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College Survival Guide: Mark Wheat's Introduction to Local Hip-Hop

Posted at 3:29 PM on September 5, 2011 by The Current

The next set of names in the local hip-hop scene are out there right now planning their emergence, driven by the passion to create. I don't know where they're going to come from. Any thriving music scene is organically evolving — you are the next audience, deciding who's successful, whether or not you're an artist. Success seems to be all about the creators being the supporters too, collectives of like-minded artists coming together across genre boundaries and fashioning something new.

We're proud that our Twin Cities is known today musically as a hot bed of independent hip-hop.

Rhymesayers started out of a core crew. Back in the mid '90s, they were a group of musicians who liked jamming together, and occasionally let rappers meander over their musical lines.

There used to be a regular Wednesday night thing called "Freeloaded" at The Front in Nordeast. As the established record business crumbled around them — just at the time when they had grown enough to need business help — they crafted a whole new way of working. They acquired a record store (Fifth Element) on Hennepin in Uptown as a base camp, nurtured relationships with like-minded crews across the country, and built a rep for great live shows and organization that wasn't always apparent with other bands and cliques. Over the past 16 years, they've broken just about every stereotype.

If you're new to town, start at rhymesayers.com to follow the exploits of Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Grieves and more. At Fifth Element, they still have in-stores with their artists and a regular DJ night on the third Thursday of every month, called "Last of the Record Buyers." They maintain their radio presence too, hosting their own show, "RSE Radio" from 9 to 11 p.m. on Saturday nights on KFAI. If Slug's in town, he might sit in to rap and ramble!

They also provided us at 89.3 The Current with host Kevin Beachem, and "Redefinition Radio" at 11 p.m. Saturdays. And mark a space on your Memorial Day weekend calendar for Soundset at Canterbury Park, which keeps getting bigger and better every year.

The latest group on the scene is the nine-member collective known as Doomtree. There has always been a sense of comradary, rather than competition, between Rhymesayers and Doomtree. The unique twist that Doomtree has added is the multidimensional, genre-hopping approach that they bring. They're known as a hip hop collective, but spawn rock releases like producer Lazerbeaks' last album and harbor the most ground-breaking female artist in the country.

Dessa writes books, does acapella and breaks new ground as a woman in the man's world of rap. She also teaches. Maybe that's where the next scene will start — at McNally Smith's Hip Hop course, the first of its kind in the country. It'll be a big year for Doomtree. Dessa releasing a new album and planning her biggest show yet at the Fitzgerald Theater this fall.

P.O.S. is also getting ready to release another album, as is Mike Mictlan. The whole crew has just mixed another, displaying amazing productivity. Who knows what else they have up their sleeves after they mashed up The Wu-Tang Clan and Fugazi into the full-length "Wugazi" release. They try to keep you up-to-date with their well-maintained website.

Perhaps the next big thing will be their new buddy Astronautalis, who just moved here to be part of the fun that is Doomtree. He played a powerful set — with just a laptop as support — at Dessa's show at the Guthrie in May. He topped it off with an amazing exhibition of freestyling.

So who is Coloring Time? Founders Joe Horton (No Bird Sing), and Peter Pisano (Peter Wolf Crier), have played improv sets at Honey and The Dakota Jazz Club. In August they were part of a big show at the Cedar Cultural Center, where they were joined by an astonishing gaggle of friends, including Martin Dosh (solo as Dosh and in Andrew Bird's band), Jeremy Ylvisaker (Andrew Bird and Haley Bonar bands), Jacob Hanson, (Halloween Alaska), Alexei Casselle (Roma di Luna, Kill the Vultures) Michelle Kinney (Jello Slave), and several other members of No Bird Sing and The Pines. Also there were singers Chastity Brown, Adam Svec, and perhaps the biggest name in "hip hop" not to be involved in the other two collectives, Kristoff Krane. Coloring Time also adds its own twist by being joined by visual artists Michael Gaughan and Zach Koss.

Sample some of the music by any of those bands and you'll discover a good slice of the local music scene without any genre qualifications and out of that, anything can grow. You can also keep tabs on the scene at twincitieshiphop.com, get Cryphy at First Ave. Record Room on Saturday nights or come by the Bungalow at Record Room on Thursdays with DJ Verb X. When you do hit on the next big thing I bet it'll be all about collaboration, open-hearted generosity of spirit, passion and dedication.

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