IAMDONALD was a mixture of rap, comedy, and pretend live interaction video. With guest "appearances" from both James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) and local gone NYC Reggie Watts. Honestly, it was just a hell of a lot of fun. The only complaint is the music portion of the evening far outweighed the comedy portion and we would have liked it to be a little less lopsided. Having not been a fan of his music when arriving, we tried to hold judgment. What we heard had a great beat with a full band backing him and some fun and funny lyrics peppered in as well. It's definitely enough to pique our interest and grab a song or two from iTunes at the least. We will say this, he's a charmer no matter what he's doing on stage. more ›

You know what the Internet needs? More animated gifs. You think we're kidding? But don't you see...they move. They're crappy format quality from the toddler stage of the Internet, so of course it's ironically hi-larious to use and praise them. They're cool and ridiculous and creepily inappropriate. What better medium to showcase them in but rap? Gifs of Popular Rappers takes care of all our basic rapper gif needs, thank heavens. more ›

"Booty is booty!" declares Seattle's very own Sir Mix-A-Lot towards the end of this profoundly hilarious "Baby Got Back"-inspired Burger King commercial advertising a SpongeBob SquarePants kids' meal. Phonebook implants are too cheap not to consider; it's almost enough to make us love this recession. Local rappers trying to be the next Mix, are you sure this is where you want to end up? Peep: more ›

IF RAP GETS JEALOUS: Somalian-American hiphop artist K'naan brings his passionate, political flavor of hiphop to the city tonight, and you should be there to experience it if that sounds up your alley. He's phenomenal, you should know, if that helps to sway you towards heading to Neumos tonight. Opening for him is Ethiopian-American local emcee Gabriel Teodros, who never ever fails to convincingly call us towards a better life with his sincere and listenable rhyme, and the gorgeous and talented YZE. Get there. more ›

Local rapper Grynch's recently released track, "A Dream Undeferred," was produced by national producer Illmind--and the song is golden enough that it landed Grynch a spot on Illmind's latest mixtape, flooding music blogs and websites today. more ›

WHO IS INVERSE'S INVERSE? California hiphop duo Inverse are named thus because, to a potentially undiscerning eye, the two rappers' backgrounds don't have very much in common with each other. Sometimes opposites make the best hiphop, though, each side bringing its own wealth of experience and musical influences. According to their Myspace, Inverse raps about "happiness, pain and everything in between." With locals Cancer Rising, Akrish, Notion, and Know Choice opening up for them, this is going to be an easy-going, sunny hiphop show that will do right by you this weekend. more ›

ONE MAN ARMY Rap gods be praised, One Be Lo is back in town! This man's sharp mind never fails to astound and inspire us. What we've said in the past: "He is a master lyricist, an assertive, seasoned spitter of rhyme and reason." On the bill with him are Spaceman (he slays every stage we've ever seen him on), Othello outta Portland repping Lightheaded, and Helladope, the latter of which has been getting some love from The Stranger recently. more ›

FLEXIBLE MIND, FLEXIBLE BODY: Why not practice some venue-sanctioned yoga in the Northwest Film Forum's lobby before you hit the bars on Saturday? The 1.5 hour class is for all skill levels and ages, and is being held as a fundraiser for the arts center. We think this sounds like a great chance for you to limber up with your neighbors, center your energies at the beginning of the holiday season, and do something supportive for the arts community. more ›

One of Seattlest's absolute favorite local hiphop groups, Cancer Rising, just released a new video for "Let's Start Some Shit (ft. Bruce Illest)" off their most recent album. There should be more Rock Band-themed rap videos. more ›

Tonight: the Wu-Tang Clan and Fatal Lucciauno are throwing down at the Showbox SoDo. The Wu speaks for itself (hello), but Fatal is a Seattle rapper you need to know about. It might be too late to change your plans and get to this show. It's never too late to watch this video, though. more ›

