It's been a tumultuous year and a half for Seattle party-rap provocateurs Mad Rad. The hard-living quartet recently came out the other end of a much-publicized career rehab (masterminded by former über-manager Kerri Harrop) that saw them distance themselves from scandalous headlines, and, with impressive velocity, rise from being blacklisted at seven Seattle venues to playing the mainstage at the packed-to-bursting 2010 Capitol Hill Block Party. 

Talking about Mad Rad at this point is a little like talking about Robert Downey Jr. (I'm thinking of Matthew Klam's probing 2008 GQ profile of the durable actor) - any discussion of their current success needs to be contextualized against their past struggles and indiscretions. (It remains to be seen if the release of Mad Rad's sophomore effort, The Youth Die Young, helps turn these Teflon troublemakers into Iron Men). Here's the short version: In January of last year, members of the group were accused of assaulting a security guard at Capitol Hill venue Neumo's. Reports differ, but two or three of them spent a night in the slammer, there was legal drama, and all charges were eventually dropped. Additionally, chief lyricist Terry Radjaw (aka Gregory Smith) was purportedly involved in another assault case on Jan. 1, 2010, and some of their unauthorized wheat-pasted promotional efforts also drew ire. The Neumo's incident led a number of Seattle venues to ban the group for a while, during which time Mad Rad's Radjaw, P Smoov, Buffalo Madonna and DJ Darwin - equally beloved and reviled - cultivated their audience outside of Capitol Hill's insular taste-making community.

"Being banned from the Cap Hill spots, that made us play little art houses and (Seattle underground venues like) the Josephine or the Black Lodge - places we wouldn't normally play," Smith says. Though they've played Tacoma before, it had nothing to do with their temporary shunning at some Emerald City clubs. "It wasn't, like, we went there because we couldn't play Capitol Hill. But if anything, I think a lot of the attention we got from all that might have helped (us attract an audience outside Seattle)."

Smith elaborates: "(All the drama was) a pain in the ass. It sucked. But, y'know, we knew where we were, and people kind of blew it up all out of proportion. We kept our mouths shut and our heads down, and kept at it. The press fabricated stories about what happened, and then we went to court, and the security guard lies on the stand, y'know. And then all charges are dropped."

In the face of all that happened, Mad Rad was triumphant.

The tone of The Youth Die Young (copies of which will be sold in advance of the official street date at their Jazzbones show) is more reflective and mature than 2008‘s anthemic, rager-ready White Gold - something evident in both the lyrical content and the accelerated awesomeness of P Smoov's '80s-infused production aesthetic. That it dovetails with a successful attempt at a restored public image is, according to Smith, incidental.

"We just wrote songs about stuff we were dealing with - problems with women, problems with money ... there's a lot of different shit that was going on while we were making the record. It wasn't as much about (the controversy) so much, because, for us, we didn't want to dwell on it, y'know?"

TYDY could be said to fall in line with some of 2010's biggest records (Wavves' King of the Beach, Kanye's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy) in that it combines a sober, introspective outlook with a healthy dose of necessary, unabashed braggadocio.

"I'd say it's very close to being like those (records), to being self-deprecating, but it's more about, like, realization, and not feeling bad for yourself," Smith tells me. "Like, make your choices, do your shit, embrace yourself. ... There's always that hangover in the morning where you're like, ‘Man, that was an awesome night, but I feel bad about it. Or do I feel good about it?'"

While this sense of uncertainty may color their new record (and, to a degree, their career), there's little doubt about one thing: These dudes throw down at their shows, and they're likely to leave the crowd at Jazzbones dazed, delirious and dyin' for more. 

Mad Rad

Artifakt Art and Hip-Hop Show
w/Champagne Champagne, City Hall, DJ Hannibal
Saturday, Nov. 27, 8 p.m., 21+, $8
Jazzbones, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma
253.396.9169