B-Mello

Hip Hop Royalty Theatrical Debute

| King County News - Fresh Juice for the Northwest
(Seattle, Washington) June 17-18, 2016 marks the highly anticipated return of Hip Hop emcee, producer, and organizer Danny “King Khazm” Kogita, with a double album release and theater production entitled “Diaries of a M.A.D.” The first show at the newly renovated Historic Washington Hall.

Diaries of a M.A.D. is an interdisciplinary installation, uniquely bridging music, cinema, and performing arts in an intimate exploration of struggle and perseverance. The album is laden with crisp snares, warm kicks, and dusty samples produced by members of Dev From Above, Third Eye Bling and Khazm and his beat crew, The Konstructicons. The soundscapes of this autobiographical essay paint a dark lacquer of social commentary.

The stage show produced by Olisa “Spyc-e” Enrico, is an artistic interpretation of how a biracial, disabled youth was able to overcome challenges in Seattle’s South end. An amalgam of Hip Hop, Japanese culture and disability awareness; the conceptual musical performances, blended with visual projections, dance and theatrical segments, push the boundaries of what is and what can be.

In 2003, King Khazm, along with his rap group- Cyphalliance, emerged onto the Northwest Hip Hop scene with exceptional response with debut album “Industreets.” A barrage of technological mishaps and life prevented the long awaited follow up album from seeing the light of day- until now.

One decade later, Living as a M.A.D. has been miraculously recovered, and after several months of extensive reconstruction, the album will finally be released. This sonically diverse project, recorded at Seattle’s renown Pharmacy, includes production by Jake One, Vitamin D, DJ Tre, Kitone, and others. The soundscape ranges from socially conscious lyrics to smooth melodic vocals.

Diaries of a M.A.D. and Living as a M.A.D. both release on Fresh Chopped Beats / MADK Productions and will be available at iTunes, Amazon.com and finer Hip Hop specialty stores.

For more information and announcements, visit www.freshchoppedbeats.com

King Khazm “Diaries of a M.A.D.” Theatrical Experience
June 17-18, 2016
Washington Hall
153 14th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
Doors 7:00pm / Curtain 8:00pm
$25 General / $35 VIP / $5 Students 18 & Under
Tickets at BrownPaperTickets.com

 

SEATTLE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND INDUSTRY HONORS HIP HOP (here’s what I saw!)

| King County News - Fresh Juice for the Northwest

Mohia 2September 23, 2015 – The Legacy of Hip Hop at the Museum of History and Industry (HOHAI) will run September 19, 2015 through May 1, 2016. This trip through NW hip hop history is a fun way for elder b-boys to take a walk down memory lane, and for the younger generation to learn about those that came before them.

It’s well worth the $14-$17 entry price to see some of the once-in-a-lifetime artifacts which include championship dance trophies won by Seattle’s own Massive Monkees, 30 years of cd’s, tapes, and records from iconic rappers and Dj’s such as the Emerald Street Boys, Sir Mixalot, B-Mello, DJ Mr. Supreme, Specs, and more.  Also on display are iconic jackets from Nastymix Records (the Seattle label founded by Mixalot and Nasty Nes), Macklemore, and Mecca wear.

The event features a “tag wall” (pen & paper) for visitors to “get up”, as well as a series of live performances from both established and up-and-coming artists (Dumi, Nya, Specs, and more).

MohaiNoticeably missing from the display is the contribution of Seattle’s first breakdance groups “the Emerald City Breakers” and “Seattle City Breakers” and their founding members Junior Alefaio and Carlos (Slamalotte) Barrientes; as well as multi-generational hip hop icons Dave (Pablo D) Narvaez, Rafael Contreras, Donald (Ziggy) Puaa, and Nathan (Sire One) Hivick.  However, even with these stars omitted the display is still very comprehensive in it’s presentation and has received very favorable reviews from many in the old school community.

Curators Jazmyn Scott (The Town Entertainment) and Aaron Walker-Loud (Big World Breaks) freely admit that there are major gaps in the exhibit and that the amount of hip hop history and artist contributions is just too big to include everyone; but they hope that the exhibit will at least shine a spotlight on some of the talent that has existed here for the past 30 years.

