bring it back...

I remember when hip hop shows used to be a lot of fun. I hate to sound grim or pessimistic, but it's true. It seems that "performers" are lacking that connection with the crowd, are disinterested in engaging the onlookers, or don't understand that you are supposed to be entertaining. There's been a number of shows where emcees really feel that the crowd owes them something for their blessing them with a show and that entitlement makes for subpar performances. Frustrating.

End rant...this weekend I had the pleasure of seeing some "stay-hungry" homies. From Spokane, we had Gun of the Sun ( www.myspace.com/gunofthesun ). This is a two man crew made up of Freetime Synthetic and Quiz 10.

Heat. I have performed with Freetime before but never heard G.O.T.S. together. Sickness. They bring some much needed freshness to Spokane. Check their tracks out...good stuff.

From Portland & Eugene, OR we had DJ Wicked ( www.myspace.com/dj_wicked or http://www.justplainterror.com/ ), Mic Crenshaw ( www.myspace.com/miccrenshaw ), and Animal Farm ( www.myspace.com/animalfarmrecords ).

I met Wicked trying to set up a show in Portland in like 2001. He helped us (NMB + KTC) out with shows, took us around P Town, and was just an awesome dude. He holds it down in Oregon, has paid dues, and does everything he can to put others on. He's the homie. He got on stage and KILLED it. He is a purist and a real hip hop head. Pick up one of his mixtape cds.

Then Mic went up. I like Mic because he is always trying to say something. I respect him because that seems pretty rare nowadays. Music with a message is kind of a novelty but Mic has had mad message for a long time now. We met him on the Vegans Want Beef Tour with BLX and and he was doing it then and is still making it happen.

Finally, Animal Farm went up and crushed. Hanif, Gen. Erik, and Fury reminded me of how heads used to be...they were about hip hop before image, were still fans, and were having fun doing their thing. They had so much energy that you wouldv'e thought they were performing in front of a HUGE crowd. They brought it to the crowd instead of depending on the crowd to get them going. Good breath control, stage presence, and support of each other. Two thumbs waaaaay up!

Thanks to the homies for putting on a good show. Big up to Miah for checking it out. Shouts to all those who are inspirational and remind us that hip hop can still be fun.

Love what you do and do what you love. PEACE!

NMB at the Na Hoku's!!

Well, well....no surprise here, but NMB didn't take home the Na Hoku award this year! Can't say that we didn't expect to lose, but I can say that I for one was disappointed on how it went down. Not to sound like a broken record, but it sucks that TRUE Hawaii hip-hop gets the shaft once again. Creed got beat out last year--same scenario! I think it's funny that the winner this year has been a no-show in Hawaii's hip-hop scene, hasn't held down a single gig (as far as I know) and rode the sympathy vote to victory. No insult intended, but seriously---when will the industry actually listen to the records and reward folks putting in work?! Alright....diatribe's aside....here's my take on an otherwise incredible evening!The scale of these awards was nothing short of incredible---to be honest, I kind of downplayed the magnitude of the Na Hoku's for such a long time, that I didn't expect much. But, walking into the Hawaii Convention Center and seeing all the media and the legends of Hawaiian music really made me feel blessed to be a part of it all.

Lucky table number 77 was our post for the night...good food, good views of the stage, and good folks to hang with. My brother Kris (who produced our album, 'At Your Door' and the Earth Mover's 'Build' album) flew in from California to support, and brother Keone (of One Groove--our CommonGround labelmate) was there as well. Big ups to these guys for their support and hard work. Sidenote--the new One Groove album is on the way, and it's sure to be another classic...

The moment of truth----I gotta say, seeing the album posted on the screen (and on live TV) and hearing "Aloha Mahalo" blast through the sound system was a pretty unreal experience. Definitely one of the highlights of the evening for me. Afatia (last year's winner in our category) was the presenter this year, and made the announcement that ????!?!?!?! was the winner of the evening! What can I say...it was an honor being nominated, but I can't say that we weren't a little bummed. I was ready to rep Lightsleepers in our acceptance speech....hahahhaa..

My personal highlight of the night came when none other than Cyril Pahinui sat at our table and talked story with us during the ceremonies. The Pahinui's have long been legends in Hawaiian music, and I don't know too many people that didn't grow up on Gabby's music. Uncle Cyril was super cool, and had nothing but positive insight to offer us that night.

Life goes on.....hey, we didn't win, but the experience was incredible...and hopefully one day, the voters will recognize real. Too many other folks should have been on the ballot this year (Hunger Pains, Tempo Valley, Jonah, KTC...) but hopefully someone will get their chance to rep and WIN for our scene soon!

Temper T...

This brother has been putting in mad work for us in the Northwest, and we're looking forward to some more shows up in the mainland U.S. shortly! As hard as it is to have 1/3 of NMB over 2,000 miles away, it's also been a blessing to have someone expanding our reach to a broader audience, and Temper has been incredible at doing that! ALSO...last but not least, I think all of us out there need to start demanding that this dude get his solo album out to the masses ASAP...so start up your protests, riots, petitions, whatever it takes! Big ups!

Super Supahh

I have to admit that I (along with every other teeneey bopper in america and beyond) am SUPER stoked for this season's ABDC. The westcoast definitely had it on lock once again. I wish they cut one of the eastcoast or south's crew to make room for all westcoast crews to advance but so goes life.


It was SUPER fresh to see Do-Knock's crew Super Crew (in the words of lil mama) Did Yall Thang. Im curious to see if they can come widdit with all the different styles and challenges gonna be thrown their way. I imagine that one day we'll have a hawaii rep in future seasons. I'm hoping my five year old will be on it since he's small and working on his headspin. that's just a SUPER dream that over zealous dad has when it comes to passing the hip hop culture to the next generation.

Busy weekend....

Another crazy weekend full of fresh performances and some memorable moments......first off, we had a great gig at Higher Ground Cafe, opening up for the LA-based Ceschi Ramos. I didn't get a chance to snap any photos of that, but it was a dope night nonetheless....then, less than 24 hours later, I had a chance to hit up Nextdoor for Jake the Snake's last 'Next Movement' event! Jake's been the homie for a long time, first with his groundbreaking radio show, 'GenuineHi' on KTUH and then with this incredible series of 'Next Movement' events....he's on the move up to the Northwest, so best of luck to him!
Dude...all I gotta say about these cats is...wow. On the real, I was super impressed with these guys--the Perfect Median. Two emcees that are relatively new to the Hawaii scene, but controlled the stage like the best of them. Incredible style, dope stage presence, and non-stop energy---don't sleep on these dudes....gonna be making major moves in the near future, garans! Look for a future NMB collab with these guys??!?
The night belonged to Jake the Snake...choke folks came out to support him, and it was dope to see people paying respect to someone who has made it a point to spread the word about Hawaii's music & fashion scenes....
Last but definitely not least, Tassho Pierce (aka Emirc) hit the stage for a dope set of both his old and new stuff---be on the lookout for his new single, "Return to the Basics" featuring Evidence....this was the first time I had a chance to check out Emirc perform, and I was definitely impressed...looking forward to his new album....Big ups to everyone that I ran into this past weekend--two back to back dope shows, and more to come!