Local producer Jake One and Rhymesayer emcee Brother Ali co-hosted KUBE 93's Sunday Night Sound Session this week to discuss and play a bunch of tracks from the most excellent new album White Van Music. DJ Hyphen's blog Audacity of Dope has the Sound Session download and streaming links posted, so get it while the getting's good! While you're in Jake! One! mode, Raindrophustla has a longish video from DJ Nphared featuring footage of Brother Ali and Jake hanging out in the station's studio as well as an extended glimpse at Npha's car's dashboard. Note: White Van Music is the next big thing, and for very good reason. more ›

A CONSCIOUSNESS OF LIMITLESS INQUIRY: The ferocious Naomi Wolf will be at Town Hall on Friday to do a reading and sign copies of her latest manifesto, Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries. The introduction alone is worth reading, and it's available online in full at Huffington Post. Ignore the Palin photo montage to the right of the text--or don't, because it adds a chilling sense of urgency to Wolf's words. more ›

Tonight and Saturday night our friends at Massline, KEXP, and The Stranger are bringing something called the Freshly Dipped Tour to the Showbox at the Market. We don't know what Freshly Dipped means, but we do know that headlining the night will be Seattle's own hip hop heroes, Blue Scholars, and from Oakland, California, The Hieroglyphics. more ›

Ra Scion stars in Common Market's newest offering: a music video for their Tobacco Road single "Trouble Is." Directed by Sabzi's brother Zia Mohajerjasbi, the video's set in the small-town South and features a very funky gospel choir, gorgeous old-timey aesthetic accents, and oodles of cameos by local hiphop heads. This is a case where the video adds to the song rather than distracts from it. Well done, Zia! more ›

We are totes crushing on Tilson from The Saturday Knights, and if you watch this video from the most recent Songs For Eating And Drinking, you'll see why. Not only is he plain ol' attractive, but he is a really, really good (genius-level) rapper; his freestyles are mesmerizing. He's been in the biz but not of the biz for a long time now, and we know he'll stay that way--just out of reach of all the bullshit, with a lyrical hand extended back to the rest of us in case we want to leave it behind too. Woof....We think he's cute! more ›

LET'S TALK ABOUT CHILDREN WHO BREED: Spring Awakening is a musical about teens (really young teens) who have sex. Sex is always a controversial topic, and according to a press release, Roosevelt High School is hosting a community conversation about the musical and its themes for interested locals. A diverse group of people are participating in the discussion, including members of the theatre community and students and teachers from Seattle schools. Two cast members from Spring Awakening will also be on hand to lend their perspective. more ›

An afternoon treat: Grayskul's video for "Missing," a creepy-cool verily addictive substance of a rap song from their latest album Bloody Radio, is now playing...on MTV! Holy crap! That is a really, really good look for Seattle locals JFK and Onry Ozzborn. This video was directed by another local, Christian Hansen, and may we just say: deeply awesome. E-Hats should be tipped to 206Proof. more ›

Philly rapper Freeway at Chop Suey on Saturday: gruff, powerful, in control. Prodigious beard. His set was a pleasure to behold, with thick, thumping, meaty beats over which his growl sounded just right. Such sparkly bling, too! Our only complaints are that he cut off "It's Over" way too early and there were a couple too many a capellas, but the man can keep filthily perfect time and impresses regardless of the beat behind him. Freeway's a professional, plain and simple, and we hope he returns to Seattle now that he knows we'll show him love,Sportn' Life family style. (Who caught his rap session with JFK after the show? Put details in the comments!) more ›

BOMBS BURSTING, ETC: Happy Independence Day! Grill up some zucchini, down a beer or three, and enjoy your day off. Ivars is doing their exploding chemicals thing after sunset, so if you're into that, sedate your dogs/chickens/goldfish and enjoy the 23 minute show over Elliott Bay. Or wherever: check here and here for your options. more ›

