Yo! BTV RAPS VOl. 6 At Sidebar 1/12

Tomorrow night January 12th is the Yo! BTV RAPS Vol. 6 with a great lineup of local Hip Hop featuring Fresh Patterns (a new group featuring Mister Burns and Cworner Stwore), Self Portrait, PreciseMC, Matt Hagen MC, SkySpliiterInk and Al Dose. DJ Kanga will be holding down the music all night at this monthly event. Yo! BTV RAPS has previously been held at Nectar's and is now moving to the new Sidebar venue next to Mr. Mike's in downtown Burlington. This is a 21+ event that is FREE! Music starts at 10PM.

"At All" - Face-One (is back)

This isn't part of the "Get Familiar" series since by now, we should be familiar with Face-One, one of Burlington's best and most distinctive exports. Since the Earegulars project, he's been in shamanic hermit mode, occasionally showing up to heckle me at shows but otherwise scarcely seen. That is about to change drastically. You have been warned.



VTHH: Is "At All" part of a larger project on the way or are you still on hiatus?

Face-One: Off hiatus.

At All, Searching, and Not in Season all have a particular place. At All is from a highly experimental and really dark album entitled “A Way to Nothing” I am working on with the likes of TAP; a dub step, electronic, former metal drummer, and metal band frontman from Texas. It's got enough darkly vibes and tonality to make Aleister Crowley roll in his grave. It could also double as the theme music for Sex Magick rituals.

Searching is from Apart From the Others, a project that I have had a hiatus on amid the chaos that is my life. That album just needs to be finished being recorded but due to the electric seas of complexity I tend to cyclically surf it's been on halt. That project is with the redheaded, alien, super producer known as skysplitterink aka Zack Crawford aka face let me get a smoke cause I smoke but never buy a pack. That project is utterly ridiculous and features the likes of brutally honest, prolyphic from strange famous, Zack DuPont (one of Vermonter most brilliant guitar players), nuda veritas (formerly vt but now in boston) , Corbett (black light music) who has credits for Saigon just blaze styles p and the list goes on and on, an lastly Zack Crawford and myself. Rapping... actually rapping... Sounds crazy right?

Not in season was a response to a particular transition point I recently dealt with. The heavy seas of life inspired that one. It features humble and yeah that is what it was and what it shall be. Without this medium that being music and words I don't know how the hell I’d make it through most days.

VTHH: What got you into rap to begin with? How does one arrive at such a distinctive style of production, composition and delivery?

Face-One: Man, what gets anyone into anything outside of fascination, and curiosity? I’ve always been drawn to music & poetry so it just kind of worked out. The style of production definitely shaped itself when I was posted in a bed with my mouth wired shut. Finding different ways to talk I guess. The words ever evolving and growing just like me.

VTHH: What are your favorite venues in BTV these days?

Face-One: Venues… I don't go to many shows really. That scene gets old real quick for me, its a lot of conversations I don't go out to have, and lots of random shit. If I'm going out I’d much rather go to a bar like the needs, the OP, or someplace just as loud or quiet, where I can be but don't really have to be there you know. Detachment is key some days. So is socializing. I find a balance.

VTHH: What albums do you currently keep in rotation? (Do people still listen to albums?)

Face-One: Thom Yorke-Tomorrows Modern Boxes
Damon Albarn-Everyday Robots
Andrew Bird-The Mysterious Production of Eggs
Flying Lotus-Until the Quiet Comes, and that new one You’re Dead
Caetano Veloso-Transa
Thundercat
Run The Jewels 1 & 2
Stan Getz
Astrud Gilberto
Salt-N-Peppa
Breakup Music (not to plug you but theres some gems on there)
Earegulars - The Seed
& lastly some Action Bronson

Get Familiar: Headphone Jack

Burlington artist Headphone Jack has just released an interesting and ambitious album, Green Drink, a project with a purpose: "11 tracks that focus on politics, environmental justice, social justice, and other struggles facing our generation." Clearly, this is a gentleman with a thing or two to say, so I had to interview him. We rapped about influences, goals, and the curiously huge moat that separates UVM campus from the rest of the Queen City.



