Sawchosiz is finally set to drop his first full-length album. It may be hard to believe Saw' hasn't released an album yet, but it's true, even though he's been in the game for a good minute now. He's gone from underground Tacoma groups, to smashing the KUBE 93 FM "Freestyle Fridays" sessions, to riding with Jay Barz. Now we finally get an album from Sawchosiz. Saw's sound is a mishmash and hodgepodge of styles. It's what makes him unique. Saw is part street, part thug-a-lo and part lyricist. Check out his newest single, "Hata Horrified," off the upcoming album CarnEvil, featuring none other than the world's fastest rapper, NoClue. YouTube it.
On a personal note, I must agree publicly with Sawchosiz and his righteous diatribes against bullshit wack promoters. Thankfully, we have someone with enough realness to call these promoters on their garbage. Saw won't perform for free unless it's a benefit show. He won't pay to open-up for a has-been national artist. So there!
If ya love true-school, golden-era hip-hop, I highly recommend ya'll check out Kept See. He's got a throwback style. Kept has a deep, classic, East Coast hip-hop voice and flow. He's also a monster on the boards. His production is in the Madlib, J-Dilla, Count Bass D, Prickly Pear vein. An East Coast to Tacoma transplant, Kept's work can be found on YouTube and soundclick. He's still relatively new to the area and is still getting his network on, so be one of the cool kids that know about this artist.
Summer has been good to Craze8. I mentioned in an earlier column he went on tour. He also had time to shoot a rough underground video, "I'm On One." Check it on YouTube. The video has a strong summer feel, with cameos from $krilla and Tacoma underground favorite Tall-Can.
S.P.'s "We Out Here Showcase" (also featured in an earlier column) has seen some good growth this summer. Having had success with his showcases in Olympia, S.P decided to expand. This summer his showcase series debuted in Portland, Tacoma and Marysville! Congratulations to S.P. for growing his brand into, dare I, say a successful movement.