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: Jesse Desean

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

A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Vizard

Hmmm... There’s not a lot of information about this record in the museum encyclopedia.

This TOWN LOVE website was created in 2021 as a pandemic-era project. It was a volunteer-led effort to help document and celebrate the complete history of Northwest hip-hop between the years 1981 and 2020. This public archive we built is now available for free online for everyone to read and explore.

If you'd like to contribute, and you know something about this particular record--a story, a memory, or a favorite lyric--please email us a short write-up, and we’ll add your thoughts to the archive when we get the chance.

Thanks for your help in preserving the history of our scene!

Vizard was created in and features appearances from:

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

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Influence

Influence, released this summer, is a stellar side project from former Nu Era member Blaine Davis and guitarist Joseph Comin. They’ve sampled recognizable riffs from Seattle’s rock and grunge greatest hits, and then magically transformed well-loved songs into hip-hop bangers—each one sounds completely new and fresh. The opening track “Cobain” lifts the haunting strains of Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box” into a loop before veering in unexpected directions. It’s a revelation, as is “Hendrix” and “Miller.” Blaine’s verses throughout are powerful and deep, questions of gentrification and the changing city. Let me simply say this: Go get this record on Bandcamp. The many references to local legends should land this album on every Seattle publication’s record-of-the-year shortlist.

Influence was created in and features appearances from:

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Remember Face

During winter in Seattle, days are short and dark, and it’s always raining. Joy Division and The XX. Names not usually associated with hip-hop, however, Remember Face’s self-titled debut brings to mind their bleak, goth moodiness, and that’s definitely how I’m feeling lately. “My Tigers Name Is Lion,” with its massive industrial synths could be mistaken for something new from Depeche Mode. That is until Chimaroke Abuachi starts spitting on top, sometimes singing, directing the mood bleaker still. Andrew Savoie of Home Slice fame is responsible for the production and the keys. The mood builds in intensity, over these 10 short, intense tracks, broken just before the end with “Take Shelter” and its humorous pirate ending. Also, breathtaking cover.

Remember Face was created in and features appearances from:

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