“It’s not even that it’s my (or our) version of the story. It is an attempt to put into historical context, something that has been widely overlooked for years. We have acknowledged from day one that there are gaps; there is no way to tell the entire story. With this, we hope to give a glimpse into SOME of the people, places and things that make up this very rich culture in our town. It is only a starting point. Maybe someone else will pick up the torch or support us in making it even more comprehensive.” ~ JS.

The program features an interactive exhibit with historic audio recordings, photography, artwork, and more.

For more information on NW Hip Hop including artists not featured in the MOHAI exhibit please visit the following link:

VP 2

https://kingcountynews.org/2014/11/11/deepest-roots-30-years-of-hip-hop-in-seattle/

 

Dramatic Leap for Local Dance Crew as “Black & Blue” Debuts at the Historic Neptune Theatre

| King County News - Fresh Juice for the Northwest

Black and Blue Dan Haile Vicious Puppies Seattle  June 11th, 2015 Writer/Director Maximilian Meador-Stockstill brings the real-life police/teen interactions of Seattle residents to the stage in an entertaining combination of drama, suspense, humor, and dance.

Sammy Tekle shines as the main character who (although recently deceased) walks the audience through a series of emotional flashbacks which start with him hanging with his crew (which include some spectacular dance performances) and end with him being shot during a routine traffic stop.Vicious Puppies Black and Blue Sammy Tekle Seattle2

Dan Haile has the audience in tears as he delivers the eulogy for his fallen friend; and Vicious Puppy (aka Dog Pound) members (Jonathan Higuchi, Binh Nguyen, Robert Eyerman, Justin Law, John Pham, Quan Nguyen) deliver a passionate back-and-forth debate regarding the role of police and how we as citizens should interact with them.Vicious Puppies Black and Blue Sammy Tekle Seattle

Black & Blue received a standing ovation and extremely positive feedback during the question & answer period following the performance. Writer/Director Maximilian Meador-Stockstill stated he would be interested in expanding the tour and all actors showed an interest in an extended run.

The Vicious Puppies (aka Dog Pound) continue their meteoric rise to celebrity status by expanding their already impressive resume which includes performances at the Paramount’s “Dance This!” and main stage performances at this Summer’s “Sasquatch” tour.

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Georgio Brown – The man behind the Northwest’s “Coolout Network”

| King County News - Fresh Juice for the Northwest

Coolout 1    (Georgio Brown)

For 20 years Georgio Brown’s “Coolout Network” has introduced us to hot new talent; and since 1991 the show has kept fresh and evolving. From the early days of “Club Coolout” to its move to webisode format in 2007, Georgio has proven to be a man on with his finger on the pulse of the City.

For those of us around in the early 90’s, we remember the hot local video & dance show shot on location at clubs like the Rock Candy and DV8, and community center’s such as the Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Center.  “Club Coolout” featured kids dancing in a “Soul Train” setting interspersed with videos from local artists.  The weekly broadcast allowed viewers to get to know local musicians such as Kid Sensation, Specs, Incredicrew, D’Armageddon, Edawg, and a number of others; as well as hip hop dancers such as Sam Dumas and PPIA.

Coolout throwback  (Throwback)

Georgio first caught the video production bug when he was in high school (back in 1980’s New York), where he would film local rappers and B-Boys. This took off for him as he saw how much people enjoyed and were inspired by the shorts he created.  In 1991 Georgio found his way to Seattle, Washington and the rest is history.

In April of that year Georgio began producing a series of videos focusing on Seattle’s Hip Hop scene. These shorts turned into the “Coolout Network” which began airing on Seattle Public Access television stations.  The program has not only been a doorway to success for dancers and musicians, but also for those artist’s trying to break into radio and television broadcasting such as B-Mello and Sacha Starr.

Georgio has worked with Non-Profit performance arts programs and arts education programs and is often used for community awareness.  In the summer of 2004, Georgio Brown and Coolout Network were honored by the City of Seattle, receiving the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Hip Hop for his dedication to create a positive contribution to the community.

In 2009 Georgio won local film-maker of the year at the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival with a short he shot and produced about the 206 Zulu Nation.  Georgio credits this film with lighting a fire in him to tell more stories about NW hip hop. And now that Georgio has announced his 5 year hiatus from Coolout, he plans on immediately jumping into his next project; a collaboration between himself and Scott Macklin, along with NW hip hop historian Mike Clark with will culminate in a full length feature documentary about the Evolution of Hip Hop in the Northwest.