Common Market released Black Patch War in early May, but it's taken Seattlest awhile to get fully on board with the album. You too are forgiven for sleeping on it this long, but further snoozing is not recommended. Ra Scion has posted the lyrics to three of the seven songs from the album over at his blog, six minutes to sunrise, with footnotes and everything, and it makes for a riveting read if you're so inclined; also, listen to our favorite song here. Below is the title track, performed live from KEXP's Ballard Day at Verite Coffee last month: more ›

An enthusiastic crowd of youngsters showed up at Nam's album release party at the Vera Project this weekend to appreciate energetic performances from The Physics, Bambu, super-talented super-group Good Medicine, and Nam himself. Though The Stranger billed this night as a Good Medicine show, every artist on the bill pointed the glory towards Nam and his "de-boo" album, Exhale. more ›

?uestlove and Black Thought of The Roots completely rocked it last night at Neumos. The DJ's set was fully loaded with hiphop and funk classics, aimed straight at the heart of the crowd's collective groove, and Black Thought's aggressive, wild voice is a pleasure to experience live. How could you not dance? One guy was so excited he was jumping up and down. (Not hopping, not bouncing. Jumping!) more ›

Last Friday we were at Shorecrest High School after-hours for "Coffeehouse," an open-mic put on by the school's literary journal Tattoo. It was our second time around, so we had a better idea of what to expect: the cafeteria was packed to the rafters. Seriously, Friday night and this is what the kids of today are up to? Near the end of intermission we were looking over the art gallery in the hall when this girl ran past us, calling to her friends, "Hurry, it's about to start again!" Which is the first time we've heard someone say that about an open-mic event when they weren't running away. more ›

"King Cobra's hiphop hymen has been broken!" declared Gatsby of Cancer Rising last night. It's true: The Physics were the first hiphop group ever to grace the newish stage in the rock-n'-roll-ified nightclub, and Cancer Rising made it extra official in a mixed line-up featuring the metal-rock, electric guitar-wielding Emeralds as well as Portland's indie rockers Caves. The night was "magical," as Caves singer Jacob Carey deemed it. Welcome, King Cobra, to Seattlest's short list of favorite venues, you with your yellow under-lit tables and your flickering neon bar shelves! Someone told us your food is tasty and your bar stools are even comfortable, and for all of those reasons you have earned our sincere affection. more ›

OPERATION BRIGHT PINK FLAMINGO: If you were at Myrtle Edwards Park last weekend, you may have noticed a city-approved flock of plastic flamingos hanging out on the lawns. Lest you prematurely begin the spiral into "WTF, can't we just have normal public art," let us inform you that the flamingos were only visiting to remind everyone that real Chilean flamingos are available as of tomorrow to gawk at over in the Woodland Park Zoo. There will be free mini-cupcakes, music, and stilt-walking at the Zoo to mark the opening of the summer exhibit. more ›

Photo of One Be Lo by Kyle Johnson. more ›

HUGE AMOUNTS OF CHEESE: The Cheese Festival is upon us! This is one of our top three favorite events of the year (#2: our birthday, #3: Christmas). Several reasons: a city block full of cheese, friendly vendors, wholesale prices on bottles in the wine garden (don't buy the red wine that says "bacon" three times in its description, we made that mistake last year), and (it bears repeating) a city block full of cheese. more ›

DJ Rare Groove spins for the crowd before Atmosphere's set. more ›

Nas--NAS, people--is playing Showbox SoDo this Friday, and there are three possible reasons why tickets are still available. (1) No one knows he's coming (an unintentionally secret show?); (2) Word's gotten sufficiently around about Nas' weak live performance (but still... Nas!); or (3) Everyone's blown their ticket budgets on hipster-friendly Atmosphere, playing Tuesday at the same venue (for $20 less a ticket). more ›

Late summer festival/extravaganza Bumbershoot announced another hiphop headliner today. Ludacris, the one and only, has been added to the line-up! The other three rap-alicious big names thus far are Brother Ali, whose recent show at Neumos was nigh unto a spiritual experience for Seattlest, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, and Kid Sister out of Chicago. Unless, of course, you count Beck as a rapper. (We don't.) more ›