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

Shadows

Since its release in August, Shadows has been a Seattle underground sensation, an old-school CD whispered about and passed around by people in the know, a favorite of beatmakers and crate diggers. People come up to me at shows and ask in hushed tones, “so, have you heard Shadows?” It’s, therefore, no surprise that this community voted big for this fantastic fever dream. It’s a product of two-and-a-half years of labor, tweaks and technical craftsmanship, when Wizdumb finally emerged from the lab with his solo debut. How to describe it? Imagine if MF Doom and J.Dilla cooked up a 1950s radio play about a hired gun, collaged out of samples, and featuring both old and new heroes of our town, like Specswizard, Moka Only, Able Fader, and Tuesday Velasco. The sweet spot begins with “Execs” and “Diggin’ Jawn” before “Suckaz” throws down the hammer. On the opening dialogue of the latter, Wizdumb makes it clear: “That’s nice, but I don’t give a fuck what you spit.” What follows is a pure ego dis-track, cutting through all our city’s pretension and bullshit, a straight-shot mercenary, knocking down the competition. “So Clear” is the victory lap that follows, with Specs on clean-up crew, rapping, “No apologies when I freeze all emcees.” Wizdumb’s unassuming alter ego can be found tending bar at Vermillion. Swing by one of that venue’s many hip-hop nights and get your hands on this CD, already on its third pressing. In honor of Wizdumb’s Mexican heritage, sip some tequila, and listen to the many mysteries emerging from those hallowed shadows.

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

#TEN

Shout out to DJ Zeta and his ongoing series of All City Chop mixtapes. Pictured here is his latest, #TEN, a sampler of the best the local hip-hop scene has to offer, featuring tracks from DoNormaal, Dex Amora, Nacho Picasso, WIZDUMB and many more. He’s an awesome champion of Seattle hip-hop, has his fingers on the pulse, and has introduced me to more than a few amazing local musicians who were not yet on my radar. Get this sampler free on Bandcamp. Alternately, go see Zeta perform live at Vermillion every third Friday as part of his ongoing “Wild Style” residency.

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Nine Six Webisode #1

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!

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

Möstly Crëw

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!

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

Basementality

The Stranger picked Basementality as one of the “Top 5 Albums of 2013,” saying that:

Almost exactly one year ago, Wizdumb, a local producer, dropped a seriously wonderful collection of beats and raps called Basementality. If there was a hip-hop university, and this album was a Ph.D. dissertation on the styles, methods, and aesthetics of early- to mid-’90s hip-hop production, and I was on the committee for this dissertation, I would grant Wizdumb a doctorate for three reasons: One, he displays a deep understanding of the beauty of ’90s hip-hop; two, he does not sound like he is imitating that form of music but instead contributing to its program; and three, he is both an excellent instrumentalist and a beat producer for rappers.

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