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.

This gallery page is organized to highlight the creative work of

Tag: Jerm

As you scroll, items are sorted from most recent to earliest.

A film about Northwest hip-hop from

The Blank Canvas

Filmmaker and hip-Hop musician Rafael Flores spent six years making The Blank Canvas: Hip-Hop’s Struggle for Representation in Seattle. The film attempts to document the unique identity of hip-hop culture in Seattle, through interviews with over 100 rappers, producers, DJs, graffiti artists, break-dancers, fashion designers, and promoters from The Town.

It takes us on a journey that investigates the origins of Hip-Hop in the Northwest, the legacy of Sir-Mix-a-Lot, the notorious 1985 Teen Dance Ordinance, Clear-Channel’s dominance over commercial Hip-Hop radio, the increasing popularity of white rappers in Seattle, and hip-hop’s struggle for representation in a seemingly liberal city.

The full 96-minute film is available for rent on Vimeo for $5. Watch the trailer below.

The Blank Canvas was created in and features appearances from:

Did we get it wrong? It happens. Send us an email and let's get it corrected right away!

A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Dopamine

Hmmm... There's not a lot of information about this project in the museum encyclopedia. We'd love your help! TOWN LOVE is maintained by an awesome community of passionate volunteers who keep it all up to date.

Do you know something about the history of this record? Do you have a favorite lyric or a favorite memory? Send us an email on why this is one of the great hip-hop albums from the Northwest. Thanks!

Dopamine was created in and features appearances from:

Did we get it wrong? It happens. Send us an email and let's get it corrected right away!

A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Kingdom Crumbs

The debut album by Cloud Nice’s Kingdom Crumbs is the long-awaited culmination of the Cloud’s experimental and forward-thinking sound, image, and attitude. Not so much a collection of songs as a loosely-knitted tapestry of impressions, Kingdom Crumb’s debut LP plays like a song-cycle from the Mad Hatter; it is whimsical and random but with elements a little edgy, and sometimes dangerous. Inspired insanity! With songs that rarely stay fixed in place for long, the album constantly morphs from style to style; from sleek, Chic-influenced soul, to ambient, dreamy washes of colorful tonality, to tribal chanting – often within a single song.

Production visionary Tay Sean’s trademark airy synths dominate the mix, accompanied by clean, stuttering beats and lots of reverb. Electronic rhythms and patterns fade in and out, sometimes ending abruptly, sometimes derailing, going where the wind takes them. Emcees Tay Sean, Mikey Nice, Jarv Dee, and Jerm masterfully fit every vibe. With so many talented lyricists it would be hard to keep ego out of the mix, but they do just that, combining their talents in the right way for the betterment of each song and the album as a whole.

With the ever-changing and experimental quality of the record, it comes as no surprise that the three most cohesive (and for lack of a better word, standard) songs are the ones already released as singles: “Pick Both Sides of My Brain” and “The Mezzanine” are two addictive head-nodding, groove-based gems, while “For The Birds” serves as a distilled vision of the album as a whole – sedated and dreamy, with unexpected changes and breakdowns in the music. However, when placed within the maelstrom of sounds that is the Crumbs’ album, these three tracks fit perfectly, bubbling up at just the right moment to link one passage with the next, or to gently wake the listener from a music-induced trance.

As a genre, this record is obviously difficult to classify. Certainly, hip-hop plays a big role – lyricism and stylistic techniques are present, as are the cultural references and the swagger – but other influences are nearly as dominant. Disco and soul play huge parts, and so do late-sixties-era electric jazz of Davis and Hancock. The ambient electronic music of Kraftwerk and Brian Eno can also be heard. Just as evident as the influences is the certainty that this is something entirely new and unheard of, something that might even not have a name yet. So I’ll call it as I see it: this is evolution. Check it and be amazed. This has been my most anticipated record release yet this year. Based on the three singles the Crumbs have released so far, I knew this was some future shit. (This review originally appeared on the Bring That Beat Back blog and was written by Jack Devo.)

