TOWN LOVE is an online art museum dedicated to celebrating the vibrant past and present of Northwest Hip-Hop. You can browse by artist or browse by year.

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Tag: Footprints

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Top 10 Songs

Throughout the ’90s, writer Novocaine132 extensively covered the Seattle hip-hop scene. You’ll find his byline on feature stories and record reviews in both The Rocket and The Stranger, and he contributed to the marketing of several Tribal and Loosegroove releases, too.

Over the past few years, he’s been posting a series on YouTube called Top 10 Songs where he digs deep into the work of a particular Seattle rap legend, surfacing the not-to-be-missed songs from their catalogs. Whether or not you agree with the specific choices, each video provides a great overview of each artist’s career and there are lots of audio samples so you can hear what each song sounds like.

He adds, “The project began in 2017 when I heard that Wordsayer had passed away. At the time I was retired from music and print journalism, and I was concentrating my efforts on documentary filmmaking. When Jon died it hit me very hard, and I had to evaluate my life and my work. He and I were good friends in the 1990s, and he inspired much of my work in the area of hip-hop writing. I made a Top 10 Songs video of Source Of Labor at the end of 2017 to help deal with the pain of losing Wordsayer. Then in 2018, I made one for Ghetto Chilldren, and it started to become a series. I named my enterprise “Overstanding Seattle” to give tribute and honor to Jonathan Moore, one of the most truly amazing musicians I have ever known.”

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The Sport-N-Life Compilation Vol. 1

Sportn’ Life Records launched in 2002 with a two-song, twelve-inch rap single. The A-side was called “We Are” by Last Men Standin, and the cut lyrically served as a rectangle-sticker-on-their-chest introduction to the group and the label. The single’s B-side was by Danger, later known as D. Black and now Nissim Black, and titled “You Need A Thug.” Both tracks were produced by Vitamin D of Tribal Productions fame. Sportn’ Life co-founders Devon Manier, Emery “Slim” Buford, and Jamal Henderson quickly began to attract talent, and in 2003 the label put out a massive collection of Seattle hip-hop called The Sport-N-Life Compilation Vol. 1, containing twenty one tracks.

Let me apologize ahead of time to some of the fine artists that I will not have time to mention, there are too many tracks here to cover them all. Danger and Fatal Lucciauno start things off with their excellent “Make A Change.” Both performers have an economic way of rapping, using supply and demand to create phrases, sentences, and verses of extreme value.

The aforementioned Vitamin D carries some weight on Compilation Vol. 1, producing four cuts on the CD. Besides the two songs from the 2002 Sportn’ Life single which both appear here, Narcotik’s easy-paced Seattle classic “Chips To A Cell” from the group’s 1995 album Intro To The Central is also featured. Vitamin’s own track “Pimp Of The Year,” is yet another example of his talent both in the booth and twisting the knobs.

Producer J Bellamy gets flutey on J. One’s pop-sounding “Tonight,” featuring a short rap by Wojack and vocals by Sophia. “No Ordinary” by Footprints is one of my favorites of the whole set. “The rumor is I’d make a million overseas. America, she’s so hard to please,” is one of Proh Mic’s effortless lyrics. Mall Saint also entertains with “Caught In The Red,” showing off his very unique, speedy rapping style.

Three huge names finish the long compilation, Silent Lambs, Fleeta Partee, and Candidt. Sportn’ Life managed to accomplish so much with this ambitious CD. The thoughtful project brought together artists who may not have otherwise appeared together, which added so much character to the listening experience. I would be remiss if Bean One did not get a shout out too, for producing over a dozen beats on Compilation Vol. 1. Written by Novocaine132

The Sport-N-Life Compilation Vol. 1 was created in and features appearances from:

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Operation Raw

Here’s an early lo-fi release from Seattle producer Bean One. After I found out about his project Doublevision, I picked up this dope tape back in the day from local music supporter Orpheum Records on Broadway. It’s a great snapshot of some obviously talented artists in their early days. Although Bean has become a household name in the underground hip-hop community (producing tracks for such notables as Charlie 2Na and Trife Da God), I’m not really sure what Proh Mic has been up to. Any info would be appreciated. Other names that appear on this tape include Putney Swope, Verse Omega, Kylea from Beyond Reality, and Mr. Hill (later to be found all over Oldominion releases). Over an hour of classic grimy and lo-fi goodness from ’99. (This review originally appeared on the Bring That Beat Back blog and was written by Jack Devo.)

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The Stats

The True Believers Crew (TBC) encompassed an underground Seattle hip-hop movement in the early 1990s. Members included Specs, E Sharp, Bean One, King Otto, Page 3, Proh Mic, Tracy Armour, and others. Producer Bean One and MC Proh Mic teamed up to create Footprints, and their first release was this 4 song, lo-fi EP titled The Stats. As Proh Mic describes in the intro, the tape was made “on some busted-ass equipment.”

Side A leads off with “The Planet” and it’s a major head-nodder. This beat by Bean One is droning and hypnotic, it seems to consist of emptiness. Galactic gravity rhythms pervade the low end as the high-treble scratches and laser sounds on the chorus explode like pop-rocks in your ears. Proh Mic may “want a new drug like Huey Lewis,” but to a hip-hop addict this track itself is going to get you high. “I represent the whole planet,” he raps, eschewing the phony East vs West coastal beef which fragmented hip-hop culture in the ‘90s. The second song is the short “And It Don’t Stop,” which has some punch but ends quickly. Then we get about two minutes of weird musical bits and samples in an interlude of sorts. This chaos puts me pleasantly off balance, reminiscent of listening to the classic disorienting record “A Childs Garden Of Grass” from 1971.

The B-side gets going with “Mental Acugenics,” a choppy and loose excursion with lots of noise and dissonance. Next is “That’s A Lie,” another cut proving that Footprints were serious contenders to join Seattle’s royalty. Similar to what he did with “The Planet,” producer Bean One absolutely slays it on “That’s A Lie.” Those two beats manage to accomplish so much with so little. They harness the power of nothing just like the hub of a wheel holds the spokes together in the famous Lao Tzu paradox. “That’s A Lie” features hints of harp strings, bird sounds, tiny whispers of music, but nothing you can grab onto. Proh Mic lyrically stands up for himself, “You think we gonna stay quiet?” he asks incredulously. “They want to say we start riots, that’s a lie,” goes the chorus, throwing out a challenge to anyone blaming rap music for violence. At the end, the tape fades out with two more minutes of spacey, gyroscopic, audio madness. The Stats really does have something for your mind, your body, and your soul. Written by Novocaine132

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