A film about Northwest hip-hop from

NEWCOMER

This 82-minute feature film is an intimate introduction to Seattle’s vibrant hip-hop underground. It was assembled from hundreds of tiny performance clips—shot for Instagram—into a single, continuous concert mosaic, and stars 93 of the top hip-hop artists from The Town.

Here’s how KEXP describes it in their review: “NEWCOMER stretches the idea of the concert film to an artistic extreme: Sub-minute snippets artfully arranged to resemble a field recording of Seattle’s rap scene, the pieces fractured and pieced back together in a truly engrossing way. The narrative flows through venues like Barboza, Cha Cha Lounge, Vermillion, Lo-Fi, the Showbox, the Crocodile, and dozens more. It’s Khris P pouring Rainier into a Solo cup while he raps; bodies packed into regional landmark ETC Tacoma; SassyBlack improvising a song urging concertgoers to buy her merch; the delightfully awkward dance moves of white people in KEXP’s Gathering Space; Chong the Nomad beatboxing and playing harmonica simultaneously; Bruce Leroy bullying a beat next to the clothing racks at All-Star Vintage; Specswizard rhyming about his first time performing in front of a crowd while standing before The Dark Crystal playing on a projection screen. The film is about the moments we experience—as lovers of live performance—just as much as the performances themselves.”

NEWCOMER was directed by Gary Campbell and was an official selection at the 2020 New York Hip-Hop Film Festival and the 2020 Golden Sneakers International Hip-Hop Film Festival in Hamburg, Germany. Throughout November 2020, the film screened for four weeks on the Northwest Film Forum theatrical screening site in honor of Hip-Hop History Month.

You can watch the full movie below.

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

All Star Opera

In early January of 2018, All Star Opera launched the audacious “Seattle World Tour,” a five-stop jaunt through several neighborhoods in our city, each night selling out a different venue and each night sharing the stage with artists representing a dozen genres of Seattle music. Most of the profits from the tour were donated to Mary’s Place shelter. It’s, therefore, no wonder that this five-piece hip-hop rock band have endeared themselves to the community. I was lucky to see them on stage three times that week, and each live performance shined brighter than the last. Not to mention you get to witness the sheer joy on the face of guitarist Will Greenburg throughout the set. Their self-titled debut, All Star Opera, is the next best thing: ten tracks of singalong roots-rock hip-hop that sounds amazing on headphones. The back half is where this record really packs a punch, from the half-Spanish “Indigestión” and it’s prog-rock trip around The Dark Side of the Moon, to the nightmarish “1,000,” featuring Remember Face and Nacho Picasso, and the seven-minute “Clocktopuss” that jams its way into a frenzy. Album closer, the similarly-lengthy and gracious “A.S.O.,” is enhanced with a string section, showing they are already ready for their MTV Unplugged debut, and all the other famous stages where Seattle has shined.

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Vizard

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!

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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.”

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Armadilla Lexus

A recent “My Philosophy” column in The Stranger turned me on to Nu Era and their latest Armadilla Lexus. Fresh beats, smooth rhymes, multiple rappers throwing verses, wicked production… This is a record where I get about five songs in and then go back to the beginning and listen to those same songs again. And again. So many standout tracks, especially “More Alice.”

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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.

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