There are a lot of reasons why Seattle rap is great. Seattle rappers exhibit an almost ridiculous pride for the city, rap honestly and intelligently, and more than anything, make an effort to include you in their incredibly cool and laid back lives. Seattle rappers aren’t trying to be anything more than they are, because what they are is really awesome. The defining characteristic of the Seattle hip-hop scene that protects a cool commitment to developing great music is definitively the sense of community. It’s as if Seattle musicians are all part of an interconnected effort to raise the profile of Northwest music. Seattle artists tour together, collaborate together and most of all, promote each other without thinking twice. A community like this is a perfect place for young talent to develop; the accessible and accepting world of Seattle rap allows artists to create their own style while learning from the heroes of the community. This is exactly the type of community that fosters talented artists like Brothers from Another, who epitomized everything Seattle during their headlining debut on July 29th.
The accessibility of artists in Seattle isn’t only a benefit to developing artists, it helps fans of Seattle rap feel like they are genuinely part of a movement to bring Seattle music to the world. For anyone acquainted with Seattle rap music, Seattle artists prove to be surprisingly relatable compared to the larger than life artists featured on the radio. This translates into great, honest music and lyrics. Even better, the connection between Seattle audiences and Seattle musicians makes live shows amazing because the artists genuinely understand the audience. Brothers from Another, or BFA, did a great job capitalizing on this understanding and tailored their show perfectly to the audience.
If you’re going to attend a Sunday night show in downtown Seattle for a rising group like Brothers from Another, you most likely like Seattle rap. For most of the young, enthusiastic crowd at the Crocodile on the 29th, this seemed like an understatement. The crowd got excited about pretty much everything, including the transition music, which featured a lot of music familiar to any rap-listening college student (A$AP Rocky made a few appearances during the set). When the host of the show, Sam Lachow came on, the crowd cheered enthusiastically, despite the fact that most of the crowd was probably unfamiliar with the charismatic host. This concept of having a “host” for the show is a somewhat common occurrence at Seattle shows and adds a level of humor and intimacy to the show.
When the first opener, Shelton Harris, came on, the crowd was already fairly ready for the main act. However, Shelton Harris did a great job catering to the audience; like BFA, his music spoke honestly to life as a relatively unknown artist in a relatively small rap scene. His questions to the crowd about their allegiance to Seattle rap received huge cheers and his freely distributed snapbacks displaying the Mariners logo were perfect souvenirs to get the crowd excited about his brand. The opening act was one of the few I’ve seen this summer that genuinely seemed too short; the audience was obviously enjoying the act and the impatient anticipation for the main act died down to an enjoyable level of excitement by the end of the set.
The next opener was Dave B. Although the dull roar and anticipation in the audience generally called attention away from Dave B’s rapping, the catchy sampling provided the audience amped up the energy of the audience for the main act. At this point, the venue had finally filled to an honestly impressive level for a Sunday night. Between acts, DFA’s DJ, Beeba, strolled on stage wearing a frankly, pretty awesome green and white tracksuit to shouts of appreciation from the crowd. He punctuated his own short DJing set with commentary to egg on the audience, which was received with laughter and reciprocation for the most part.
When BFA’s Cole and Isaiah finally came on stage, the crowd went pretty wild. The show opened with the kind of conversational intro that immediately makes a large concert place seem intimate. The regularly mentioned fact that it was BFA’s headlining debut made the rappers seem relatable; the audience was part of an experience which was never going to be replicated and would genuinely be remembered by the artists. The duo were remarkably confident in their fans’ knowledge of their music, an assumption that made the show perfectly tailored for the fans. The song selection ranged from really old songs that Cole challenged the audience to recognize to the songs from their Taco Tuesday EP and the Quality of Living album that the audience sang along with. The audience’s familiarity with the group was evidenced by the audience reaction to their songs released just a few months ago; “Roxy” was received with a huge cheer of recognition and “Hotel Monaco” probably didn’t help abate all the giddy girls who probably came to the concert already in love with the duo. However, “Beeba Vision Pt II,” which became hugely popular with its account of Seattle, was no doubt the most recognized song of the night. The crowd went crazy and rapped the refrain about “kicking in the 206” loud enough to be heard over the music. If nothing else, this song confirmed that everyone in the room couldn’t be prouder to be from Seattle.
Every song in the show was paired with a small introduction that gained a huge cheer from the audience as the upcoming song was revealed. Although the rappers pulled faces and illustrated their cool confidence during songs, these intermediary pieces are what defined the show. These pieces usually featured an exchange between the two performing artists that highlighted both how close the two rappers were and how excited they were to be performing at their own show. They managed the crowd charismatically, but it was easy to tell how surreal of an experience the concert must’ve been for the two relatively young artists; at the end of the show they snapped photos with now-trendy disposable cameras and smiled every time the dull roar from the audience increased in volume.
BFA is rising in popularity because the duo is both likeable and relatable; as a young adult from the Northwest, it is easy to relate to their easygoing personalities and their accounts of life in Seattle. For example, “Molly Moon,” already a song perfectly tailored to Seattlites enamored with the ice cream store, was made even better live with the presence of the original founder, Molly, who bobbed contentedly on the stage and instantly became an idol for the audience; her presence, like much of BFA’s music, provided a new take on a familiar staple of Seattle life. Like many Seattle artists, BFA gained their fan base not by pretending to have an amazing life but rather highlighting the great part of normal life in the Northwest. The way that Cole, Isaiah and Beeba interact, on display both in front of live audiences but also on their social media platforms, makes you want them to be your best friends; they make everybody part of their inside jokes and make you too feel like you’re part of their lives as artists. A pretty precious impromptu dance performance by the artists’ group, dubbed the “Soggy Bottom Boys” endeared the performers to the crowd. Although the dance probably didn’t help BFA seem more “thug,” h “Neon Nights” did a perfect job of summarizing the relationship between the artists and contextualizing the group in a post-party situation probably pleasantly familiar to the majority of the audience.
Sadly, not all of us can have friends that are quite as cool as BFA’s, even if we wish we did. BFA’s show featured several surprise guest appearances that just highlighted not only the interconnected nature of the Seattle hip-hop scene but also just how much even veteran Seattle artists appreciate BFA’s music. Grynch came on stage to perform Quality of Living’s “Maggie Was Fly.” Both Prometheus Brown and Thig Nat performed their features on “Molly Moon.” By the end of the show, the collection on the stage was a sampling of the most well known artists in the Northwest. These appearances had the intended effect on the audience; the Seattle crowd knew who the artists were and could uniquely appreciate how awesome it was to have them all at one show. As if the presence of Thig Nat, Prometheus and Grynch wasn’t enough to show that Seattle loves BFA, even Macklemore tweeted about the BFA show earlier in the day.
All in all, the BFA show embodied pretty much everything I love about Seattle rap. Every performer was polished and rapped relatably to the audience. Cole, Isaiah and Beeba were entertaining and likeable as always, embodying the easy going yet dedicated stereotypical Northwest personality. The show featured an abundance of Seattle pride, including a salute to Seattle music mainstays, which was perfectly tailored to the young Seattle-proud crowd. And best of all, the performance was genuine in the way only a headlining debut can be: BFA not only made you feel like you were part of their movement to represent Seattle music, but the audience actually became part of their lives for a few hours. And that feeling of connection and community is what makes Seattle rap great.