Browsing “The Bassment Series”

The Bassment is a weekly article bringing you coverage of the best in Hip Hop and Electronic music from around Vancouver. Weekly interviews, event coverage, album and concert reviews that show how awesome our city’s electronic and hip hop scene really is.If you think there is someone or something that needs coverage in this city in regards to the Hip Hop / Electronic community then get in touch with us.

Since local rap duo District 36 dropped their ‘Fresh Prince Project‘ last week on May 1st (as a free download), I’ve been playing a little game to challenge my friends who are into hip-hop (more specifically, to challenge preconceptions about Vancouver hip-hop). The game consists of playing them the first single off the mixtape ‘Maxin and Relaxin’ and telling them that it was put out by some new underground rap crew from ‘X’ big American city.  After they listen and the head nods start, we usually talk a bit about how they’ve got those new school ‘cool kids beats locked down,’ or that they are ‘killing that east coast 90s flow’ (or an equivalent played out statement likening them to one of raps great successors). Then the fun starts for me and I come clean, telling them that District 36 actually hails from Surrey.

District 36 is Grafic (left) and Seth Kay (right)

Yup, that’s right, good old Surrey. That purportedly abhorrent place ‘Vancouverites’ love to hate on is pumping out sounds that rub shoulders with some of raps most classic lyricists and popular beatsmiths.  I’m not even exaggerating here, the Fresh Prince Project is an extremely polished concept album that has appeal across hip-hop’s spectrum from backpackers to club kids, and will definitely bump hard in your headphones all the way from Waterfront to King George Station.

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The Bassment is a weekly article bringing you coverage of the best in Hip Hop and Electronic music from around Vancouver. Weekly interviews, event coverage, album and concert reviews that show how awesome our city’s electronic and hip hop scene really is.If you think there is someone or something that needs coverage in this city in regards to the Hip Hop / Electronic community then get in touch with us.

A while back we got the heads up from Kyle Kraft about an upcoming showcase coming up at Fortune Sound Club featuring a pretty deep bill of local hip-hop talent.  With SonReal,Evil Ebenezer, Snak the Ripper, Def3, Cityreal and Sweatshop Union all slated to play short (15 minute) sets, the format of the event alone was intriguing enough to spark interest.  A big old dirty (FREE) show from a load of Vancouver’s top rappers downtown on a Saturday night?  It all seemed atypical for such an event and sure enough there was more going on beyond just a too-dope-to-be-free hip-hop show.

Show Flyer

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The Bassment is a weekly article bringing you coverage of the best in Hip Hop and Electronic music from around Vancouver. Weekly interviews, event coverage, album and concert reviews that show how awesome our city’s electronic and hip hop scene really is. If you think there is someone or something that needs coverage in this city in regards to the Hip Hop / Electronic community then get in touch with us.

For the second year in a row, Blueprint has turned the Easter long weekend into a music filled, multi-day event featuring shows at clubs and venues all around the city. Building on last year’s event at the Vancouver Convention Centre, which featured Calvin Harris, Laidback Luke, Felguk, Lazy Rich, this year they upped the ante considerably. Thursday night was Swedish duo Cazzette at Venue, Friday was AN21 (fellow Swede and brother of Steve Angello) for a free show at Celebrities, while Saturday was at the Convention Centre downtown with Armin Van Buuren, Steve Angello and Morgan Page. Sunday night closed out the weekend with Skrillex-backed KOAN Sound and Gemini at Celebrities.

Flyer Image

Saturday in particular was always going to be the main event, but reports and pictures I checked out from the three other shows confirmed they were all massive. If there’s one thing Blueprint has been excelling at, it’s capitalizing on different genres, and having different shows on different nights for different tastes. Cazzette leans heavily on the electro side of house, while AN21 fills the neuvo-progressive house vibe. Armin is the un-disputed king of trance, whose long reign as the world’s #1 DJ (he’s settling for #2 now) will draw out even quasi-fans, while KOAN Sound and Gemini complete the weekend with a dubstep laced show at celebrities. Business-wise it’s brilliant move, allowing Blueprint to capitalize on every niche market in electronic music.

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The Bassment is a weekly article bringing you coverage of the best in Hip Hop and Electronic music from around Vancouver. Weekly interviews, event coverage, album and concert reviews that show how awesome our city’s electronic and hip hop scene really is.If you think there is someone or something that needs coverage in this city in regards to the Hip Hop / Electronic community then get in touch with us.

If you are from Vancouver and listen to hip hop then you probably know this week’s guests well. The Freshest are a 4 piece DJ crew that includes DJs Kutcorners, Rico Uno, Seko, and Marvel. As far back as I can remember going out in Vancouver these guys have been playing the go-to spots for hip hop. Nights such as Lucy Mae Browns and Re-Up are still talked about and referenced as formative events in regards to shaping the current scene. This past year has seen these artists move into a bigger spotlight with many new opportunities available. One of these opportunities was to play a set with all four members at the Redbull Threestyle Championships that took place in December. They are also creating a bigger audience for themselves by producing Live-Set music videos. The first of which has now been released starring Marvel and Kutcorners. I got to ask them a few questions about what they do.

Photo: Courtesy of Artsts

DJing has most popularly been known as a solo act. Explain the idea behind The Freshest Crew.

