A film about Northwest hip-hop from

The Alhambra Collabs

The Alhambra Collabs is a 2016 compilation mixtape from Jarv Dee and DJ Rocryte, exclusively streaming on SoundCloud. It collects together a bunch of Jarv’s appearances on other people’s tracks, demonstrating both his dominance on the scene and acting as a who’s who of Seattle hip hop (Featuring Kung Foo Grip, Nacho Picasso, The Physics, Gifted Gab, Katie Kate and many more) Here, Jarv flies in with the superhero verse and is often accompanied by his loyal sidekick, Mary Jane. Rocryte uses his terrific turntablist chops to scratch these tracks into one continuous 45-minute mix. Head over to SoundCloud to hear the magic for yourself.

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Never Enough

A while back, someone suggested to me that you could love a whole record because of a single drum break or perfectly placed sample, and Never Enough a 2014 release from Leezy Soprano has them in spades. There’s one moment in particular, in the opener “The Whole World/Problem Child” where, just as Tacoma rapper Leez says “Pour some liquor…” a sample of ice clinking in a glass emerges to form the foundation of a synth line that then carries through the song. If you do nothing else, go seek out this moment: I look forward to it every time I spin this record. (At the end of the track, he says, “I love y’all, and I love this beat, too,” and you know he knows it’s great. “Star” samples Madonna in a fresh way, too. What brings me back is all the real talk on racial injustice and the need for change. “Colors” suggests that instead of one-day protests, there’s a real need for better ongoing education programs in black history and accomplishments in our schools. Fun educational fact: Leez’s Supreme Being record was one of the first I ever wrote about, inspiring this whole long series of local hip-hop write-ups.

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