Music One my first memories of Soopah Eype was at a house party show in Eugene a few years ago.  He was performing in front of a dark living room full of tipsy college kids (not including myself, of course) and rapping out of a couple banged up, woodgrain speakers. From my understanding, it was one of his first shows. After only a few ...   More

Music This summer has been a good one for the Portland hip-hop scene. It saw a new generation of talented local MCs put out a number of quality projects, like Cassow’s well-rounded    More

Album Reviews [PO-HOP] Portland rapper Cassow (pronounced KAH-so, as in Picasso) has fast become known for his ability to rap thought-provoking lyrics, but it was one of his recent tweets that had a big effect    More

Music Portland hip-hop has always been heavily influenced by California gangster rap. In the 1990s, Jus Family (Cool Nutz, Bosko, etc.) was Portland’s Death Row Records, cranking out countless g-funk street anthems full of the same type of stuff Cube and Snoop were talking about, but with a more localized flavor (doug-firs over palm trees all day).On Al-One’s newest cut, “Welcome to my City”—t...   More

Music Summer 2012 is shaping up to be a big season for Stumptown's hip-hop scene, and most of that momentum can be attributed to a group of young, up-and-coming MCs that are bringing some new and refreshing tricks to the local trade. Here are four of those MCs we're especially excited about.

Vinnie Dewayne
My editor loved “Can’t Lie,” a track off St. Johns rapper Vinnie Dewayne...   More

Album Reviews [PO-HOP] When I first heard Portland rapper Tope five years ago as a member of Living Proof, I immediately fell in love with, above all else, how fun the music sounded. In an era when many Portl   More

Music Stories [BOISE BEDROOM POP] Boise native Trevor Powers is not scared of blending in with the crowd. At first listen, his debut album as Youth Lagoon, drenched in damping effect and reverb, sounds like a   More

Music Yesterday, V1Creative, a local media agency group, released a video featuring some of the members of today’s hip-hop scene in Portland. Eight different MCs are showcased, ranging from the well established (Luck-One, Servge Severe, Braille) to the relatively new (Th3ory Hazit, Jon Belz), and they each pick a spot around town—Cassow’s choice to rap in front of a Tom Cramer mural is my personal...   More

Music Stories Formed: In 1939 in Talladega, Ala. Sounds like: The wind on a warm summer’s night in the rural deep South, circa 1940-something. For fans of: Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, Blind Willie Johnson, Mahalia    More

Music Stories Born: Feb. 19, 1978, in Lima, Peru. His family moved to Harlem two years later to escape Peru’s internal conflict.  Sounds like: A political watchdog with a microphone. For fans of: Public En   More