Northwest hip-hop is buzzing now more than it has been in a very very long time. Good music and controversy have been shedding light on the region and the artists doing big things here. We here at WOHM are all about giving props where they’re due so here is a list of artists who are doing their part in the movement.
1. Raz Simone
Raz has been blowing up local music blogs with new music, interviews and news of his new deal with label 300. The man’s drive is as undeniable as his talent and WOHM has been trying to keep up with his success. Don’t lose sight of this guy. You’ll regret it.
2. Tope
Tope has had a great year already and plans on giving us more life. His year started with the drop of his video for Take Your Time. Inspired by Erykah Badu, the video was approved by the queen herself. Tope has also dropped projects with his group TxE and has been featured in just about every local publication. Throw in his Trouble Vision docu-series, his shows down at SXSW and countless features on other artist’s projects and you can see why we give him the nod of approval.
3. J Pinder
This is a name you should be familiar with by now. The young Seattle artist has been putting out good music for a while now. As far as the big moves he’s making, I’ll let this video speak for itself.
4. Illmaculate
Even before the Blue Monk fiasco, Illmaculate was doing his part to shed light on NW hip-hop. The artist was featured in a documentary on North Portland rappers in the Oregonian and dropped several songs and features leading up to last month’s release of Clay Pigeons. After his run in with PPD and the Fire Marshall at the Blue Monk, he made several comments about the state of hip-hop in Portland and became the face for our fight against the man. All that and he has a great show lined up for this weekend that you’d be foolish to miss.
5. MackNed
MoorGang veteran MackNed has been busy. In addition to releasing his own project, Alice Gla$$, in February, Ned has produced and appeared on a myriad of dope new projects from his Seattle peers including Key Nyata, Sneak Guapo, Thaddeus David, Astro King Phoenix, and Nacho Picasso. And that’s just in the last 3 months.
6. Grieves
Grieves is currently in the middle of the European leg of his Winter & the Wolves Tour. He’ll start his North American tour in Portland on April 29th. After making nearly 50 stops across the US and Canada, he’ll wrap up his tour in Eugene in August. Definitely putting on for the region.
7. Myke Bogan
Earlier this week we dropped a video of Myke Bogan performing in Boise. His ability to sell out shows out-of-town is as remarkable as his crowd control. Working with his Soar Losers comrades, he’s definitely got a few projects in the works and is still coasting off his release of Pretty Hesh. Don’t sleep. He’s moving.
8. Amine
When folks are selling bootleg copies of your album overseas, you know you’ve done something right. In January Amine dropped Odyssey To Me and celebrated over 10,000 downloads a few weeks later. The new artist is quickly building a fan base and repping the town along the way. He made an appearance at SXSW as well, and continues to drop good music on a regular basis. Keep it up.
9. Thaddeus David
Few artists are as consistently productive as Thaddeus David. Already 2 solo projects deep in 2014, Thaddeus has been expanding his brand to Portland, recently collaborating with Liquid Beat’s HOT16 and allegedly putting in work with Stewart Villain. In addition, he’s been a constant on the Seattle show circuit.
10. Trox
WOHM favorite, Trox has lent his production talent to several of the artists on this very list this year. Not to mention the Christmas release of his Ugly Sweaters EP. He has a history of putting in work with a few national artists as well. Late last month, Assad dropped a track featuring Ab-Soul which Trox produced. The man just never disappoints.
Honorable Mention: Luck-One
Although Luck has left the City of Roses to return to his hometown of NYC, he continues to put on for the town. He came back to perform at Blue Monk last month and is doing his part to introduce the folks of New York to NW artists. KOTNWII: Curse of the Pharoah was released in February and features NW artists and producers. No matter where he goes, Luck picks up new fans and as long as they listen to his music they get a good taste of NW hip-hop.
Salute to all the artists in the region. We see the effort you put into your work and we’ll be with you every step of the way sharing your success with the masses.
#OutHere