The Krisis is the newest member of the Gonzo Family. He's from Centralia and currently resides in Longview. This stretches Gonzo Family into other parts of Washington - now there are members of the ever-growing crew in area codes besides the 253. Krisis has a rap-clown, party-animal vibe that he sticks to relentlessly. Gonzo Family already had massive amounts of energy and heart, and now Krisis promises to bring the energy level at Gonzo shows to an almost unbearable level. And his added hustle has produced an even busier schedule for Gonzo - they're doing more shows in more cities than ever before. Check out "Kennedy AKA The Krisis" on Facebook.

Right now Lil Ripp, an under-ager from Tacoma, has a fever-level buzz. Watch any YouTube video by Lil Ripp and you'll see why - he's at the head of the class when it comes to local new-school MCs.

It's not just kids that freak-out when Lil Rip music comes on. I was at California Club two Thursdays ago and the ladies lost their mind when Little Rip's "Tac City" played. It will be cool to see what road Lil Ripp's music leads him down. He has the potential to be extremely successful, perhaps one day becoming the breakout artist Tacoma has been pushing for. Right now his flow is as simple as you'd expect from a young man less than 21 years old, packing that "I'm too cool to try hard" vibe. Lil Rip has the capability to be a good songwriter and he's marketable, so the sky's the limit ...

DJ Skrewball is a need-to-know DJ. He's one of a handful of DJs in Tacoma that is truly connected to the local hip-hop scene - and he's also got a residency every Wednesday at Backstage Bar and Grill starting at 11 p.m. Skrewball has worked with a who's-who list of local MCs. Catch his mixtapes at soundcloud.com/DJSkrewball.

Need some new music to try? Go to reverbnation.com/influentialminds and give Influential Minds a try - a group from Tacoma I just got familiar with. They make that good, natural hip-hop that crews made back in the Golden Era.