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: Luna God

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

A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Renaissance Bitch

Da Qween—a self-described reefer-smoking, black, queer, non-binary, hard femme—delivers bars upon bars that will bury your favorite rapper. Look no further than “When Worst Comes To Worst,” the second track on Renaissance Bitch. It’s three-and-a-half minutes of unrelenting, baller verses with nary a breath. (Except for two brief moments during which the tune—and your attention—are held in stasis.) Seattle Met describes the record as “coming in hot.” Renaissance is an expansive, ambitious, and theatrical listen that’s easily one of my favorites of the year.

Renaissance Bitch 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

1990 x LUNA GOD

It seems like Luna God was everywhere this year, creating hella fun musical playgrounds and producing many of my favorite local hip-hop projects. That’s true here in this six-track collaboration with 1990. From the opening track, where a lush piano turns dark, to the marching anthem in “Take Control” that turns defiantly weird about two minutes in… The electro-funk of “Uncle Sam” falls away into a dreamy ocean of reverb, and the record ends with the deeply danceable “D4L,” there’s a lot of transformation going on. 1990. keeps pace throughout with inventive verses and wordplay, reminding us of the importance of belief, regardless of the haters and the government. This is one entertaining EP.

1990 x LUNA GOD 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

Moonshine

On the opening lines of Moonshine, Cosmos frontman Campana spits, “Just about a year ago, they didn’t know my name and now… I gotta hunch that we’re gonna be colossal.” In September, the group traveled to Paisley Park, MN—Prince’s former estate—to represent the hopes of all Seattle at the national Musicology competition. This was just the latest step on the ladder for a band that crushed the competition at 2016’s Sound Off! battle of the bands. This 2017 mixtape, Moonshine, pulls together a mosaic of influences. While listening, I wrote this perplexing scribble: “math-rock Northern Soul EDM dance jazz rap.” They knit together this wide range of influences into a unified, singular sound. There’s so much sonic goodness to savor here, from the Hendrix guitar axe crash on opener “North Star,” to the house club dub of “Mixed Signals,” or the gorgeously weird moments in “To The Moon” and “Silver Lining.” There’s also a smart choice of featured contributors, including Parisalexa and MistaDC, two talents whose star power has been rising all year. This is shake-your-booty music, channeling all the energy of a live five-piece band, while also engaging in advanced studio trickery. Cosmos’s live shows, such as the 4/20 launch party that kicked off this record, are a highly recommend experience. These guys are destined for big things. That opening hunch ain’t so far off.

Moonshine 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

Third Daughter

Few albums have as much to say about our present, turbulent times—our year of protests and rebellion, of identity, race, and responsibility—as does Third Daughter from DoNormaal. Emerging from the dragon’s maw of “gold rooster” she declares of multicultural heritage, “They still make Americans just like they used to.” During a recent DoNormaal show, one specific moment brought this record clearly into focus for me: On the chorus of the addictively catchy “ego slave,” she repeats, “March on, march on, everybody needs to step front, I’m going be the only one to take a step back right now.” It’s a line spoken by an iconoclast outsider, that when performed live, you witness as the careful orchestration of adoring masses, asking us to close in, while she, the matador on stage, the only one to step back, waves the daring red flag because the time for sitting on the sidelines in silence is over. On “dodo call” she bluntly questions, “But will you show up when the people call?” These anthems are contrasted with moments of too-close intimacy, (“revenge”) and virginal sweetness (“my teacher” featuring partner Raven Hollywood). DoNormaal complements her stellar songwriting with a cadre of the city’s most talented beatmakers: Luna God, Brakebill, Mario Casalini, Fish Narc, Joe Valley, and others. There’s so much to love here, from the vocal experimentation on “heat lullaby” to Wolftone’s guest verse on “don’t make me wait.” This remarkable record, blistering with confidence and clarity, demonstrates why DoNormaal is the titan of the local scene.

The Stranger picked Third Daughter as one of the “Top 10 Albums of 2017,” saying that:

Concise is nice, but when it comes to ambitious artistic declarations of purpose, I like them long, complex, and unwieldy. The 19 tracks on Third Daughter cover a lot of sonic, rhythmic, musical, and verbal territory, but they’re united by the voice at the center, reclaiming the rapper’s traditional role as MC, presiding over a retinue of producers (one for each song) and guests. That voice is compelling, commanding, even. The lyrics are firmly grounded in a quest to locate and express a self to can live—”young bitch in a pit of lions,” she says on “My Teacher.” “I don’t wanna give it up, standing still in the spotlight vulnerable as fuck.” Without the unified subject, it might just feel like a long, good playlist or promising mixtape. But this is an LP (a double LP, in fact, so fingers crossed for a vinyl pressing). It wants to be heard. And you definitely want to hear it.

Third Daughter 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

& &

Demo Mix '17

This seven-song mixtape, Demo Mix ’17, from Scribe Mecca, Yodi Mac and Wffls, is only available on physical CD-R. In an age when the public acts increasingly entitled to steam anything they want for free, it’s refreshing to see the conviction of these Tacoma musicians in producing a rarity: An underground physical release that you have to put effort into obtaining. (i.e. Go follow and DM the creators.) I will say you should absolutely go seek this one out. It hits the ground running: It seems impossible for these guys to write a bad song. There’s an overall laid-back vibe like you’re hanging out in a basement with a tuneful trifecta. Singalong raps like track 3, “Don’t waste your time you’re better off” or track 4, which recontextualizes samples from Rihanna’s Anti, are refreshingly out-of-step from what you’d expect from trap-centric Tac. (p.s. These guys should totally do a collaboration with fellow Tacoma resident Noo.) The last track, “ENEMIES,” recently found its way onto SoundCloud alongside a coveted Luna God remix. This whole mixtape is fire.

