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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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Finally

Finally was manufactured in 2001 by Sea-Sick in Seattle, home to releases by RC Tha Trackaholiq, Skuntdunanna, and Central Intelligence. However, the album is not technically on Sea-Sick, but rather Emerald City Records, which also worked with local group Dividenz. In fact, the credits of Finally tease an upcoming Dividenz album which eventually came out on Street Level Records.

Label details aside, Oxagin consists of two members, Sli and Loe. Their debut Finally is predominantly a story of hustling, street life, and crime. For example, in the skit “Tha Jack Move,” they steal a car from a hapless fellow citizen. “On A Roll” continues the carjacking story, “I can’t blame him, I would have shot him, I spot him, and if you would have missed, I would have got him.”

The sultry track “I’m Chok’in,” featuring singer Francci, is all about the large quantity of weed smoked by the group. Vampire movie fans will like “Lost Boys” which repurposes the eerie choir-boy chants from the movie’s soundtrack. “Thou shalt not kill…” For a taste of Barry White, check out “Realer Than Real,” which flips the famous ascending bassline from “I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little Bit More Baby.” “Takin Over” featuring DMS is a solid effort by both groups.

To me, the most interesting track on Finally is “Send Me An Angel,” produced by Scott. Australian synth-pop band Real Life had a worldwide hit in 1983 with their emo song of the same title. Oxagin repurposes it here for a dirge-like tale of a character killed in a drug deal gone bad. “You should have known that life falls just like rain, you should have known they killed you for that cocaine.” This track captures the despairing, helpless tone of the original, and shows the ability of hip-hop to basically reintroduce us to songs that are already familiar. Music never dies, it just whistles a new tune. Written by Novocaine132

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Save Me

Seattle’s Point Side Records entered the hip-hop game in 1998 with the release of Self Tightld’s Hustlin-N-Hell album on cassette and CD. A promising West Seattle raised MC named Gangsta Nutt guested on two Hustlin-N-Hell songs, “Problems,” and “Negatives.” Nutt had the fire in his gut, and he recorded his own solo album Save Me on Point Side the following year in 1999. Save Me is all about gangster life and hustling. According to Nutt’s ReverbNation page, “Even though Gangsta Nutt’s “ghetto experience” has seen its share of adversity, he says he doesn’t regret any of its negative elements, because it has made him the Man, the Father, as well as the MC that he has become.”

Some of the cuts on Save Me don’t quite come together. For instance, opener “The Twist” is muddled by the persistent beeping sound of a truck backing up. “Letter To The Pen” features a distracting off-key melody in the chorus that pulled me out of the vibe. Despite small missteps, the album on the whole is a strong debut. Gangsta Nutt is a practiced rapper who knows how to tell a story and get his point across. “Love Clutch” and “Don’t Stop” tackle the subject of women and relationships. “Last Word” and title track “Save Me” both illustrate the bleak choices that many young people face growing up in America. I have to admit that I like the multiple meanings of the album title. Does he mean save his soul for Jesus? Save him from a life of crime? Save this album to my iTunes list?

Highlights include track five, “Criminal Life,” with a slinky beat produced by RC The Trackaholiq. “Criminal Life” features singing by Francci and raps by legendary Los Angeles veteran King T. Another strong cut is the sentimental “My Micasa,” which is a look back at how Nutt fell into a life of hustling. After a long and successful rap career, Gangsta Nutt passed away in June of 2021, rest in peace to an OG. Written by Novocaine132

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Wet

In 1997 Mr. D.O.G. dropped his mini EP titled Gettin Paid, including two complete songs and four shorter teaser tracks. The two full songs were “Gettin Paid,” and “Leave Yo Strap Down.” The following year saw a full-length album from Mr. D.O.G. called Wet, which contained an arsenal of new gangsta rap tracks.

With a beat by Mike Wingo, groovy opener “Playa Playa” brings along Cool Nutz, YP, and Squeek Nutty Bug, some big names from the Northwest rap game. “Str8 Smashin” is a good effort, but to me it’s like a plane on a runway that never gets enough speed for liftoff.

Mr. D.O.G.’s ’97 single “Gettin Paid” appears on Wet twice. The Eugenius-produced OG version is first, then later in the album we get the unruly chopped and screwed “Underground Mix” by producer Squeeze. I enjoyed the bouncy melody and the universal themes of the chorus in “Kennel Music Thing,” it’s a low key head-nodder. “Front, back, and side to side…” I found the slow, gloomy minimalism in “Cold World” to be effective, with a lot of open space for your ear to explore.

Title track “Wet” is probably the most radio-ready cut on the album. Over a slinky D-Luv beat, D.O.G. drops smooth speedy, triple time lyrics. “Burn ‘em up like mesquite,” he brags. The hard-hitting “Aquaman” also feels like it could be a big hit. Wet was a strong first album, and Mr. D.O.G. went on to put out his sophomore project Ghetto Politics in 2000.Written by Novocaine132

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