AltWeeklies Wire
Seattle Rapper D. Black Trades Rhymes for Religionnew
Most musicians with a brand new album would probably spend a Friday night at clubs or music venues, either playing a show or promoting their record. But Black isn't interested in any of that. In fact, he's ready to give up rap entirely.
Seattle Weekly |
Jonathan Cunningham |
09-14-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Blue Scholars are Turning the Artist-Label Relationship On its Headnew

Seattle hip-hop group Blue Scholars have brokered a deal in which New York hip-hop label Duck Down Records signed to them. Whether that's the most accurate way to put it is debatable, but the message is clear: things are changing.
Seattle Weekly |
Jonathan Cunningham |
08-10-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
'The Rough Guide' is a Simple Roadmap to Nirvananew
Veteran Seattle music scribe Gillian G. Gaar smartly resists sensationalism in a new book about the iconic local band.
Seattle Weekly |
Jonathan Cunningham |
07-20-2009 |
Nonfiction
Andrew Oliver Impresses With 'Just 4 U'new
The Andrew Oliver Kora Band's debut is one of the better world-music releases to come out of the Northwest all year.
Seattle Weekly |
Jonathan Cunningham |
06-08-2009 |
Reviews
Ziggy Marley's Family Businessnew
The reggae heir tapped the likes of Willie Nelson and Jack Johnson for a record aimed at toddlers, tykes, and their 'rents.
Seattle Weekly |
Jonathan Cunningham |
06-08-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Seattle Hip-Hop Act Merges Old-School Swagger with New-School Appealnew

Dyme Def lives on that thin line between cockiness and confidence. They fully embrace rap's boasting tradition, but they're comical enough with their punch lines and prose that it works.
Seattle Weekly |
Jonathan Cunningham |
04-27-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Branford Marsalis: King of Kingsnew
A revered jazz saxophonist's life with Leno, Sting, and a decade-old quartet.
Seattle Weekly |
Jonathan Cunningham |
03-23-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
K’naan: The 'Dusty Foot' 'Troubadour'new
The 30-year-old artist is one of the most buzzed-about figures in hip-hop, based on the strength of his latest album, Troubadour. K'naan's sound is rooted in East African rhythms with lyrics so vibrant and piercing that it's as if Bob Marley and Che Guevara were ghostwriters on the project.
Seattle Weekly |
Jonathan Cunningham |
03-09-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Is Hip-Hop in Seattle Being White-Washed?new

Just like electric blues, hip-hop reaches a vastly broader, and whiter, audience than ever before. The difference in Seattle is that some of the most recognizable figures are by and large non-black, a fact that makes rappers like Silas Blak concerned.
Seattle Weekly |
Jonathan Cunningham |
02-23-2009 |
Music
206 Zulu Keeps the Principles of Hip-Hop Alivenew
One of the Northwest's most respected hip-hop organizations, 206 Zulu is based in Beacon Hill and is the local chapter of the legendary Universal Zulu Nation, a grassroots hip-hop advocacy group first formed in the Bronx in 1974 by rap pioneer Afrika Bambaataa.
Seattle Weekly |
Jonathan Cunningham |
02-17-2009 |
Music