Today Coolout TV can be seen on the following sites: youtube.com/coolouttv, vimeo.com/georgiobrown, facebook.com/georgiobrown.

“There are a lot of talented people in the Northwest that need and deserve attention and Coolout is the platform that can help them get the exposure and inspiration they need” – Georgio Brown.

Coolout cartoon  (Coolout Cartoon)

4 Generations of B-Boy’s come out to celebrate 30 years of Hip Hop Culture at the “Seattle City Breaker’s Reunion!”

| King County News - Fresh Juice for the Northwest
Seattle’s Pioneer Breaker Dancers “Pablo D” and “Sir Slamalot”

By ZiggyFan2012

One year after Seattle’s historic event we take time to remember how awesome it really was!

Seattle, WA. May 13th, 2011 – It was a historical night in West Seattle as the Unified Outreach non-profit Arts Program hosted the “Seattle City Breakers Reunion” celebrating 30 years of hip hop culture in Seattle.

This event brought together some of Seattle hip hop’s legendary Breakdancers and B-Boy’s/B-Girl’s in a multi generational event that took many through a time-warp and back to the early 80’s when group’s such as the Emerald City, Seattle City Breaker’s, Fresh Force, 1st Degree Breaker’s, and DeRoxy Crew ruled the dance floor.

The event featured guest speaker “Nasty” Nes Rodriguez who was the first radio DJ to host an all rap music show back in 1983.  Having the honor of sharing the DJ booth with Nes were legendary DJ’s  B-Mello (KUBE), Mr. Supreme, SoulOne, SuReal, NaNino, SeaBefore, Khazm, DV-One, and DJ Tecumseh (from Bamboo Beats).

The venue provided by West Seattle Christian Church featured a 600 person event center/performance hall which quickly filled to capacity with four decades of B-Boy’s and B-Girl’s crowding in to see the Seattle’s original break dancers.  Event organizer’s David Toledo and Carlos Barrientes provided a special seating area for a group of 20 special needs youth to attend and to participate in some of the “open floor” breakdancing.

The star of the night (who flew in from Hawaii for the event) was Ziggy “Zig Zag” Puaa; a breakdancer who rose to stardom in Seattle during the 80’s and then disappeared at the height of his career.  Rumor’s had circulated for years about Ziggy’s demise during a surfing accident; only to have Ziggy shock many old friends and fan’s when a video surfaced on YouTube featuring Ziggy breakdancing in Hawaii last year.  Also a surprise to many was the attendance of Danny Molino who has been in a wheelchair since a gun shot wound to the head paralyzed most of his body in the early 1990’s.

Other legends to appear at the event included “Seattle’s first Breakdancer” Jonathan (Junior) Alefaio, as well as Rafael Contreras, Spencer Reed, Danny Molino, Carlos (Sir Slamalot) Barrientes, Li’a Cat (Wacky) Talaga and Dave “Pablo D” Narvaez.

Staying true to the idea of Hip Hop’s “4 Elements” (DJ, MC, Breakdancer, and Graffiti Artist) the house was full of other pioneers as well; including Specs Wizard, Sam Sneke, KeepOne, Tyrone Dumas, FazeOne, Gerald Carpio, Curtis Tauiliili, Mr. Cool Anthony Espinoza, Vince Nguyen, Bublz, Kevin Lundeen, and Kid Silly.

The event culminated in an awards ceremony celebrating the “Heart of Hip Hop” in which 8 “Old School” legends received individually colored award plaque’s celebrating individual achievement.  Receiving awards were Carlos Barrientes (Red/Power), Spencer Reed (Yellow/Joy), Ziggy Puaa (Orange/Passion), Dan Clavesilla (Dark Blue/Knowledge), Sam Sneke (Light Blue/Creativity), Danny Molino (White/Pure Style), Michael Hall (Purple/Magic), and Nes Rodriguez (Pink/Universal Love).

The event welcomed 4 decades of breakdancers to participate in the open floor; from the original’s, to current hotshot’s Massive Monkey’s and the Vicious Puppies, to a group of toddler B-Boy’s/B-Girl’s it was a full-filled family event welcoming all ages.

It was a night to remember and something that will not be duplicated soon in Seattle as many legends and icon’s of the Seattle Hip Hop Community came together for a night of reminiscing, educating, and celebrating a our shared history.

For more information on the event, current, and upcoming event, please visit the Seattle City Breakers group on Facebook.