2017: One Heck of a Year, Bud

2017 was, in a word, busy. There was more coverage than ever here, largely because there was so much to cover. As Lynguistic Civilians retired, and Melo Grant celebrated 33 years with WRUV, the 802 was making more noise than ever before.

Thank you for that.

I am grateful for new talent, and I am grateful for all the things new talent can take for granted. Like multiple subgenre lanes and skilled competition. Like opportunities to play shows and get paid for 'em. Rap isn't a novelty here anymore, and artists can get press coverage without cows or maple syrup coming up. That is a beautiful thing. Thanking people properly would take a couple dozen paragraphs, of course, so ... well, let's give it a shot.

This isn't definitive, and it isn't an awards list. It couldn't be. Just a sketch of our passing moment, trying to do 2017 some small justice for whoever winds up making the documentary.

What makes a music scene really work? There's no single answer, but the people behind the scenes are pretty damn crucial. Promoters, talent buyers, graphic artists, DJs, producers, and photographers. And, of course, fans.

2017 was an especially busy year for live hip hop, as "showcases" proliferated and the BTV scene adapted to a new crop of venues. (And superfan scene photographer Brett North was there to capture most if it.) Overall, it was a great opportunity for hungry artists to get experience onstage, even if they had to pay for it, or play to a mostly empty club. These things happen.

It was also a proving ground, because no bar cares about your bars -- they care about you selling drinks. Artists who can amass a real fan following and make gigs into events worth showing up to came out on top this year.

That happens every year, though. That's why the most important work being done right now is happening in bedrooms, in living rooms, in dorm rooms, on the sidewalk, onstage, outside -- all the invisible sweat, stress and shitwork that allows new talent to "come out of nowhere" like Sam & Somba did.

Workaholics are the key ingredient, in other words. People like Miles Goad of DVP Cinematography, whose work ethic and perseverance have built him a serious video resume from the ground up. People like Zach Crawford, aka Skysplitter Ink, whose audio engineering expertise kept dozens of local projects sounding professional & crisp. He's got a newborn and he's still racking up album credits, right now, as you read this.

"Work is love made visible," as an old hippie once said, and two of 2017's biggest stories were labors of love on behalf of real hip hop, the classic four elements, community artform. Anthill Collective have been putting in work for many years now, both to legitimize graf as art and to make space for hip hop here.

So while a huge event like Above the Radar came out of nowhere, it also felt like an overdue celebration. Great art, great music, great food: this was a family-friendly smash hit and a credit to the BTV waterfront.



A little further up the hill, the breakdancing team behind The Break Room, a workshop / jam space at dance studio Swan Dojo, been creating some vital community of their own. Their recent celebration, Building Blocks, was a hugely successful clothing drive and hip hop cypher. There's going to be a sequel on February 2nd -- more on that soon.

The Tossin' Turkeys Tour was a Lynguistic tradition worth keeping, and it got resurrected in style this year as the Switchback sponsored "Food For Thought" Tour. The recipe stayed fundamentally the same: tearing around New England, making new fans, and raising money & food for local charities.

The lineup made good sense - Jarv has been doing shows with the Civilians crew for years along with the rest of Maiden Voyage, and in terms of sheer numbers, nobody in Vermont reached further this year.


In a small, cold market, Vermont artists have often run DIY operations. That's been changing, though. We've seen real pro talent emerge, like Cassandra Tibbets at Legit Lioness, who has been hustling on behalf of Street Religion. Making music is a long term game, and we'll be seeing a lot more from that camp in 2018.

A bumper crop of new talent means a growth boom in new teams. David Phair founded Hustle, Loyalty & Respect this year to bridge the gaps in our rap scene and build new platforms. So far, he's amassed a roster that includes Jibba "The Gent" -- and they threw one hell of a birthday party at The Rusty Nail last month featuring Slaine & Termanology.

Collectives and labels stay winning, too. Bar None the Best had a dominant year, Minds Eye Tribe dropped an intense LP of crew tracks, and teams like Self Portrait and Maiden Voyage stayed busy with strong side projects.

The team at Milkhaus Records may be small, but they've had a prolific 2017. Founder LoKi dropped two collaborative albums - "AVANTI" and cosmic concept project "ET" -- and tons more besides. They are running an actual art factory over in Ferrisburgh.

We'll be seeing the fruits of much hidden labor in the months to come. Cultural Chemistry has new work on the way, and Learic has been quietly prepping an arsenal of new projects. BTV superproducer Es-K had a relatively calm 2017 -- you can catch up here -- but he will have big announcements in the New Year.



2017 was also The Year of the Music Video. For most of recorded history, they were fairly rare up here -- especially good ones. It was a huge deal when The Aztext dropped "I Make Records," but that was over five years ago. Now, we've got multiple music videos dropping every month.

They're looking slick, too. Chy$e dropped the MTV-ready "Too Cool," Bar None The Best had Myster DL direct for their single "Grind," which featured Termanology, and NOtation's last video, "Get Up," looked like an ad campaign for an Audi dealership. S.I.N.siZZle has been on fire. JynxINC did an animated pro wrestling video with Jibba "The Gent" -- and Demigodz legend Apathy. My personal favorite was Budnick's slightly surrealist short for "You Ain't Fam."

Finally, there were a lot of damn good albums dropping left and right out here.

Nobody at Seven Days asked me to make a "hip hop list," that's just the hand I opted to play. I still stand by it, and I could Stan out on all seven picks for the rest of your day. For the record, I do think that Loupo hit a grand slam home run with Good Company -- and I don't think that a Top 7, Top 10 or even Top 25 List would do 2017 much justice.

Arbitrary is unfair, but arbitrary is pure, too. What would I add to a Top 10? Hitmen for Hire was non-stop bars, and I know I'm not alone in loving the Basic Brains LP Dunce Cap. Longtime true school workaholics Pro & Kin teamed up to deliver a powerful debut LP as GOOD WTHR -- and then delivered an all-banger followup EP, too.

The arrival of Wool See -- aka, IAME -- has been, perhaps, under-reported. This is a talented, experienced vet with a serious catalog touching down in a small state. His recent album about the move (and our tumultuous 2016), Leaving / Left, was definitely Top 10 material. And there was so much else besides...

Props to everyone who made a great year happen. Thanks especially to those of you who aim to set a positive example, to prove to local kids growing up that you can do what you love, on your terms, and be successful. That's a lot of hard, mostly thankless work. Cheers to everyone I didn't mention. There are a lot of stories that don't get enough coverage here, and a lot of artists who don't get the shine they deserve. Fortunately for us all, this is just some blog.

In closing, maybe just one award: the best thing we published this year was, hands down, A Letter to the Editor from Scribe1 of Rhythm Ruckus. Enjoy.