Kingdom Crumbs was created in and features appearances from:

Did we get it wrong? It happens. Send us an email and let's get it corrected right away!

A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Hella Proper

Hmmm... There's not a lot of information about this project in the museum encyclopedia. We'd love your help! TOWN LOVE is maintained by an awesome community of passionate volunteers who keep it all up to date.

Do you know something about the history of this record? Do you have a favorite lyric or a favorite memory? Send us an email on why this is one of the great hip-hop albums from the Northwest. Thanks!

Hella Proper was created in and features appearances from:

Did we get it wrong? It happens. Send us an email and let's get it corrected right away!

A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Helladope

This week, I’ve been spinning Helladope, a 2010 self-titled sci-fi concept album from Tay Sean and Jerm D. Helladope’s space ambassadors are a funky, musical Bill & Ted, wending their way through an early ’90s action-movie musical landscape, phat synths, treble-positive snares. Throughout their adventure, our duo encounters amazing auditory aliens THEESatisfaction, Jarv Dee, Isabella Du Graf and others. Gorgeous cover art by War.

Seattle hip-hop blog 206UP picked this record as one of the “Top 10 Albums of 2010,” saying that:

Helladope’s Tay Sean is far too young a cat to be making music with this much soul and expert tribute to the R&B and funk of yesteryear. Still, he accomplished the feat with ease. Along with emcee/vocalist Jerm, Helladope’s debut album offers a fresh take on the P-funk/G-funk rap amalgamation that originated in Southern California in the early ’90s. The sound is updated here with extraterrestrial gimmickry that amuses but isn’t essential to the album’s vibe.

Helladope was created in and features appearances from:

Did we get it wrong? It happens. Send us an email and let's get it corrected right away!

A film about Northwest hip-hop from

SeattleCali Fragilistic ExtraHella Dopeness

Seattle hip-hop blog 206UP picked this record as one of the “Top 10 Albums of 2010,” saying that:

The album equivalent of a 2-0-6 hip-hop house party, by design SeattleCali wasn’t exactly an official debut LP for State of the Artist, but a showcase for much of the talent in the city. The three SOTA emcees were consistently outshone by their guests and a lot of times the lyrics didn’t seem to make any sense. As strictly a party album, however, there wasn’t one better.

SeattleCali Fragilistic ExtraHella Dopeness was created in and features appearances from:

Did we get it wrong? It happens. Send us an email and let's get it corrected right away!

A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Knox Family

Hmmm... There's not a lot of information about this project in the museum encyclopedia. We'd love your help! TOWN LOVE is maintained by an awesome community of passionate volunteers who keep it all up to date.

Do you know something about the history of this record? Do you have a favorite lyric or a favorite memory? Send us an email on why this is one of the great hip-hop albums from the Northwest. Thanks!

Knox Family was created in and features appearances from:

Did we get it wrong? It happens. Send us an email and let's get it corrected right away!

A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Love or Fate

Hmmm... There's not a lot of information about this project in the museum encyclopedia. We'd love your help! TOWN LOVE is maintained by an awesome community of passionate volunteers who keep it all up to date.

Do you know something about the history of this record? Do you have a favorite lyric or a favorite memory? Send us an email on why this is one of the great hip-hop albums from the Northwest. Thanks!

Love or Fate was created in and features appearances from:

Did we get it wrong? It happens. Send us an email and let's get it corrected right away!

A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Think Tank

Seattle collective the Mind Movers released this ambitious record in 2008. City-wide in scope, the talents of over 30 Town emcees, vocalists, DJ’s and producers were utilized in the creation of this solidly underground compilation; probably exposing many of them to an audience that may have not heard them before, thus making it somewhat of a Do The Math for the Northwest’s third wave of hip-hop.

