Talk:Northwest hip hop
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[edit] Move proposal
Shouldn't this article be moved to Hip-hop in the Pacific Northwest? I've never heard of Northwest Hip-hop as an actual genre, the way Southern hip-hop or West Coast hip-hop has. Frankly, it's not like as if Sir Mix, Funk Daddy, and Blue Scholars really belong in the same tradition. hateless 22:51, 25 March 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Why Northwest Hip-Hop is a Genre and Not Just Hip-Hop in the United States and from the Pacific Northwest
I believe that Sir Mix vastly influenced the way hip-hop has evolved in the Northwest, perhaps not as part of the same tradition, but an influence on a definable genre of music. I believe the indications that Northwest Hip Hop is a genre of music as being as follows:
[edit] Cultural Discrepancies
The most prominent staple of Northwest Hip-Hop culturally is the uniquely fostered self-perpetuating underground in the region. Hip-hop heads in the NW often refer to themselves specifically as "Northwest Hip-Hop heads", and sometimes even limit their music consumption specifically to Northwest Hip Hop. This dynamic between artists and supporters shapes the genre in a variety of ways: The regional, self-perpetuating underground has resulted in increased collaborations between local artists. Because few Northwest rap artists believe in inevitable commercial success, probably since Northwest hip hop has been basically ignored since the era of Nastymix Records, artists who participate in the underground culture invariably form collectives for mutual support, a trend which is apparent in the formation of groups like Massline Media, Sandpeople, and Oldominion. Indeed, this tendency to form collectives is one of the few things that unites the Seattle and Portland groups, linking the two cities both in their traditions and often through collectives large enough to draw artists from both metropolitan areas.
Northwest artists often cover similar sets of issues, ranging from, but not limited to: Homelessness, political dissidence, civil disobedience, the poverty and injustices of lower-class urban American life, local geography, leftist social philosophy, nihilism, humility, and the neglect of Northwest Hip-Hop on the part of the larger culture. Specific examples of this include references to The Central District, prevalence of the Seattle area code (206), the unusually high homeless rate, and the WTO protests.
[edit] Musical Discrepancies
There is a greater emphasis on turntablism in the Northwest, particularly Portland, than in the broader culture. Prominent local DJs gain greater or equal repute to MCs they perform with, or compete with. Examples of this include DJ Spark, DJ Scene, DJ Wicked, Mr. Hill (of Oldominion), and Sabzi of the Blue Scholars. While this is a a somewhat cultural discrepancy, it also has had an important affect on Northwest hip-hop music, resulting in multiple releases by individual DJs (notably Mr. Hill and DJ Wicked), and increase in turntablism and a tendency for local DJs to make their styles distinctive. Examples of easily distinguishable Northwest DJs range in their style from the light and jazz influenced beats of Sabzi, to the dark and intricate beats of Mr. Hill, to the mutually influenced but distinct styles of Sandpeople's Simple, DJ Spark, and Sapient. Another sign of this emphasis on turntablism is the unusually high number of MCs who also DJ.
Lyrically, besides for content, Northwest Hip-Hop is hard to distinguish from other regionally concentrated underground hip-hop. As far as style is concerned, there is a local emphasis on speed rap (Sleep of Oldominion, and world record holder No Clue), as well as slower, freeform, abstract rhyme schemes (Onry Ozzborn of Oldominion). Between those two seemingly opposite flows their is a such a wide variety of styles that it seems pointless to allege any sort of similarity, besides, among prominent local artists, a disdain for the techniques of mainstream culture.
Traditionally, mainstream hip-hop's tacit suffocation of Northwest hip-hop has lessened the emphasis of artists on production values since the end of the "first phase" in 1993. This trend has changed as emphasis on production in the wider underground culture has changed, and many local artists have begun to produce their own beats, distinguishing themselves as they develop. This is only remarkable in that the collective prone Northwest Hip-Hop culture results in producers mutually influencing the mood and sound of group and solo albums. This level of interconnectivity is another key component of Northwest hip-hop.
[edit] Conclusion
While there are exceptions to all of these rules, I believe that these trends are wide-spread enough amongst the most influential artists in the region that together they represent a unifying characteristic which is best articulated as a subgenre of American Hip-Hop, specifically under the term "Northwest Hip-Hop." --KindredPlagiarist (talk) 12:47, 5 April 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Of Aspiring Artists
It has come to my attention that many aspiring artists are posting themselves on the Northwest hip hop page in order to promote themselves. Please resist this temptation. Wait until you or your group is influential enough so that a fan of yours or someone else so inclined creates a wikipedia entry for your work and adds you to the list of Northwest artists. Wikipedia is not a publisher of original information, and if you find it impossible to resist your desire to post yourself on the Northwest hip hop page, at least wait until information about you or your crew appears in a legitimate publication. Furthermore, if the artist still finds the desire uncheckable to self-promote, an understandable impulse for most independent hip-hop artists, you can add my roommate (KindredPlagiarst) on Myspace, there he uses the name The Northwest Hip-Hop Wonk, and he currently helps me moderate this page. Thank you. --PerdixPerdix (talk) 15:05, 21 April 2008 (UTC)