VTHH: You've made the unusual stylistic decision to rap "about things" rather than rap about rapping. What kind of path led you to make such an urgent album?

Headphone Jack: In high school, I started to become extremely concerned about climate change, and the lack of action surrounding it, and the lack of fear/urgency from all of the people around me. I couldn't believe that so many people who knew about the science were still not concerned. I started doing all the personal things -- changing light bulbs, riding my bike instead of driving, composting, weatherizing my house. I also started to get involved with some of the local environmental groups.

At UVM I discovered the fossil fuel divestment movement, and have been heavily involved in that struggle and related ones ever since. It was also at UVM that I was introduced to radical politics - growing up, I thought it was just Republicans in office that were the problem. Now I understand that there are systemic issues in our political system and our economic system that go much, much deeper than that. Furthermore, I've learned a lot more about my own privileges, which are immense. Understanding (though still not fully) privilege and oppression and inequality drives/motivates me just as urgently as the extremely urgent global issue of climate change does.

VTHH: Is this your first project, or have you released albums under other names?

Headphone Jack: This is my first hip-hop project. I'm a serious jazz musician as well though, and have performed with tons of different jazz groups, small and large.

VTHH: What brings you to Vermont?

Headphone Jack: As I said, I was already super concerned about climate change and other issues such as poverty while in high school. I knew I wanted to devote my life to creating positive change. I felt and still feel a responsibility to do so as someone who was unfairly and luckily born into a place of privilege. UVM seemed like a great place to get started. Strong liberal politics and activism, and one of the better environmental programs of any school in the country. I also really like the area, the music scene, and I have extended family that lives here.

VTHH: What is your sense of the hip hop scene here so far?

Headphone Jack: I don't know much about the hip hop scene here. I know at least 10-20 people off the top of my head from my high school that have pursued rapping in a serious way, and many others that freestyle for fun. I grew up in a vibrant hip hop culture. That's not the case here, but I've been learning recently about some cats who are doing it, and doing it well. The ones I'm aware of are Gunthree Galileo (although he's home in California right now), Galactic Brown, J Rubi (who just moved here from Spain), and Ler Stevens. And we all remember King Bread, of course. In terms of producers, Wreckognition made several of the beats on my album, and I just met another dope producer named Andrew Goss.

Higher Ground's Revenge: Fall Roundup

I recently stated that Higher Ground had "settled into a groove of only booking college-friendly blog rap." Either I spoke too soon, or their talent buyer decided to prove me wrong, because the Fall 2014 calendar has diversified quite a bit. What follows is a roundup of the shows we know about - a preview of the good nights to come.

October 4th: Things get started next month with a "nerdcore" house party, consisting of MC Chris and MC Lars, with Maine's favorite stoner Spose rounding out the bill. While the flavors served up here are not for everyone, MC Chris and Spose both put on a hell of an entertaining show. (No dis intended to MC Lars, I've just never seen him onstage.)

October 18th: Los Angles legend Flying Lotus will be coming through the Queen City to celebrate his new album, You're Dead. He will be touring with a live band which includes Erykah Badu's bassist, Thundercat. This is definitely going to be one of the more memorable shows of the entire season.

October 20th: Need more LA art-rap in your life? Good news: Busdriver is headlining Higher Ground. He will be bringing along Hellfyre Club amigo Milo -- who has previously been at Jenke Arts -- and a strange act called "clipping." who are clearly on some left field shit.

October 24th: The frat-rap shit-show known as Aer will be selling out the venue, sharing the headline with Dizzy Wright, who is a rapper that raps about smoking weed, only not as well as other rappers who rap about the same thing. This show is, obviously, the reason I'd given up on Higher Ground for the duration of the UVM semester. It's rap for people who don't like rap, and none of them are reading this.

October 26th: A rare evening where hip hop takes over the whole building. In the showcase lounge, you've got Vancouver-based indie phenom SonReal bringing his earnest, pop-inflected confessionals. In the ballroom, you've got a very different scene, with the hilariously awesome Ty Dollar Sign making a most unexpected journey to the Green Mountain State. His opening act will be something called Lil' Bibby, whose bio copy seriously claims he is a "more lyrical Chief Keef."