Think Tank is 21 varied and energetic tracks in length, and each song has multiple contributors. Crew cuts! I for one had only known of a few of the collaborators when I picked this up; it certainly opened my ears to a ton of great talent. The Mind Movers are made up of emcees Khanfidenz, Inkubiz, Mic Flont, Open Hands, Phreewil (who also handles production, and now resides in Hawaii), and producer/DJ Dead Noise. Besides those cats, the massive Seattle crew Alpha P/First Platoon represents as well, with features from emcees Jerm (also of Cloud Nice), Inkubiz and Phree Wil(again!), Kasi Jack Gaffle, Diez, Asad, Rajnii Eddins, Rufio, Jerz, Julie C, Yirim Seck, and Asun, who especially kicks it all over these tracks. Other names appear as well… It’s a huge who’s who.

Musically the beats are heavy, dusty underground gems. With six beatmakers in attendance, the tracks are surprisingly cohesive, although the ranges of styles are vast. Drum-heavy, broody, atmospheric tracks are heard in abundance (thanks mainly to Phree Wil), alongside upbeat soul samples, and mellow jazz piano loops. Whatever, it’s all nice; no beats out of a can here, this is artistic craftsmanship from the bottom up. Despite the huge undertaking, only the surface of the last decade’s hip-hop scene has been scratched with this release. The Town is bursting at the seams with talent. This is just a decent slice of it. (This review originally appeared on the Bring That Beat Back blog and was written by Jack Devo.)

Think Tank was created in and features appearances from:

Did we get it wrong? It happens. Send us an email and let's get it corrected right away!

A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Lovework

In the most recent issue of City Arts, you’ll find a poem contributed by Gabriel Teodros honoring the memory of J. Moore. Consequently, I found myself listening to Lovework on headphones at the moment when I ran into Gabriel himself outside of Neumos at last Friday’s memorial show.

This record recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, and it sounds as fresh and honest today as it did in 2007. Exploring wide-ranging “big” issues from sexism to classism, immigration to geopolitical struggles, Lovework is also very damn funky. Press play and two songs in I’m already chair dancing. The way the bass drums and the bass guitar interplay throughout “Beautiful” is simply sublime as is the syncopated rhyme scheme in “East Africa.” Here’s a musician who understands the responsibility and opportunities of the microphone to influence hearts and minds. Seek this record out.

Lovework was created in and features appearances from:

Did we get it wrong? It happens. Send us an email and let's get it corrected right away!

A film about Northwest hip-hop from

2003

Between 2000 and 2002, Geico ran a funny TV commercial called “Bob Wehadababyitsaboy” in which a family tricks the phone company into getting a free long distance call. Audiences loved the fact that an entire sentence was packed into one word.

Seattle rapper Asun used a similar technique when he dropped his debut album Titanium Buttermilk Rhinoceros Briefcase in 1999. Briefcase featured tracks like “Search Party,” that were loaded with words and phrases smashed together in a blizzard of speedy vocal delivery. After that, he temporarily took on an alias named Kakurot, and continued the rapid rap technique on his Saiyan Of Earth album in 2001.

A couple of years later Asun recorded his third album, titled 2003, which gives us more of the same recklessly fast flows. Listening to the accelerated lyrics can be a fun puzzle, but at times, your ear may fail to decipher the words as they fly by. The boisterous “No Shorts” and the more reflective “Help Yo Self,” both nicely produced by Idel One, are a bit slower than the rest of 2003, and in my opinion they are two of the CD’s strongest cuts. “No Shorts” is a challenge to other MCs to battle on wax, “Trade in the gat, cop a pen, write tracks, when I mash I hold hold the jawn like I miss the strap.”

“FYI” is interesting for its gentle beat produced by Mat The Alien. The track is a good compromise for me between Asun’s tongue-twister technique and his slower, more intelligible side. At the beginning, “FYI” delivers a short rap, then lets the soothing music ride for two full minutes. The last song on 2003, “Serve It Up,” has a jolty, electric, Frankenstein-ish vibe, and it succeeds at capturing the crew’s infectious energy. Asun would continue his career with many more releases, changing his stage name to Suntonio Bandanaz in the mid-2000s. Written by Novocaine132

2003 was created in and features appearances from:

Did we get it wrong? It happens. Send us an email and let's get it corrected right away!