We were all regulars at hip-hop shows and parties in Vancouver and quickly became friends through a common love of music.  From there it was only natural for us to want to work on music and throw parties together.  It was clear that with the four of us we would have a bigger reach when we threw our first weekly party, Higher Ground.  Each of us had complimentary specialties around and beyond our hip-hop backgrounds making it an easy fit for us to come together musically.

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The Bassment is a weekly article bringing you coverage of the best in Hip Hop and Electronic music from around Vancouver. Weekly interviews, event coverage, album and concert reviews that show how awesome our city’s electronic and hip hop scene really is. If you think there is someone or something that needs coverage in this city in regards to the Hip Hop / Electronic community then get in touch with us.

I was emailed this week in regards to the new record from electronic DJ producer Morgan Page which includes a track and a new video with Vancouver/Montreal based Tegan & Sara. The song is produced by Morgan Page and is accompanied by the stylized voices of Tegan & Sara. The song is another example of the progression and amalgamation of many styles of music that have been increasingly converging. Since Postal Service I have personally been hooked on the mixture of electronic beats and indie style lyrics and melodies. Check out the vid and go see Morgan Page with Armin Van Buuren and Steve Angello on April 7th at the VCC.

Another video I have been loving lately is the song “Oblivion” by Vancouver born, Montreal native, Grimes. Grimes, who was born in Vancouver and lived here until 2006, has become an overnight success in some peoples eyes playing sold out shows and even getting nods from image and stylist heavyweights at

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The Bassment is a weekly article bringing you coverage of the best in Hip Hop and Electronic music from around Vancouver. Weekly interviews, event coverage, album and concert reviews that show how awesome our city’s electronic and hip hop scene really is. If you think there is someone or something that needs coverage in this city in regards to the Hip Hop / Electronic community then get in touch with us.

Last week Vancouver was home to the The World of Drum & Bass Tour 2012 which was held at Club 560 on Seymour St. The event showcases some of the world’s top DnB acts such as this years headliners DJs SS and Crissy Criss. We sent down our friend Jak to check out the show. He had this to say.

Drum and Bass lives.

You have to give it to Vancouver — you can always rope a ton of people into hitting the club when major out-of-towners are meant to destroy dancefloors.

DJ SS absolutely, positively lived up to expectations. Sub Focus and High Contrast showed up and smashed the crowd (not in person — I’m talking tracklist)– then Chrissy Chris came on, and reminded us all of why delay units are an essential part of any self-respecting DJ’s arsenal.

Oh, and DJ SS decided to MC Chrissy Chris’ set.

Seriously.

EPIC should be spelled D-J-S-S-A-N-D-C-H-R-I-S-S-Y-C-H-R-I-S.

Here’s why Vancouver Is Awesome: DnB is still going strong here, and most other scenes are also thriving (particularly Dubstep, and I can’t hate, because that ish is awesome). It takes very little for us to wrangle a proper crowd for a proper event, and that’s exactly what this was.

I highly recommend The World of Drum and Bass Tour, in any incarnation.

-Jak

The Bassment is a weekly article bringing you coverage of the best in Hip Hop and Electronic music from around Vancouver. Weekly interviews, event coverage, album and concert reviews that show how awesome our city’s electronic and hip hop scene really is. If you think there is someone or something that needs coverage in this city in regards to the Hip Hop / Electronic community then get in touch with us.

Dance crews have become more popular than ever. The once underground art of breakdancing and bboying has found a new stage with the world as its audience. TV shows and the internet have brought us the magic of choreographed contortionists right into our living rooms. One of Vancouver’s veteran crews is Now Or Never. I asked crew member Eloquence if he could answer a few questions for us about life in the pack.

Photo: Courtesy of N.O.N.

Who are the members of your crew?

Jax

B-Minus

Twist

Muggy Mug

Trickey

Savage Rock

Pay Day Ray

Style Jack

Taiyo

G

Hao2

Eloquence

How and when did you all meet and get started?

The crew has been established since 2002. Most of the members joined the crew at separate times in the past few years. Jax, Hao2 and G are the remaining original members. Having similar goals helped bring us together as one unit. Our main goals are worldwide recognition and to represent Vancity to the fullest.

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The Bassment is a weekly article bringing you coverage of the best in Hip Hop and Electronic music from around Vancouver. Weekly interviews, event coverage, album and concert reviews that show how awesome our city’s electronic and hip hop scene really is. If you think there is someone or something that needs coverage in this city in regards to the Hip Hop / Electronic community then get in touch with us.

I have received a ton of new recordings and video releases from artists over the past month so I decided to once again share some of them with you. The first is a video released by The Boombox Saints on Valentine’s Day. The song is entitled “The Break Up Song” ft. Jill Laxamana. It’s the fourth single from the EP, “Bringin’ the Boom Back: Based on a True Story”.

Check out the video!

SonReal has been releasing tracks off his upcoming album building up to the day of the album launch. Here are – “Bomb” (Prod: Burd & Keyz) - Excellente (Freestyle) - Bedtime (Feat. Saigon) Produced by: Superville

Felix Cartal has released another song and video for his new album coming in March. Check out “Domo”

Fresh off The Train of Thought Tour comes a video with Jeff Spec alongside Muneshine, Timbuktu, Ghettosocks and Moka Only. Check out “The Mustard Station”