Project Blowed

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Project Blowed is an open-mic night and the affiliated hip hop crew that began in South Central Los Angeles. It is also the name of a compilation album released in 1994.

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[edit] The Good Life

The roots of Project Blowed go back to the Good Life Health Food Centre's weekly open-mic night, which started in December 1989 on the corner of Crenshaw & Exposition. Promoted by B. Hall and her son R. Kain Blaze, the Good Life offered a workshop-like atmosphere for aspiring MCs, poets and musicians to hone their craft. On Thursday nights from 8-10pm, artists were allowed to perform one song. Some would perform written songs, and some would freestyle. When a performance was not up to par, the audience would call out "Please pass the mic!" and the performer had to pass the mic to the next MC. And there was a strict policy that no cursing was allowed. Said promoter B. Hall, "Young people needed a place to go to develop their own art. The no-cussing policy wasn’t about us being uptight church people, it was about wanting the atmosphere of a serious arts workshop. Most of the crowd respected the rule, some said it made rapping more challenging, that it created more respect and brotherhood."

Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and Lenny Kravitz reportedly attended the open-mic, and artists such as The Pharcyde, Biz Markie, Fat Joe (whose mic was unplugged because he broke the no-cursing rule), Skee-Lo, and Kurupt occasionally performed there. Good Life Regulars Rebels of Rhythm and Unity Committee came together to form Jurassic 5. Other Good Life regulars include Freestyle Fellowship, Abstract Rude, Chillin Villain Empire, Rifleman Ellay Khule, Volume 10, Medusa, Figures of Speech, Spoon Iodine, Ganjah K, and Fat Jack, among many others. According to Cut Chemist of Jurassic 5, "The Good Life was a renaissance period in hip hop." By 1992, the weekly open-mic had crowds spilling out into the street. (The Good Life Cafe open-mic night is chronicled in the documentary This is The Life [2008], directed by original Good Life MC Ava DuVernay of Figures of Speech.)

[edit] Project Blowed Open Mic

In 1994, Aceyalone and Abstract Rude established an open-mic night later on Thursday nights at KAOS Network. Founded in 1984 by Cal-Arts Film Professor Ben Caldwell, KAOS Network offers weekly classes and workshops in video production, animation, digital arts, and artist development. Located on the corner of Leimert & 43rd, the weekly open-mic night at KAOS Network became known as Project Blowed. Unlike the Good Life, Project Blowed did not have a rule against cursing. Said Ellay Khule of the new venue, "The Blowed was darker than a motherf*cker inside. The moods changed to a darker feeling. You could say whatever you wanted to say."

In the mid to late 90s, Project Blowed regulars included Aceyalone, Abstract Rude, Mikah 9, P.E.A.C.E., Busdriver, Of Mexican Descent, Chillin Villain Empire, Rifleman Ellay Khule, Pterradacto, Subtitle, and many others. In 2007, the Project Blowed open-mic night celebrated its 13th anniversary.

[edit] Project Blowed Crew

The Project Blowed crew consists of MCs, producers, artists, dancers, musicians and poets, such as Freestyle Fellowship (Aceyalone, Mikah 9, P.E.A.C.E., Self-Jupiter), Abstract Rude, Chillin Villain Empire (CVE), Rifleman Ellay Khule, 2mex, Xololanxinxo, Medusa, Volume 10, Fat Jack, Omid (OD), Figures of Speech, AWOL One, Busdriver, Pterradacto, Subtitle, Pigeon John, Chu Chu, J Smoov, Badru Umi, Tribe Unique, Jah Orah, Funky Trend, the L.A. Breakers & RTN Crew, amongst others. Members of the crew are known as "Blowedians."

Compilation albums heavily featuring members of the Project Blowed crew include Project Blowed and Project Blowed 10th Anniversary (see below), OD's Beneath the Surface (1999), Fat Jack's Cater to the DJ (1999) and Cater to the DJ Vol. 2 (2004), and The Good Brothers (2003). Some Project Blowed posse cuts include "Heavyweights" Rounds 1-4 ("Heavyweights Round 2" being featured on the Project Blowed compilation), "Feet Up on da Table," "Chopfest," "You Know We Run This..." and "Who the F*ck is You?"

Blowedians place a heavy emphasis on the ability to freestyle. NoCanDo was the 2007 Scribble Jam freestyle battle winner, and in 1999 P.E.A.C.E. of Freestyle Fellowship won 2nd place at Scribble Jam.

Project Blowed has grown as a movement to include an indie record imprint and to serve as the general umbrella for a whole new generation of Los Angeles emcees, including NoCanDo, Customer Service, CP, Aspect 1, Verbs, Kail, AOK, Diabolic aka Dibiase, DVS1, Open Mike Eagle, Psychosiz, DumbFoundead, Thirsty Fish, (DJ)Tommy Blak, Lyraflip, Alpha MC, Rogue-Venom and many others.

[edit] Project Blowed Compilation Album

The Project Blowed compilation album, executive produced by Aceyalone and Abstract Rude, was released in 1994.

The landmark recording showcased wildly diverse acts whose common bond was a desire to expand the musical, thematic, and lyrical horizons of hip-hop. The MCs featured on the recording were local legends through their weekly performances and freestyles at The Good Life.

The recording was originally distributed independently by the featured rappers, and the limited run was subsequently purchased and traded by fans internationally. The tracks run the gamut from the pimp-hop of Tray-Loc Chillin Villain Empire (C.V.E.)'s "Once Upon a Freak" to Figures Of Speech's bluntly feminist and black nationalist "Don't Get It Twisted."

