sun,” featuring Nia Hyped.

Seattle's Own was created in and features appearances from:

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

4 The Love of Music

Imagine a family reunion where everyone is there. I mean everyone. That means you get to see grandpa captivate people with his charm and wit, and you can hear a few of the aunts harmonizing a lovely new song they just made up, but you may encounter some not-so politically correct language from certain relatives. 4 The Love Of Music contains 17 tracks from across the family of rap and hip hop in the Emerald City as it existed when this comp was released in 2010. The expert curation by Tendai Maraire places tracks by superstars like (his own band) Shabazz Palaces, Macklemore, and Sir Mix A Lot, alongside offerings by other artists familiar to fans of Seattle hip hop. Thee Satisfaction contributes “Queen Supreme” and The Physics give us “Booe’d Up.” Fresh Espresso’s “Sunglasses On” stands out for its synthwave aesthetic, while “What Up Pimpin” by Draze is impossible to dislike, it’s simple and catchy. Unfortunately, there are too many more artists to name them all, but I must mention “Can’t Stand The Reign” by Mash Hall. Clocking in at five minutes and thirty-six seconds, this track is mysterious and inventive, calling to mind a hallucinatory Harmony Korine movie soundtrack. 4 The Love Of Music is one of the most complete assemblies of Seattle’s diverse rap community, and this compilation is a must-own. (This review was submitted by reader Novocaine132.)

4 The Love of Music was created in and features appearances from:

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Coolout 18

This film drops you into the crowd at the 18th-anniversary party for The Coolout Network, in 2009. Show creator Georgio Brown says the event was something of a dare: When he proposed a showcase featuring 18 of the top talents from The Town, everyone told him, “18 acts in one night? You can’t do it.” Nonetheless, this party proves the skeptics wrong.

There’s some wild live footage here, such as Sinsemilla performing their 2000 hit “Destiny,” or Silver Shadow D showing off his ability to rap and beatbox simultaneously.

Gabriel Teodros explains how meaningful both Coolout and Georgio himself have been to his growth as an artist. He recalls being 18 and rapping at the back of the bus, and Georgio walked up to him, handed him his Coolout card, and said, “You’re tight. You should do your thing.” You hear similar stories from many of the other artists in attendance, shouting out Georgio for “holding it down and documenting the scene. Y’all seeing history right here.”

This movie captures those elusive feelings of camaraderie and casual socializing: Watching it, you really feel like you’re hanging out at a Seattle hip-hop show on a Tuesday night, and everyone’s here and nobody’s in a rush to get anywhere.

Coolout 18 was created in and features appearances from:

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Holy Haters

C.A.V.É. was a hip-hop trio in Seattle comprised of three brothers, Ziyani, Dumisani, and Tendai, who were all musical prodigies. Their father Dumisani Maraire Sr. was an accomplished musician from Zimbabwe, and the family spent time in both the US and Africa growing up. This gave them a chance to immerse in a new culture as children, and helped to shape their identity, expanding their consciousness. In the year 2000 they released a rap album as C.A.V.É. and chose aliases, Ziyani went by “Baby Boy,” Dumisani Jr. was “Draze,” and Tendai chose “Boy Wonder.”

Holy Haters is a Christian rap tour de force album. Bible verses are frequently quoted, and messages of the Bible are woven through every song. “You ain’t hard to me, Jesus the only superstar to me, the Lord’s a part of me,” is a good example from “Say That Then,” which starts the album. One lyric that always makes me chuckle is, “Look up in the sky, in the birds, it’s a plane. Ay yo what’s God’s name? Captain save a soul, man,” from “Emerald City Communion,” because the MC uses the same inflection as the classic E-40 verse.

Album highlights include “The Saint In Me,” for its minimal, smooth jazz beat. “Would you still love me if my last name wasn’t Maraire?” ask C.A.V.É. rhetorically. The three Rymer’s Anonymous cuts, “Rhyme-oholic,” “Hip-Hop Fiend,” and “Battle Dependent,” are more freestyle-based, and show off the wordplay of the group. The track I connect with the most is “I Hope They Feel This,” which explores the group’s thoughts about various situations in their lives. I must admit, to an atheist like myself some of the songs on Holy Haters are too preachy, but “I Hope They Feel This” doesn’t seem that way, rather it shines for its musical craft and lyrical honesty.

Several years later, Tendai curated the excellent 2004 Evolution Of Hip Hop Seattle rap compilation, including two new C.A.V.É. songs, “Just Don’t Stop” featuring heavy hitters Kutfather and E-Dawg, and the careening “Yeah Yeah Baby!” According to Draze, Holy Haters was the group’s only album, and in the mid-2000s the brothers each went their separate ways to pursue new musical paths. Draze stuck with a more traditional show-and-prove rap style for his very successful solo career, while Tendai took it to the fourth dimension and evolved hip-hop into something entirely new with his group Shabazz Palaces. Written by Novocaine132

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