November 1st: Rhymesayers returns to the 802. Brother Ali -- one of the best rappers alive by any standard -- will be headlining in the showcase lounge with politically motivated rapper Bambu and DJ Last Word. Brother Ali always delivers the goods. This will be an exceptional evening.

November 9th: Slam poet / rap crossover -- and unlikely major label artist -- Watsky will be returning to Higher Ground. He's bringing Hellfyre Club new jack Anderson Paak, as well as some dude named Kyle. Really: just "Kyle." This gig will be in the Ballroom, which indicates Watsky has been doing damn well here on previous trips East.

November 12th: Canadian hip hop / R&B producer Ryan Hemsworth will be in the showcase lounge, which is pretty remarkable. It's unclear whether he's got a real "show" lined up or you'll be paying to watch dude play beats off his laptop and occasionally do things with his hands. I'll keep you posted.

November 30th: Flatbush Zombies will be returning to Higher Ground -- in the ballroom this time, which is curious considering how few folks were at their last show -- and bringing along The Underachievers, which is a group of much stronger rappers. The Zombies are an energetic, anarchic stage show and this promises to be a damn good time.

Vergennes Rap Battle Ends Badly/Hilariously

Actual headline from The Addison Independent: "Rap battle in Vergennes ends with one concussion, one arrest" ... okay.

"Vergennes police jailed a Northlands Job Corps student on June 30 for allegedly assaulting a fellow student after the second student won an informal singing competition."

"Police said that Djeisson DePina, 20, of Norwich, Conn., was involved in a “battle rapping” competition in which he and another student performed a rap song and a group of other people chose the winner. After the other student was chosen the winner, DePina allegedly punched him to the point where the other student sustained a concussion, police said."

"A Vergennes officer cited DePina for assault and lodged him at the Chittenden County Correctional Center."

No word on how soon FREE DJEISSON t-shirts will be available for sale, but we'll keep you posted. Our condolences go out to the state of Connecticutt...hopefully their rap scene can survive the loss, yeah?

"I'm Back" - J-Brook

This was released shortly after Barack Obama was elected to his first term. I admit it, I slept. Although the video itself is charming -- and very Rutland -- the real gem here is the comment section. "I promise you dear internet, no one else in Rutland acts like this," pleads one concerned citizen...to which someone replied "RUTLAND IS HARD BODY DUDE WHATS GOOD." Not sure if that was a co-sign or what. Kids these days, you know?

J-Brook is apparently no longer with us because, to his dubious credit, he was not a fake drug dealer but a RICO-worthy case. He is currently doing a decade-plus bid in some godawful sausage party somewhere on the East Coast. Or as one sage commentator put it: "If you haters only knew what this kid did ... he's the type they make movies about."

There is also a comment from someone named "StrapOnFetus." That's real.

July 5th: Team DILLIGAF CD Release Boat Party

There's a lot to explain here, and I won't pretend to fully understand it. I do hugely approve, though. It is no surprise to see SIN SIZZLE and Jibba The Gent involved -- they've both been working smart & hustling hard in their respective lanes for years now. This appears to be a WWF-style crossover mega-event uniting the Vermont and New Hampshire rap scenes for some debauchery out on Lake Champlain. In other words, this appears to be awesome.

Here's their official promo copy, since there's too many moving parts for me to do this justice:

#TEAMDILLIGAF is set to release their newest album Change The World. Join us July 5th at 1 King St Burlington, Vt to kick off on the party ferry. LIVE back to back performances by artists: Cause And Effect, Somewhere In The Solution, Brain Gang, S.I.N. Sizzle, Reese45 and #TeamDilligaf!

Boarding starts at 6:30 and boat leaves at 8:00 SHARP so get there EARLY. Boat gets back at 11:00 for the after party at Zen Lounge! (165 Church St Burlington, VT) Buy tickets online at jibbathegent.com or contact any of the artist directly. $20.00 Per Person.

More info about TEAM DILLIGAF on The Facebooks.

