Draze "The Hood Ain't The Same"

this video is dope on multiple levels. lyrics, production, style, historical documentation... accuracy.  it really captured an entire era. much respect Draze, Tyrone & Deven.

"used to own our homes, now we're all renters
got folks moving south like birds for the winter
they asked momma to sell her home, she said no
but then we had to shake when them property taxes rose
i know you say you ain't the ones in them white sheets
but these suits and ties are similar to me
don't try to paint me as the black man who's angry
when you gut my community
it's hard to build a legacy" - Draze

VIDEO :: "Home" - Jake One feat. Vitamin D, C-Note, Maneak B & Ish

The homies Jake One and Zia Mohajerjasbi take a shot at making the most classic Seattle Hip Hop video ever... so if your not knowing, let me break this down for you. Vitamin D & Tribal laid the foundation for damn near everything we do musically in the Town right now. C-Note & his group, Narcotik have the dopest album made in Seattle that never dropped. Maneak Tubman, man that's the homie from way back! and Ish, i've been waiting to hear Ish rap about Seattle since listening to Digable Planets in middle school!!! This is a classic video. and i love it more because it captures the Seattle i grew up in, and seeing these faces just kicking it in the Central District remind me of how it always was for me... you come around now so much of the CD is gentrified beyond recognition... and even Capitol Hill too! more and more i'm realizing gentrification is not juust about race. In the first scene of this video they remade the beginning of Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Posse On Broadway" video... complete with Mix and Mr. Supreme. Now across the street from Dick's you see those buildings? for 3 blocks those are holes in the ground right now. ishts crazy. i'm glad this video exists for visual documentation on so many levels. and the guy who directed it? Zia Mohajerjasbi? if you didn't know... his first few videos were also my first few videos... No Label (Esma Remix) & Don't Cry For Us featuring Khingz & Toni Hill. had to plug em! 206up!!!

Oh, and speaking of Ish, i bumped into him a few weeks ago, and he hit me off with 2 new cd's he did that he's been pushing independently... it's mad experimental but i think they each have got some really dope tracks! Check em out at Shabbazz Palaces
Blast It!!!

"Hidmo Means Home" :: Documentary Online Now!!!

Hidmo Means Home is online now! A 15-minute documentary by Jill Irene Freidberg about our home on 20th & Jackson. This is how we do in the 206. Check it out!

http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=3170904

Prayers for DJ Vadim & a full day of good music in the C.D.

first off, i want everybody to send good thoughts and prayers to the homie DJ Vadim who's in the hospital today after being diagnosed with cancer... wishing you a fast recovery homie, and all the love in the world. peace to Yarah Bravo for letting us all know, she will be having updates in her blog as well.

Tomorrow, i'm headed back to the Town for a full day of good music, all in Seattle's Central District... starting off with me, a laptop, and a microphone in Flo Ware Park on 28th & Jackson... then it's on to Garfield High School, for their historic re-opening festival. if you don't about Garfield's rich musical history, the alumni includes Bruce Lee, Jimi Hendrix, Ernestine Anderson, Quincy Jones, and a huge list of Seattle Hip Hop's elite, spanning a few generations... including Ishmael Butler (of Digable Planets), Vitamin D, Amos Miller, members of Giant Panda, members of Big World Breaks, plus both of the emcees and producer from Abyssinian Creole. (ha!) a bunch of us are performing together tomorrow at the new gymnasium... starting at 12:30.

check out the line-up:: DJ Topspin, Aisha Haji, Suntonio Bandanaz, H-Bomb, Vitamin D, Amp Fire, Geneva Arunga, J. Infinite, M. Famous, dRED.i, Robert Redwine, Kevin Gardner, Rajnii Eddins, and... Big World Breaks featuring Alex Newman (of Giant Panda), Pamela Yasutake, Amos Miller, Ariel "Amp Fire" Paine, Shawna Dennard, Soulchilde, Khingz & Gabriel Teodros, B-Flat (of Godspeed), a Jimi Hendrix Tribute, and the "Beep Beep" Big World Breaks Bulldog Remix.


legendary i must say. if you can handle any more, get to Hidmo Eritrean Cuisine for Hip Hop Period at 8pm featuring J. Pinder & GMK, The Knox Family (DJ B-Girl w/ Jerm & Julie C.), Art of Verse, & From The Depths...

J. Pinder, GMK & Spaceman's "Big Homie Style" is my shit right now!!! go cop that Jake One album White Van Music to know what i'm talking about.

YouthSpeaks!!!

p.s. i'll be blogging more about my summer, events & releases that happened over the last year or so during the next few weeks... i'll be dating them in the past tho, so if your interested, check the archives! there's a couple free downloads already posted! peace -- gt

HIDMO

a short documentary about gentrification in the Central District... Hidmo means home.