A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Sun To A Recycled Soul

As far as I know this is Gabriel Teodros’s debut, and it’s definitely rougher than his later records. He’s still developing his flow here, but the fire, eloquence, and themes he’s known for are already in place. It’s got that old-school, jazz sample-heavy flavor I love, and the rough, unmastered sound quality I crave in production. Jerm, Castro, and Khingz, among others, guest. It was re-released a second time with a whole bunch of additional guest emcees (Orko, Macklemore, Moka Only, Deps, Patrick, Rajnii). Vivacious music, from possibly the 206’s most impassioned orator. (This review originally appeared on the Bring That Beat Back blog and was written by Jack Devo.)

Sun To A Recycled Soul was created in and features appearances from:

Did we get it wrong? It happens. Send us an email and let's get it corrected right away!

A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Open Your Eyes

A young Ben “Macklemore” Haggerty launched his solo rap career in 2001 with this debut album, Open Your Eyes. Setting aside the “Intro,” and the three “Interludes,” we are looking at fourteen tracks here. “Welcome To The Culture” starts things off, calling out fake MCs over a slick, groovy beat. “Look in the mirror and honestly tell yourself that you are keeping it real,” he chides. The brilliant “Wake Up” is a first look at the winning tone that would eventually become the Macklemore brand–a comedic, quick-witted entertainer telling concise stories with clear social messages. The sample in the chorus of “Wake Up” cleverly flips the line, “Use your mentality, wake up to reality,” from Ella Fitzgerald’s rendition of “Under My Skin.”

“Her Name Was Music,” shows Mack’s innocent earnestness and lack of inhibition baring his soul on the microphone. The track’s lyrics fall closer to to a high school romantic poetry assignment than rap verses, and before the end of the track, the music-as-woman metaphor feels strained. “Her Name Was Music” may have been inspired by Ghetto Chilldren’s “Equilibrium,” which has lines like, “Since my youth I’ve been in cahoots with this friend of mine, I’m in her mind, kick back with her, she soothes like Calamine.”

“Flossin” showcases the contradictions of Macklemore’s entire career. Why would a conscious MC want to floss? “Don’t take life so serious, get that neck knocking,” says the MC with the most deep, ponderous thoughts per bar. How can we “get this party hopping” with grim meditations on the true colonial origins of America’s Thanksgiving myth found elsewhere on the album? The lyrics of “Flossin” show Macklemore realizing in real time how hard it is to strike a balance between intellectual raps with a purpose, and catchy, lightweight ditties.

To me, solipsistic tracks like “Fresh Coast,” and “Earthlings,” resemble an Only Fans, no privacy look into Mack’s personal life and academic musings. SNL once called Common “a TED Talk with a beat,” for Macklemore just replace “TED Talk” with “CRT 101.” Is the confessional, self-diagnosing therapist version of Macklemore less compelling than the humorous-yet-poignant storyteller? Would there be “party” Macklemore without “political rally” Macklemore? The fact that he was able to bring both of these components of his personality along for the ride speaks to Mack’s integrity and his refusal to abandon the honest, truth-to-power style that brought him to the rap game in the first place.

Around the release of Open Your Eyes, opportunities opened up right and left for Macklemore. His hip-hop group Elevated Elements dropped their CD titled Progress, with interesting tracks such as “Sympathy,” “Truth Is Gravity,” and “Perspectives.” Also, Gabriel Teodros’ 2001 album Sun To A Recycled Soul featured Mack’s vocal and production work on three songs, including the deceptively mild-sounding “F*** The Industry.” It was an auspicious start to a career that would take Haggerty many times around the world. Written by Novocaine132

Open Your Eyes was created in and features appearances from:

Did we get it wrong? It happens. Send us an email and let's get it corrected right away!