Godforbid & Thirtyseven - "Fear of Death and the Need for Reproduction"

Back when Wombaticus Rex was still a new thing, the NEK was bumping Alaskan Fishermen pretty heavy. It's not exactly a famous name but it does fit every requirement for a "cult classic," a Lo-Life concept album on Skillionaire Enterprises back when Thirstin Howl the 3rd was getting introduced to a whole new global audience by his Lyricist Lounge appearances. What all that boils down to is a bunch of people doing illegal things on back roads and learning every word off Fire & Ice, the first Alaskan Fishermen album. Back then, Godforbid was one of my favorite rappers.

Ten years later and we're releasing an album. An inspirational story, heart-warming & saccharine sweet stuff, I know. This was recorded at Vault 46 in Boston, who are sadly shutting down later this year, and mixed / mastered by the General Walter Westinghouse at NEKtones Studio in beautiful Burlington, VT. The results are rather massive.



Update: The EU/UK hip hop site The Word is Bond have concluded this was "a gorgeous slice of Americana tinged hip hop." BAM.

June 12: RAP BTV Talent Show @ Metronome

Big lineup for a great price at Club Metronome on a Thursday night. The marquee is entertainment unto itself: hard to say whether the host being named "P. Alimony" is more awesome than a rapper named "Bar None The Best." Especially when both are competing with "Cheesus Mac God." The only way to be sure? Be there.

S.I.N. Sizzle will be headlining with a capstone set. There's a lot of great rap shows coming through this summer, but it's hard to beat this here as an opening course. See you at the bar.

June 21st - Ja Rule (really) at Higher Ground

Yup: Ja Rule. If you're looking for some 90's nostalgia on a Saturday night, hot damn, VT Union has got your number. The world's most accomplished & successful DMX impersonator will be coming through Higher Ground for what his management hails as "a once in a generation show." $40 in advance, $45 at the door.

Naturally, the bill will also feature Burlington's most successful rap group, Argonaut & Wasp.

TICKETS + MORE INFORMATION @ HIGHER GROUND

Vermont Hip Hop: Get Over It

May 28th, 2014, and it's official: we're calling it. Here and now.

Vermont Hip Hop exists. It is a real thing, it has been a real thing for well over a decade. It is not a novelty, it is not an exotic species. We do not need to preface every article on the subject with these cornball "believe it or not..." disclaimers about Ben and Fucking Jerrys and Maple Fucking Syrup. We especially don't need to be reading turd bombs like this, from Mitchell Manacek at Seven Days:

"Hip-hop, as a genre, can be polarizing. Antagonists readily downplay its musicality and deride its lyrics, writing them off as promotions of chauvinism, crime and violence — and with some reason. Trap music and hip-hop club anthems are often vulgar, full of braggadocio, and can be downright tasteless. But that is not the case with any of the songs on This Is How It Must Be, the new album by Burlington hip-hop group the Precepts."

This isn't even up to Wikipedia standards. "Antagonists" is a great prop for stating opinions without having to take responsibility for them, which in popular "hip-hop" parlance would be classified as "a bitch move." You know who has a problem with hip hop? David Duke. Bill O'Reilly, Peggy Noonan and Sean Hannity. It's not even like Manacek is stating unpopular opinions -- there's nothing there: it's just terrible, stupid writing.

It also demonstrates a total lack of familiarity with the genre. You're not doing us any favors by trying to frame good local rappers as a "smarter" alternative to some Stormfront caricature of hip hop, one of the most diverse and truly global music genres on Earth. In fact, you are doing the total opposite: you are making BTV look dumb.

Not bad, not "racist," just dumb. Please: stop.

Get Familiar: Stefan Eisler

My name is Stefan Eisler. I've been here in Vermont my whole life, travelling over the past year off to different states here in the USA (Texas, Florida, Arizona) but shortly after each departure I wind back up in Vermont. I spend my time doing push-ups, making music, and dissolving the problems of the world wherever I can help. My rapping powers gained force at Serenity Acres Goat Farm in Florida, and I brought them back with me. After completing my first two albums, I took off to the desert regions of Tucson Arizona where I spent about a week in a travel trailer in the midst of the desert. Though it came quick to my realization that the world was flying by me back here, and I returned home to work on extending my album "Untold" into "Untold (to the Fillest Extent) and take care of the hearts of Vermont.