Demo Mix '17 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

Fresh Cut Flowers

The Fresh Cut Flowers EP from Taylar Elizza Beth summons that primal childhood feeling of hiding under the covers, reading by flashlight, afraid you might be caught, where the smallest rustling carries massive weight. But these delicate petals summon phantom roots, asserting growling resilience against the wind. “I am afraid of no one,” Taylar declares on “High & Haunted,” before conceding, “I am afraid of myself.” This track is a menacing centerpiece emboldened by Wolftone’s dirty production. This EP has many highlights, but foremost are the collaborations with five of city’s producers-du-jour: Luis Vela’s reverb wash, Urban Nerd’s electro-pop, Luna God’s ear for funky timing, and the mesmerizing keys on “The Storm,” from Sendai Mike. This is music that smolders at an unhurried pace, aware of its mortality. On “Synthesis” she sings, “I am dying,” and in that pause, you are faced with the fact that you and everyone you know are marching through life toward our collective, eventual deaths. At only 18 minutes, these are five-song mic drop moments worth clinging to.

Fresh Cut Flowers 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

Solar Power: New Sounds in Seattle Hip-Hop

From UK music mag The Wire: “Fab comp on fab orange vinyl collating 14 leap-off points from a loose collation of Seattle based hip-hop artists and producers. The musical diversity here is ear-popping, ranging from the glitchy dubhop femme-gospel of DoNormaal and Stas Thee Boss and the electro ferocity of Remember Face to the rain-soaked doleful grooves of Jarv Dee. Crucially, the racial and gender mix ensures that the story told never gets dull; the album chops and changes to give an intriguing portrait of 14 artists you’ve never heard before finding their own ways to chart Seattle life and Seattle strength through hip-hop. Fascinating.”

From Michigan alt-weekly Northern Express: “This compilation, complete with its appropriately solar flare-focused cover art, brings together more than a dozen performers from Seattle’s hip-hop scene on a transparent, vinyl-only collection that gives these impressive artists the flair they deserve. Included here are tracks by Jarv Dee, who throws down an unforgettable remix of “I Just Wanna”; Gifted Gab, who mixes up R&B and late ’80s rap-pop on “Show You Right”; and Sendai Era, whose tropicália-influenced closer is an album standout.”

From Dusty Groove Records in Chicago: “A nice primer on the underground hip-hop scene in Seattle, circa the post-millennium teens! Solar Power doesn’t really set out to round up a succinct snapshot of a particular Seattle style and sound, so much showcase how diverse and distinctive the voices and producers in the city are. This compilation has the potential to survive as a pretty vital time capsule of this era in Seattle hip-hop history. It’s a lot more gender inclusive than many compilations, too, showing that it isn’t just a boy’s club – and tracks includes “Know Better” by New Track City, “Stop Calling My Phone” by Taylar Elizza Beth, “Front Steps” by Raven Hollywood, and more on colored vinyl.”

From Portugal’s Rimas E Batidas hip-hop magazine: “A new hip-hop edition with 14 tracks of emerging talent. Solar energy is the motto given to this compilation: The idea that Seattle stays true to its past while using its own strength as fuel for the change and renovation of its artistic panorama. This sonic self-sufficiency, a unique sonic imprint for the city, recalls the old glory of grunge, but it’s now in rap that this engine lies, emerging from a more underground, carefully manufactured sector, in the cellars and abandoned factories that will thrive there for not much longer. DoNormaal, Astro King Phoenix, Stas Thee Boss, ZELLi or JusMoni give voice to the manifesto of a constantly changing movement across the city.”

From Jet Set Records, in Kyoto, Japan: “Out of the city where Shabazz Palaces, Blue Scholars, Macklemore and Sir Mix-A-Lot made their base and their mark, a 14-song limited-edition compilation on orange vinyl. From emerging label Crane City Music, this one introduces you to the current Seattle hip-hop scene. The musicians explore various experimental styles, ranging from R&B to G-Funk. Seven of the tracks are from women artists. The jacket artwork by Seattle artist Ari Glass is also brilliant along with the content.”

Solar Power: New Sounds in Seattle Hip-Hop 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

Black Trash White House

The first track off of Guayaba’s EP, Black Trash White House ends with this beautiful statement of truth: “I promise that I’m honest, and I promise I’m sincere, and I’m fucked up in the head and I am fat and I am queer, and I am poor and black and may even be ugly, but I’m here.” I first discovered her confident, experimental, Latin-flavored hip-hop at a Moksha show in November, and she’s a great live performer with an acrobatic voice. There’s a bit of Nikki Minaj in her multiple personality rapping style, used to full effect on songs like “Brown Recluse.” Commanding production throughout from Luna God. This record concludes with “Paloma,” an unexpectedly sweet, soft Spanish acoustic guitar ballad.

Black Trash White House 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

LGEP2: Day & Night

Each song on producer Luna God’s six-track Lgep2: Day & Night pairs his beats with a different Seattle vocalist, creating a whos-who of the latest and greatest that Seattle hip-hop has on offer. You will jump up and down to the sonic maximalism/eardrum massage of “Booty Bounce,” featuring ZELLi, and that’s reason enough to check this one out. But it’s the small moments that are the most sublime: The closing bridge of “Managing,” featuring Taylar Elizza Beth catches me by surprise each time as it deconstructs, or the ringing phone at the end of the first track, featuring Campana, that always has me pulling my phone out of my pocket thinking it’s ringing. The closing track “Don’t You Search For Nobody Else” could be a lost bonus track off Beyoncé’s Lemonade. It’s no surprise that KEXP recently included this one in their best-of-the-year list.

LGEP2: Day & Night 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!