Skoo-b Ru is a new artist on the scene making some headway. He's been rocking local shows and networking around and he just released his first official video, "We Taking Over." You can find it on YouTube. The video features hometown grind king $krilla. The song starts off with Skoo-b Ru's snarly, sinister flow. There are some scenes where it's raining and the video definitely has that Northwest/gray vibe going. Catch cameos from Awall (A.K.A. 2-Piece), Blue Nose Music, Shao Sosa and B-Dub, Killerz With Kindness, O_Fr3_Quincy, Stillghetto and myself.

            Elsewher, Dip, a well-known underground Tacoma M.C., just dropped a new video, "I'm a G." Type "Dip from The Nuggz" in the Youtube search to see it. It's another video from CooBeanz, who might be the busiest video director so far this year. It features Dip dripping bars in the middle of Lincoln Bowl, Lincoln High School's iconic football stadium.  The beat has a seriousness to it that adds to the weight of Dip's message. It's a song not glorifying the G-lifestyle, but one that deals with the pain and the consequences of that lifestyle.  Don't miss the cameo from Saif Fa'deen. Dip is from the local monster-crew The Nuggz - more on that super-group in a future column. 

            Want more good beats? Of course ya do. Go to www.facebook.com/thurge and http://soundcloud.com/thurge to hear the work from local-producer Thurge. Thurge is one of the coolest, most humble people you could ever hope to meet on this earth. He quietly put out a beat tape not too long ago that rivals any other top local producers' work. Don't sleep on this guy - because he's so chill he's not going to bug you about his music. Just take my word for it and see for yourself.

            I wanted to give some thanks to Boombox Massacre, a Seattle-area producer who has steadily been working with Tacoma artists for a handful of years now. There's no reason why Boombox has made the choice to lend our city his rough and tumble beats. He did it simply because he's down. Boombox might be the most prolific producer out of Tacoma who's not from Tacoma.