Track listing:

1. Jurassick - Aceyalone/Spoon Iodine/C.V.E., produced by Home Grown Beatz

2. Who's There? - Self-Jupiter of Freestyle Fellowship

3. Strength Of A.T.U. - Abstract Rude of ATU, produced by Digiak

4. What A Pity - C.V.E. featuring Riddlore and Ngafsh, produced by DJ Wolf

5. Don't Get It Twisted - Jyant and Eve of Figures Of Speech, produced by Digiak

6. Hot - Freestyle Fellowship/Horace Tapscott/The Underground Railroad, produced by JMD.

7. Once Upon A Freak - Tray Loc of C.V.E., produced by CV Shack Productionz

8. Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood - Dolla Holla, produced by J-Sumbi

9. Solo Is So Low - DK Toon/B Cartoon, produced by Fat Jack

10. This Evening - (interlude)

11. Heavyweights Round 2 - Peace/T-Love/A.C./Nefertiti/Self-Jupiter/BJ/Ganjah K/Medusa/Ko Ko/Mikah 9/Volume 10, produced by Mathmattics

12. Funky Commercial Break - Funky Trend, produced by Digiak

13. Second Chance - (interlude)

14. I Don't Know - Abstract Rude of ATU /Aceyalone/Riddlore of CVE, produced by Fat Jack

15. Yeh Man - Abstract Rude of ATU, produced by Digiak

16. Narcolepsy - C.V.E./Rifleman Ellay Khule of Hip Hop Klan, produced by Cee Vee Beat Down, Hip Hop Kclan

17. I Think? - Aceyalone, produced by Aceyalone

18. Maskaraid Part 1 & 2 - Abstract Rude/Aceyalone, produced by Fat Jack

19. Treble And Bass - Aceyalone/Abstract Rude, produced by Vic Hop

[edit] Project Blowed 10th Anniversary Compilation Album

In 2005, the Project Blowed 10th Anniversary CD/DVD was released on Decon /Project Blowed recordings. The record was Executive Produced by Aceyalone & Peter Bittenbender.

The Blowed CD was also accompanied by 10th Anniversary DVD produced by Badru Umi, including footage from the Project Blowed 10th Anniversary concert, with performances by Freestyle Fellowship, Hip Hop Clan (Rifleman Ellay Khule and Pterradacto), Busdriver, Phoenix Orion & Sunfire, Medusa, Haiku D'Etat, 2mex, and a collective posse cut featuring freestyles and flows by Aceyalone, Abstract Rude, Chu, Myka 9, P.E.A.C.E., and Rifleman Ellay Khule.

Also included on the DVD was a 15-minute documentary about the Project Blowed open mic, consisting of numerous brief interviews with such Blowed luminaries as Aceyalone, Myka 9, Abstract Rude, Busdriver, 2mex, Rifleman Ellay Khule, Ben Caldwell, Medusa, Subtitle, Otherwize, Sunspot Jonz (Living Legends), Adlib (Thavius Beck), Phoenix Orion, Volume 10, Brother J (X-Clan), Kail, Hines, Akil, Jah Orah, and others.

The DVD also featured the following music videos: "Mic Check" (w/ "Calistylics" by CVE), "Knownots" (w/ Mikah 9 & Abstract Rude), "I Think," and "Moonlit Skies" all by Aceyalone; "Give it Here" by Aceyalone, Ahmad, and Pep Love; "All Day" by Abstract Rude; and "My Mamma Raised a G" by Medusa.

The track lising for the CD is as follows:

1. 4343 Leimert Blvd. L.A., CA 90008

2. Enter the Kaos - Aceyalone, Busdriver, Longevity, NgaFsh, produced by Riddlore

3. Who the F*ck Is You? - Aceyalone, Riddlore, Abstract Rude, Busdriver, Rifleman Ellay Khule, produced by PMG

4. Live @ the Blowed - Customer Service, produced by Longevity

5. Villains - CVE, produced by CVE

6. The People - Sach, Pigeon John, Rifleman Ellay Khule, produced by Omid

7. Sound Boy Murderers - Abstract Tribe Unique, produced by Fat Jack

8. Too Underground - Busdriver, produced by Kenny Segal

9. Sounds Like (Hip Hop Clan) - Hip Hop Clan (Rifleman Ellay Khule and Pterradacto), produced by Nobody

10. What's Your Aim? - Acid Reign, produced by Re.4m

11. Cray Crazy - Aceyalone, Busdriver, NoCanDo, Subtitle, produced by Thavius Beck

12. Jazzy Girl (Freestyle) - Myka 9, Busdriver, Xololanxinxo, and Toca, produced by Toca

13. Astro Pimp - Cypher 7, produced by JB

14. How You Been? (Homegirl) - Otherwize, produced by R. Leon (Jizzm High Definition)

15. What It Do? - Medusa, Mr. Perkins, Black Silver, Volume 10, produced by PMG

16. Do Unto Others - Aceyalone, produced by Beat Science

17. 13th Month - Abstract Rude, Busdriver, Phoenix Orion, produced by Kenny Segal

18. Mama & Pappa Raised Right - Pterradacto, Aceyalone, Jah Orah, NoNsToP, produced by DJ Drez

19. Battle Prone - Myka 9, Power Tung, Wreek One, produced by Myka 9

20. Ruff Rhymes - Aceyalone, Longevity, produced by Longevity

21. Doing What We Love - Jah Orah, produced by Beat Science

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