Download "Untold (to the Fillest Extent)"

"Pedestrian" - Wombaticus Rex

Does the world need another a-capella, spoken-word, free-verse rap-thing? Almost definitely not. That didn't prevent me from making one, however. This is dedicated to the 217.

April 23rd: Moe Pope w/ Lynguistic Civilians & Self Portrait @ Metronome

This one snuck up on me, but hot damn. One of Boston's very finest (only Termanology, Paranom and Edan are really approaching Moe Pope) is coming to play a beautifully cheap $5 rap show this Wednesday at Metronome. Lynguistic Civilians open up, along with a new local group called Self Portrait -- you can catch up on their work at Bandcamp.

More information @ Club Metronome

...and we're back.

Way behind on posting upcoming events, my apologies for the hiatus. We will be getting caught up this week. This is going to happen from time to time, rap is one of about 10,000 interests of mine, and let's be honest, rap isn't that interesting...is it?

March 30th: YG & DJ Mustard @ Higher Ground

The remarkably well-funded Dinh Entertainment continues a winning streak of bringing major rap acts through the 802, and this time it's pop-rap success story YG & DJ Mustard. This show is $35 in advance, $40 the day of the show, and there is a VIP Package available -- naturally -- at $75.

Visit Higher Ground for DETAILS & TICKETS.

March 6th: Learic vs. Memaranda Rematch

From the Nobody Never Tells Me Nothing Dept

So there's going to be a rematch tomorrow night at Metronome...yep, another edition of the King of Vermont battle series, headlined by a grudge match that got some pretty entertaining coverage in the Seven Days.

Show is $5, more information here.

UPDATE: Learic won.

Feb. 7th: Sophistafunk @ Nectars with The Aztext and Lynguistic Civilians

Hell of a lineup. Two of Vermont's finest will be rocking the legendary Main Street venue Nectars, opening up for a face-melting funk trio you really should have been hip to by now. Best of all, this is a Friday night and it's only $5. Lynguistic Civilians have been tightening up and experimenting with an already powerful set, and The Aztext are currently at the top of their game. Hard to see them as "elder statesman" when they've still got more energy onstage than anyone else in the state, you know?

Go see this.

More Info / Buy Tickets

Get Familiar: Locko

Locko has been building a following in Brattleboro off big loud party bangers for awhile now, and as part of our ongoing tour of Vermont rap, we catch up with the 23 year old entrepreneur...

Thirtyseven: Was there any hip hop going on in Brattleboro while you were in high school?

Locko: While I was in high school there a good amount of hip hop around me. I always hung around the older kids and this is where I really started to get more serious about music. A few of us started a hip hop group that lasted a few years.

Thirtyseven: Do you feel like Vermont has opportunities for rappers, or have you mostly had to look outside the state?

Locko: There are not very many outlets for Hip Hop artists in Vermont that I know of, at least in my town. However, there is a lot of local support for it, with the radio stations and venues for performances. I have looked elsewhere for most of my opportunities, though. I record all of my songs in Boston, I have my songs mixed and mastered in Los Angeles, and my management is out of Denver.



Thirtyseven: What was your experience like working with Ben Porway for the "Ain't Gotta Leave" video? Is there anything you'd do differently on your next video shoot?

Locko: Actually, the video I did with Ben Porway was for my first single "Going Down Tonight" But the experience was good, as it always is working with Ben Porway, from videos to photo shoots everything went fairly smooth...well, as smooth as it can for a party video. It was a blast, everyone had a good time.

Thirtyseven: What have you got cooking for 2014 projects?

Locko: I have big plans for 2014 I plan on releasing my debut mixtape along with at least 6 more videos with songs from the tape, Expect to see some notable feature names as well as production credits on that and if things fall into place a very notorious Dj host.Expect to see some more press on me this year Magazine features etc.

Waka Flocka @ Arts Riot Commemorative Video

I was hoping for a Worldstar-ready highlight reel of all the fights and fuckery that went down that night, but this woozy and beautifully shot short clip does great justice to the absurdity of the whole experience. Enjoy.